Many of us are usually under a lot of stress do to school and work. To relieve some of our anxieties many times we go out with friends, boyfriends or girlfriends, or with our families to eat.

Do we really need another preoccupation at the end of the meal such as tipping?

Well, this subject recently made me think twice about what is proper and even fair, not only to us, the consumer, but also to the service provider.

To some of us this does not turn into another stressful situation. We may have seen that our server is working hard and maybe even putting up with other rude and annoying customers and just want to show appreciation at the end of our meal. We have been taught at some point in our lives that this is not only right but it’s also imperative.

During a recent conversation with a friend, she told me something quite astounding. She told me about a nail salon where the woman in charge used to have a list behind her work station where she would write down your name if you didn’t tip or didn’t tip enough. Is this necessary?

I’m sure many of you who work at restaurants wish you can do this sometimes.

This got me thinking about this “voluntary gesture” that most of us have become accustomed to do.

Many of us have heard or read somewhere about tipping etiquette. What is it you ask? Well, like many of you, I’ve read and/or heard somewhere that when visiting a restaurant or any other establishment of that nature, it is said that in order to be fair, we should leave 15 to 20 percent of the total bill as tip to the person providing us with the service.

It’s really up to every individual to make his or her judgment about tipping. However, this is still a voluntary way people show their appreciation of the service.

I believe that by no means anyone should be forced to leave a tip but when you’re out and about think twice, what if you were the person on the serving end and tips were a big part of your income? Wouldn’t you like to be rewarded for your (I’m so sure) excellent service?