The basis of the French waiter style is cultural, not economic. The idea of "service" is much different in France. The "egalité" of the French society is theoretically classless, meaning there isn't the concept of a "servant" class. So everyone is equal in terms of the customer -- waiter dynamic. Interestingly, in my town of Avignon, I am somewhat well known among the restaurants I frequent and thus it isn't unusual to have chats with the waiters, but it's more like colleagues chatting as opposed to that fake/friendliness you get in a place like Chile's. I mightn't have articulated my idea well due to my time constraints today, but the net point is that there's a cultural difference based on societal "role" as opposed to grubbing for tips. That isn't to demean other cultures (I used to be the chatty American bartender in the US back in the day,) -- it just is what it is.