It really depends where you go in the US. Larger cities tend to be the worst, service staff is overworked and underpaid; stressed. Rural areas the stuff is more run down but the people are friendly. If you go around to museums/national parks the people running those are in great spirits as they're busier than ever. Lean heavily on Trip Advisor/Google Maps reviews for hotels, pick hotels that are all 4.5+ on both with positive recent reviews, and you will find there are still some properties that provide an acceptable level of service. Stick to independent well reviewed restaurants instead of chains and again you will find service is alive and well in the non-chain restaurant business. But you will pay a price for those better experiences.

Of course, in those more rural locations you are unlikely to have to worry about this daily food credit in the first place, because you'll probably be at a Hampton where that does not apply in the first place...