The service is what it is because the restaurants haven't offloaded paying the staff directly onto the customer. A restaurant owner in the US doesn't care if 1,

The service is what it is because the restaurants haven't offloaded paying the staff directly onto the customer. A restaurant owner in the US doesn't care if 1, 25, or 50 servers are on duty. They pay almost nothing for them to be there. A french restaurant is staffed just like a retail store. Just enough staff to provide minimal to adequate coverage and nothing more. Because the owner eats the cost not the server.