At the end of the day, only BASIC politeness and courtesy is required. "Hi, welcome to _______" "hello, how may I help you?" "do you have any questions about the menu?" "how is your meal?" "can I get you anything else?" "please" "thank you" "have a nice day" "thanks for visiting us today".

Believe it or not, NONE of these things require you to compromise your "authenticity", even if you're having a bad day. If you're having a GOOD day, you might even attempt a smile. I know, sounds crazy, right? Actually, even if you're having a BAD day, studies show that the simple act of MAKING yourself smile can improve your mood. Maybe try it sometime.

And if you REALLY want to suck up (by today's standards) throw in an occasional "sir" or "ma'am". I know they sound ridiculously old-fashioned, but whatever. Just pretend you're being ironic. Whatever you do though, drop "chief", "boss", "bro", "dude", and even "man". A significant number of your customers consider those terms to be too familiar, and you'll make these people uncomfortable, or worse, offended. Why would you ever want to do that to someone who (you hope) is tipping you?

The same with sitting down with your customers, unless they are personal friends, and unless your boss is OK with it. Even then, do it for only a short time if you are working and other customers can see you. Hang out with your friends when you're not on the clock.

Again, none of these things requires you to lie, compromise your integrity, turn in your hipster card, or whatever. None of them are anywhere even CLOSE to being "snooty". They mostly involve just basic, simple courtesy to another human being. If you disagree, I honestly question the way you were raised.