Foreigners have the saying here in the Netherlands: "You can complain about the fake friendliness of waiters in the USA, but in the Netherlands you know they genuinely f*n hate you."

As an American working in the UK, I was surprised to discover how often Brits and other Europeans assumed that genuine friendliness was "fake friendliness". Their own attitudes toward others were assumed to be universal, so any sign of friendliness that they wouldn't have expected in their own society was assumed to be fake.

Yes, sometimes it is fake, but very often it's a case of being unable to imagine a culture where genuine friendliness toward strangers is a lot more common than what they themselves tend to feel toward strangers.

From my analysis of hundreds of hours of British comedies, it seems like Brits find it awful if anyone is friendly for any reason, in any context.

It's true! Why, you and I may not even be of the same social class! It would be quite impertinent of you to address me as an equal or presume an easy familiarity!

I say, the cheek of it...

> As a Brit when in America I find it awful how the waitress will pretend to be friendly

Depending on where you've visited, this may have little to do with the restaurant setting, and everything to do with the local culture. There are some regions in America in which engaging with others at that level of familiarity is expected in any context, and being impersonal and excessively "professional" is considered rude.

> Putting a hand on my back isn't going to make me prefer the food I'm here for.

Perhaps you're immune to the effect, since you know about it. But in aggregate, it can change the disposition of customers (measured using the metric of increased tips).

They wouldn't do it if it didn't work.

Is there a tipping culture in the UK? I always thought that the mandatory service charge in some restaurants (especially when one has a big party) made up for it. Now I feel slightly guilty.

10-12.5%, but not if there's a mandatory service charge. Restaurants, cab drivers, barbers etc, but not in pubs (if you're mates with the landlord, offer them a drink on you sometimes...)

What does landlord mean in the UK?

Owner of the establishment (though, often the patron, manager, or person who runs the place).

The owner of the pub/bar.

Yes, you should tip if you're at a restaurant or something. Not in a bar. You shouldn't tip if you're unhappy with the food/service.