No, most people probably want to eat their meal in peace and quiet.
They don't need a waiter coming over every five minutes - specifically so that you'll remember that and equate it with "attentiveness" and "great service" when it comes to time to tip.
Next time you are out at a fine dining place, which tend to be very selective about hiring wait staff, see how they do it. That's really what people want.
I'm sure there is a large minority who just want to be left in peace and quiet, but you aren't the average customer.
A good waitress will know when to time her visits so she isn't always there but you don't notice her absence.
Personally I loathe the intrusive cloying fake-friendliness of US waiters. I've had a few pretty poor[1] experiences despite not eating out that often in the US.
I have eaten out in the UK considerably more often and had fewer poor experiences.
Because the alternative - that people actually behave like that in their real life outside work - is not supported by my interactions with people outside the work environment.
Everyone has a level of friendliness. You step inside a restaurant and it gets ramped up dramatically. Some US places feel like the Disney store which has almost oppressive levels of forced-friendliness. (Where -employees- "cast members" are instructed to "spread the magic".)
I think it depends on how you see and interpret the friendliness. In some cultures it's not so much faking it as it is fulfilling a (n expected) role. So it is actually a sincere execution of a role and not fake --on the other hand outside this role their personality can be quite different.
Absolutely. I have a certain level of friendliness to random strangers. But customers of any kind? I sincerely care about their experience of dealing with me and my company. So if I come off as more friendly when dealing with them, I'd say that's genuine.
European service sucks.