For TATTOOERS ONLY, what's your biggest pet peeve?

[JeffK]

Just for fun-- I have one more Ive noticed as of late,

please stop bringing in your pizza, burritos, hamburger, fries... etc

Eat before coming into the shop. I don't want to smell your onions or pick up after you or collect your garbage.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this to be really strange behavior?

I don't bring pancakes into the salon when I go to get my hair done. COME ON PEOPLE.

I feel this way about ANY business. Eat at home or the restaurant but not in a records store or clothing store or dentists office or tattoo shops. I mean, why can't you just sit and eat and move on? I see that crap all the time and it's one of the rudest things one can do.

[MattCrunk]

For the past few years my biggest pet peeve is bargain hunters who's only concern is price, not quality. It's pretty sad that so many people today choose a tattoo shop based on the shop minimum without ever even cracking open a portfolio . . . a direct result of the over-saturation of tattoo shops in recent years, many of which are staffed by artists (and I use the term loosely) who shouldn't even be allowed in the business.

[Eskimette]

Whomever manages your facebook account should respond to this, in some form or fashion.

Not everyone is familiar with how your shop runs its business, so if a potential client is contacting your shop, someone should respond w\ your shops protocol for making appointments etc.

I know tattoo shops have a different business model and typically different clientelle, but if you have a facebook page - that is now a part of your shops business.

I wholeheartedly agree to the need to respond.. Much like "Jargin" we get really accustomed to how things are done on our end but our clientele are why we are in business -AND they often (especially new to tattoo clients) do not understand our side of things. In a business where much of our trade is guarded we really cannot expect them to...

I don't understand the ins and outs of building a house when I talk to a carpenter - Im sure i sound ignorant with questions I ask..

We get a lot of people coming to the shop because we are pretty good about that kind of thing (understanding that they don't really..get it..and thats okay with us we just work with them) when other artists make them feel stupid.. i think the attitude there is a growing issue..

No arguments ment:) all in good discussion..

My pet peeve is when someone tells me they "just want a simple tattoo"...and it is fully geometric and or something that looks basic, but is in no way simple to actually apply..

Which i guess harkens back to tolerance.. lol..which i exercise..with a small eye twitch:P

- - - Updated - - -

to clarify, i don't think the non-tattooers understood. the girl wants a half sleeve based on the solar system (whatever that means) finished in about a month. she also lives several hours outside of berlin, meaning she will need to make one 5 hour trip just to talk about it and try to work out a plan. people with this sort of vague idea usually do not understand what sort of commitment getting a big tattoo is. i am interested in making nice tattoos for money, not making money making crap tattoos. and i do tattoo for free, but only on friends. and yes, dan. that one on the guestbook is pretty good, but i don't read german. i also fully disagree that if someone wants a tattoo that automatically means i have to reply to them.

I hate the pretentiousness that is growing in this field... Respect the people who give you a job.. you don't need to take on every tattoo - no tattooer has to do that.. but at least be courteous to folks.. just because you can tattoo, does not mean you gave a god given right to act like you're above the person with the inquiry... that attitude is my #1 issue with the tattooing world..

[Eskimette]

(that being said I respect your desire to only do your best)

[SStu]

Just for fun-- I have one more Ive noticed as of late,

please stop bringing in your pizza, burritos, hamburger, fries... etc

Eat before coming into the shop. I don't want to smell your onions or pick up after you or collect your garbage.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this to be really strange behavior?

I don't bring pancakes into the salon when I go to get my hair done. COME ON PEOPLE.

I've brought in food to eat 3-4 hours into a 5-6 hour session. Is that ok?

[Eskimette]

I've brought in food to eat 3-4 hours into a 5-6 hour session. Is that ok?

In my opinion yes- blood sugars are important - fainting is bad

[Eskimette]

Other tattooers pretentious attitudes still top this list..

but as for clients... people just barging when im in the back and coming to the back of the shop like they own the place... thats a peeve...

[onthefly]

i can imagine they really hate it when people scream a lot and move or when someone says it does not look right or they hate it or even worse when they say that they did not do it right

[Dean Mitchell]

No call, no shows for appointments that assume their deposit is still valid when they show up to reschedule, then put in a complaint to the BBB after being told the process starts over. We have a large readable sign that says deposits are non-refundable, yet 2 people in the last 10 years of being a BBB member have put in complaints, lowering our score. This is an inconsiderate and selfish as cruising 10 miles under the speed limit in the passing lane.

[cltattooing]

For some reason lately, we've had a barrage of couples at the shop who think it's okay to make out on the tattoo floor and lean on the tables/be publicly affectionate.

Like.. come on, guys. I am at work. Working.

[Colored Guy]

For some reason lately, we've had a barrage of couples at the shop who think it's okay to make out on the tattoo floor and lean on the tables/be publicly affectionate.

Like.. come on, guys. I am at work. Working.

I posted this elsewhere.... have you ever gotten the couple where the wife sits outside in the car and honks the horn and comes in a few times demanding when he's going to be done?

Rob

[cltattooing]

I posted this elsewhere.... have you ever gotten the couple where the wife sits outside in the car and honks the horn and comes in a few times demanding when he's going to be done?

Rob

haha, thank god no!

[Brock Varty]

Several folks lately that have been waiting for drawings but in the mean time, email me a thousand new and different ideas. Mind you, before they even see the original drawing. Just annoying....

[Kahlan]

I read every post and that was amazing. lol

I'm curious if any of you had people respond by saying "It's MY body!." Whenever you tried to discuss or steer them in a better direction. I tend to hear that a lot when I tell others my experiences getting tattooed. I'm not saying anything bad at all, but when I mention "the artist just wanted to do this instead." they get so defensive....

I usually respond, "sure it's my body, but it's also their art."

[9Years]

I don't respond "But, it's MY toilet!" when the professional (plumber, obviously) I have hired for the job gives me a suggestion based on his/her hard-earned experience....I might ask why they think that is the better plan, but ultimately that's why I'm paying them for the job: to make sure it gets done right.

[kingofcosta]

Recent conversation.

Me - hi there, what can we do for you?

Customer - look at this shit tattoo *shows some wobbly writing on her wrist obviously scratched on* isn't it rubbish? Look how crap it is.

Me - we'll, it's pretty bad, yeah.

Customer - that was done by **** at ****'s tattoos. It's rubbish, I hate it.

Me - ok. Well, I can promise you we're a bit better than that, at least.

Customer - so how much would it cost to get just a little name on my other wrist?

Me - if it's just small it'd probably be our minimum charge, which is £25.

Customer - £25? Fuck off. **** at ****'s tattoos (same place she'd just been complaining about) will do it for a fiver. I'll go there.

Me - .....

You get the tattoo you deserve.

[jtltattooco]

My biggest pet peeve is when a client tries to talk over you and act like they know everything there is about a tattoo and the tattooing process because they watched x amount of seasons of tattoo oriented shows. That and Clients that insist that their tattoo is upside down or faces the wrong way for the position on the body.

- - - Updated - - -

Sometimes you just want to look at a client, cock your head and repeatedly shake the tattoo sense into them.

Recent conversation.

Me - hi there, what can we do for you?

Customer - look at this shit tattoo *shows some wobbly writing on her wrist obviously scratched on* isn't it rubbish? Look how crap it is.

Me - we'll, it's pretty bad, yeah.

Customer - that was done by **** at ****'s tattoos. It's rubbish, I hate it.

Me - ok. Well, I can promise you we're a bit better than that, at least.

Customer - so how much would it cost to get just a little name on my other wrist?

Me - if it's just small it'd probably be our minimum charge, which is £25.

Customer - £25? Fuck off. **** at ****'s tattoos (same place she'd just been complaining about) will do it for a fiver. I'll go there.

Me - .....

You get the tattoo you deserve.

[milesendtimes]

"How much is a sleeve" Is the most common question we get in our shop. Drives me crazy. As if they cost a flat rate across the board! (How long is a piece of string?!?!)

[purplelace]

Loving this thread. In regards to people asking if their position is ok for tattooing. I ask after a break, 9times out of 10 the reply is "yes". To which I say, okay, I'm going to sleep, wake me up when it's over. Hell, I normally say that before he starts/just after he starts. He prefers if if I sleep, my body is more relaxed and he doesn't talk much so it works out well.

Told him last time was in was thinking about fillers, he asked me to draw up what had in mind and we can go from there. I can't draw for toffee, but at least it'll give him an idea of what have in mind.

And, I can relate to those saying "how much for a sleeve?" type questions. I get asked similar stuff a lot. More recently "I want a butterfly done, one wing bigger than the other with Japanese clouds behind. How much do you think?" I don't fucking know, I'm not a tattoo artist!! Gah! So damn fucking annoying.

[ItsNewport]

For some reason lately, we've had a barrage of couples at the shop who think it's okay to make out on the tattoo floor and lean on the tables/be publicly affectionate.

Like.. come on, guys. I am at work. Working.

Oh god, this reminds me of a story i heard from one of the guys at Frith Street (i won't say who, not my place).

Anyone who's been to Frith Street will know it's not the biggest of shops (they've moved the counter now to create more floor space, but this took place before the move). You walk down the steps, open a door and you're staring right at the counter, with probably 4 people tattooing 4 feet in front of you, and an area for clients to sit around on your side of the counter.

From what i recall one of the non tattooers in the shop was talking a couple through some options for a tattoo - at this point one of the resident tattooers comes down the stairs, walks past this couple and notices that the guy is... how do i phrase this tactfully... allowing his hands to fly south for the winter. He must have been pretty discreet to hide it from the people on the tattooing side of the counter, but i mean come on! Who the fuck behaves like that!

I'm pretty sure neither of them got a tattoo that day

[Stewart Robson]

Oh god, this reminds me of a story i heard from one of the guys at Frith Street (i won't say who, not my place).

I wonder who told that story? ;)

She did get tattooed that day, but her man-friend didn't.

We can call this story "Fish Fingers"

To clarify: A tall, (probably around 6 feet) "amazonian" woman was discussing her tattoo with the counter-staff while her shorter man friend (probably just over 5 feet tall) was "feeding the pony". We weren't able to see from our side because he was hidden behind her and the counter. To this day I'm still impressed by her poker-face. She never let on what was happening back there.

He also seemed to enjoy watching her get tattooed.

They probably had a great evening when they got home with her new tattoo.

I like this story and I'm glad you reminded me of it. It's good to know that there are still people out there with a raw passion for tattoos and life in general.

[ItsNewport]

Haha! thanks for filling in some gaps in my memory, Stewart.

[Miri Gatita]

People entering the shop, saying:

"Tattoo."

Okay, buddy. Let's hear a full sentence, please.

[MarvelAvengers]

welcome to tattooing in the 21st century! designs on cell phones. we have a shop email set up just for people to email them to us so we can print it up, otherwise they can run over to kinko's and print it up. we don't let anyone put a disk or flashdrive on our computers.

there's a good iphone app, though. "hp iprint". it prints to your hp printer through the wifi. it's great for duplicating a tattoo already on someone or to do a quick sketch for a cover-up to give the client an idea of what you're thinking. just take a phone pic and print it out.

The problem is that this is rarely communicated. I have never seen a shop yet with any of their "pet peeves" or "expectations" for a consultation listed. At the same time, most shops I've been are able to get the digital a file to work off of in a few minutes of effort. You would think that this would be beneficial as you then have the ability to adjust the image size, mirror the image, convert to grayscale, etc.. Just my 2 cents

[tatB]

@MarvelAvengers just an fyi the post you quoted/ are responding to is ~4.5 years old. and you are also questioning the practices of a tattooer with almost 20 years experience.