I decided I would give a minimum of a $10.00 tip.
This worked great and the waitresses wanted to serve us food.
They memorized the plates we usually ordered and had things organized around our usual eating schedule.
And then, they started slacking off, no more special attention and many wrong orders.
Reluctantly, I stopped going to those places.
Here's what I think:
If people always get overcompensated (no matter how poor their performance) they stop caring.