good client behavior

[a1steaks]

So all you people out there getting large multi-session tattoos (eg. full back pieces) do you tip every session?

[beez]

So all you people out there getting large multi-session tattoos (eg. full back pieces) do you tip every session?

I do. I'm tipping for the work done at the time, so it makes sense to me!

[ian]

So all you people out there getting large multi-session tattoos (eg. full back pieces) do you tip every session?

I do but I know others that just break it off big at the end of the tattoo...

[Mark Bee]

It hasn't come up for me yet, as I've been able to do all of mine in one sitting. But when I do get to large pieces I will likely tip each time. If only because life is expensive these days and if I can put a few extra bucks in the hands of whomever is tattooing me, then so much the better. That tip money might come in handy.

Edit for clarity: I always tip for every tattoo i get. I'm just commenting about how I'd tip when I get around to doing multi-sitting tattoos.

[Colored Guy]

I tip every session. Maybe around $40-50 on a $240 sitting, I don't keep track. If the ink comes in under what I thought it was going to be, I tip bigger. I'd say that probably at least 1/2 of people getting inked, they don't tip. Prolly out of ignorance.

Rob

[Dan S]

My general rule o thumb is an hours pay for a tip...but I usually sit 5-7 hours at a pop.

[tatB]

Rule #1 about tipping is do it but don't talk about amounts or percentages here.

[Lance]

Uh oh! There's another "Lance" on here. We're multiplying! If he's a clone, perhaps I'll try the traditional route w/color this time rather than black & grey japanese. Ooooo, I wonder what backpiece subject I'll get???

Ha! Just messing around. Don't mind me. Please continue NOT talking about quatities of money on a public forum.

[didar]

is it bad etiquette to listen to music on earphones (to distract yourself from the pain, i guess) during a long tattoo session? just curious. i've never done this, but i've seen other people do it, and wondered how the artists feel about that.

[cltattooing]

Doesn't bother me. If anything, it's good cause it keeps you still instead of talking. And sometimes just lets the artist get into the work zone, which is always good.

[el twe]

@didar - just ask your artist beforehand if it's OK to listen to your own music as a distraction. You could also just plug one earbud in so you're still available to have a conversation if he/she needs your input on something.

[Killercook76]

chewing gum helps me actually ... I don't pop bubbles.. just better than grinding my teeth.. Most tattooers don't want to hear why you are getting a particular piece.. This is not Miami ink.. haha

[HaydenRose]

is it bad etiquette to listen to music on earphones (to distract yourself from the pain, i guess) during a long tattoo session? just curious. i've never done this, but i've seen other people do it, and wondered how the artists feel about that.

I always enjoy the music in the shop. Most shops play decent-awesome music that I probably have on my ipod anyway.

[Old Rose Tattoo]

i'm also not a tattoo artist but here's my two cents (if they value at anything)

ALWAYS TIP!

sorry, but i'm a firm believer in this. there's a lot more that goes into a tattoo than just time, and non of it is free.

don't be a jerk to the artist. yes, you comissioned them to create a piece for you, but that doesn't mean you get to be an asshole. if there is a difference in design or ideas, talk it out. if you didn't supply any ideas, then don't be a jerk when the design your artist comes up with is something different than what you expected.

if an artist has gone up and out of their way, then show your appreciation. i brought cupcakes when i visited the guys at CTC because Nick and Mario offered to help with suggestions of places, directions, and just a place where i could hang out (considering i was traveling alone, and spending most of my time by myself). i thought that was really nice and generous considering i was a stranger.

i always try to sit still, only really talk when the artist feels comfortable talking (i'm a pretty quiet person most of the time, except online), and i ALWAYS shower before getting tattooed (though i do sweat a lot and can get kind of stinky : / ). i also get gassy when i'm nervous, but that's another story...

I couldnt have said it better myself MsRad. I am a tattooer, and to be honest i hardly get tipped. I dont tattoo for the money I do it because i love the art I love the history and all around love the life style. However I put in a lot of my free time to create stuff for people, and some of them arent very greatful. Its hard to pull an image that is in the clients head out and put it on paper without reference.

When I tattoo I dont like to talk when i am pulling my lines. Some have told me im very boring to be tattooed by because i dont talk. Once the outline is done ill talk all you want, but i dont really talk because im simply concentrating on creating a nice piece of art. As long as you sit still and dont stink i really dont care much what you do. you can txt talk on the phone listen to music i really dont mind just dont move and dont stink we will be ok!

Lastly if you dont like your tattoo or dont like something that was done on the tattoo tell the artist. Most of the time they wont be offended. I have had many clients go home and after a week or two come to me complaining they hate their tattoo b/c this color or this background. If you tell the artist when its done if you dont like it they will do what they can to make you love it. Dont lie and say you love it and then a few days later come back and complain about it!

Thats all I have to say about that haha

[Pacem]

This looks like the best place to get some insight into my "problem".

I've got some Japanese style tattoos. I went to artists that liked doing that style to get them. On my other arm I want to go American traditional. I wanted a bad ass eagle on my forearm. Did some research on here and online a bit. I found two artists I liked in particular. The next time I was in the city I was going to stop in and see what the shop was like and look at either of their portfolios. Happened to by near one of the shops two weeks ago. Went in. Talked to front clerk about looking at some books. They told me most of their artists (including the guy I liked) were backed up and not really taking appointments but handed me a book from a guy who I could see sooner. I got the run around a bit but ended up looking at all the books of all the artists and I managed to talk to the artist I liked as he was leaving. Set up a consult and my tattoo appointment right there. Didn't really expect to book an appointment that day, but really happy I did.

Since I've booked the appointment I spent more time looking at this guys work and have been following his instagram. I absolutely love his work. I find it to be ridiculously good and there hasn't been a tattoo of his I don't like. I have gone from wanting an eagle, to now wanting from around my elbow down to my cuff completely done by this artist. I kinda don't care what he tattoos at this point. I am wondering if I could just walk in there and say "tattoo whatever you want". To me, it sounds bad, lol. I really like his work, I don't think he could do something I didn't like.

So if any artists want to chime in. Have you had clients be such a fan of your work they just say "yeah I want you to do my whole forearm". Do they have to give you some idea? Should I say. I like Eagles, Old fashion trains. I like Cats. I like the traditional flowers. Ships. Snakes. I don't need them all in there, just do what you feel would fit nicely in the space? Do clients say that to you? What kind of position does that put you in? Should I walk in there with a better idea out of respect for the artist? At this point I don't care if I get an eagle or not. Do I say put an eagle on this part of my arm, but can you fill in the rest of my arm with stuff that will work nicely? I don't know if that is appropriate, lol. I do not have an artistic bone in my body. The pictures I go in with are no where near close to what the artist ends up tattooing on me. The picture I have in my head is horrible compared to what an artist does.

To people that have gotten tattoos by just saying "tattoo me". How has that worked out for you? Good or bad experience? Did you find you annoyed the artist?

I have a month and a half before my consult and then my appointment is a month after that. So I got time to figure it out. I'm just curious to see the feasibility of basically saying "tattoo me". I very well could have a better idea of what I want by then, but If I don't can i just fall back on "tattoo me".

Thanks for any responses.

[slayer9019]

This looks like the best place to get some insight into my "problem".

I've got some Japanese style tattoos. I went to artists that liked doing that style to get them. On my other arm I want to go American traditional. I wanted a bad ass eagle on my forearm. Did some research on here and online a bit. I found two artists I liked in particular. The next time I was in the city I was going to stop in and see what the shop was like and look at either of their portfolios. Happened to by near one of the shops two weeks ago. Went in. Talked to front clerk about looking at some books. They told me most of their artists (including the guy I liked) were backed up and not really taking appointments but handed me a book from a guy who I could see sooner. I got the run around a bit but ended up looking at all the books of all the artists and I managed to talk to the artist I liked as he was leaving. Set up a consult and my tattoo appointment right there. Didn't really expect to book an appointment that day, but really happy I did.

Since I've booked the appointment I spent more time looking at this guys work and have been following his instagram. I absolutely love his work. I find it to be ridiculously good and there hasn't been a tattoo of his I don't like. I have gone from wanting an eagle, to now wanting from around my elbow down to my cuff completely done by this artist. I kinda don't care what he tattoos at this point. I am wondering if I could just walk in there and say "tattoo whatever you want". To me, it sounds bad, lol. I really like his work, I don't think he could do something I didn't like.

So if any artists want to chime in. Have you had clients be such a fan of your work they just say "yeah I want you to do my whole forearm". Do they have to give you some idea? Should I say. I like Eagles, Old fashion trains. I like Cats. I like the traditional flowers. Ships. Snakes. I don't need them all in there, just do what you feel would fit nicely in the space? Do clients say that to you? What kind of position does that put you in? Should I walk in there with a better idea out of respect for the artist? At this point I don't care if I get an eagle or not. Do I say put an eagle on this part of my arm, but can you fill in the rest of my arm with stuff that will work nicely? I don't know if that is appropriate, lol. I do not have an artistic bone in my body. The pictures I go in with are no where near close to what the artist ends up tattooing on me. The picture I have in my head is horrible compared to what an artist does.

To people that have gotten tattoos by just saying "tattoo me". How has that worked out for you? Good or bad experience? Did you find you annoyed the artist?

I have a month and a half before my consult and then my appointment is a month after that. So I got time to figure it out. I'm just curious to see the feasibility of basically saying "tattoo me". I very well could have a better idea of what I want by then, but If I don't can i just fall back on "tattoo me".

Thanks for any responses.

Well please excuse my typos on a phone on a bus.

I actually almost always go the route of minimal input on artists I like their stuff. You will most probably have to give at least a direction to go in. I mean my rule is 3 words or less. So far things have turned out OK haha. I got my entire leg tattoo from waist to foot off of two words and honestly it is fantastic. My suggestion is to just tell the guy/girl who is gunna tattoo you what your thinking.

Also I wouldn't say "tattoo whatever". This has come up in another thread before and honestly I think you will want to give some direction. I mean would you be cool with anything and everything? I know @bunnyswitchblade has a couple of very interesting tattoos from just going that route but you better be willing to take what they give ya. If you like skulls, snakes, daggers, and eagles then say that. They will know what to do. Good luck with your new tattoo(s)!

[cltattooing]

@Pacem what I would do is go to your consult, and tell him what imagery you are attracted to and the particular pieces in his portfolio that you enjoy. It really helps to have -some- sort of idea as to what the client wants, so that when you say "tattoo me" and had something along the lines of a banana tattoo in mind, you don't end up with a hedgehog.

So yeah, I'm sure if your artist is able to get a good grasp on your sense of aesthetic and tastes, he will be much better equipped to come up with something original that has the look you are searching for.

[blujax01]

i've had comments like this get back to me concerning the desk guys at my shop and they only make me wonder about the customer. i highly respect our staff at frith st and like them very much as friends, they are trustworthy and take care of me and my appts and if they were useless, they wouldnt be employed for sure. I could easily say this applies to most good tattoo shops. i'm not sure how well your encounter went, just saying be careful what you call people online, it can come across much more harshly :)

good luck with your tattoo :)

Older thread I know but... if you get one negative comment about the desk help it's probably the customer. If you get two negs, it's still maybe the customer but you may want to have a little customer service training session with the desk help.

And if you get three - well your guy's a douchebag hipster, whether he knows how to spell or not!

[Hogrider]

To people that have gotten tattoos by just saying "tattoo me". How has that worked out for you? Good or bad experience? Did you find you annoyed the artist?

I have never said "tattoo me" but I did say I wanted a Japanese sleeve and chest panel, do what you want. I love it. Same artist, we kicked around some ideas for my back and settled on a Tibetan Skull. The day of the appt he said he wasn't feeling it, how about an Oni, so I went with it and it is turning out great too.

I did a lot of research before I talked to him, had some friends he had worked on and looked at all of his work that I could find on line, so I had 100% comfort level before we started.

[sbhikes]

Should I say. I like Eagles, Old fashion trains. I like Cats. I like the traditional flowers. Ships. Snakes.

It seems originally you wanted an eagle, so I'd pick a couple other items to go with the eagle. Maybe tell him you like all those things and ask him what would look best with an eagle on your arm.

[David Flores]

This looks like the best place to get some insight into my "problem".

I've got some Japanese style tattoos. I went to artists that liked doing that style to get them. On my other arm I want to go American traditional. I wanted a bad ass eagle on my forearm. Did some research on here and online a bit. I found two artists I liked in particular. The next time I was in the city I was going to stop in and see what the shop was like and look at either of their portfolios. Happened to by near one of the shops two weeks ago. Went in. Talked to front clerk about looking at some books. They told me most of their artists (including the guy I liked) were backed up and not really taking appointments but handed me a book from a guy who I could see sooner. I got the run around a bit but ended up looking at all the books of all the artists and I managed to talk to the artist I liked as he was leaving. Set up a consult and my tattoo appointment right there. Didn't really expect to book an appointment that day, but really happy I did.

Since I've booked the appointment I spent more time looking at this guys work and have been following his instagram. I absolutely love his work. I find it to be ridiculously good and there hasn't been a tattoo of his I don't like. I have gone from wanting an eagle, to now wanting from around my elbow down to my cuff completely done by this artist. I kinda don't care what he tattoos at this point. I am wondering if I could just walk in there and say "tattoo whatever you want". To me, it sounds bad, lol. I really like his work, I don't think he could do something I didn't like.

So if any artists want to chime in. Have you had clients be such a fan of your work they just say "yeah I want you to do my whole forearm". Do they have to give you some idea? Should I say. I like Eagles, Old fashion trains. I like Cats. I like the traditional flowers. Ships. Snakes. I don't need them all in there, just do what you feel would fit nicely in the space? Do clients say that to you? What kind of position does that put you in? Should I walk in there with a better idea out of respect for the artist? At this point I don't care if I get an eagle or not. Do I say put an eagle on this part of my arm, but can you fill in the rest of my arm with stuff that will work nicely? I don't know if that is appropriate, lol. I do not have an artistic bone in my body. The pictures I go in with are no where near close to what the artist ends up tattooing on me. The picture I have in my head is horrible compared to what an artist does.

To people that have gotten tattoos by just saying "tattoo me". How has that worked out for you? Good or bad experience? Did you find you annoyed the artist?

I have a month and a half before my consult and then my appointment is a month after that. So I got time to figure it out. I'm just curious to see the feasibility of basically saying "tattoo me". I very well could have a better idea of what I want by then, but If I don't can i just fall back on "tattoo me".

Thanks for any responses.

I can't imagine some dude telling me to come back in a month so I could talk about getting an eagle on my forearm. A japanese back piece or sleeve, yeah I get it. But it's seems like most of the top people these days would take five minutes talk to you about what you want and set up your appointment and do the drawing the night before or just draw it on with a sharpie. I am not saying you won't get a good tattoo, just wonder how this became the process to get tattooed by some people. I think some people put on an act cause they want to seem busier than they are, meanwhile people who are actually busy don't care how busy they look and most of the time work harder to try to tattoo more people and make people wait less. I have no idea who you booked your appointment and whether this is the case for them, but really a consult for an eagle?

I could proably spend a month in Chicago and get a sleeve at Great Lakes from most of the top tattooers in the country, no consult needed. That is if I had any room left on my arms. Everytime I buy into thinking all the good tattooers are booked, I call the shop and they make me feel weird for booking an appointment so far in advance(two months), Spider Murphy's was like of course you can get tattooed by anyone you want if you book two months out, don't know if it's still the case by was last summer.

[Pacem]

I can't imagine some dude telling me to come back in a month so I could talk about getting an eagle on my forearm. A japanese back piece or sleeve, yeah I get it. But it's seems like most of the top people these days would take five minutes talk to you about what you want and set up your appointment and do the drawing the night before or just draw it on with a sharpie. I am not saying you won't get a good tattoo, just wonder how this became the process to get tattooed by some people. I think some people put on an act cause they want to seem busier than they are, meanwhile people who are actually busy don't care how busy they look and most of the time work harder to try to tattoo more people and make people wait less. I have no idea who you booked your appointment and whether this is the case for them, but really a consult for an eagle?

I could proably spend a month in Chicago and get a sleeve at Great Lakes from most of the top tattooers in the country, no consult needed. That is if I had any room left on my arms. Everytime I buy into thinking all the good tattooers are booked, I call the shop and they make me feel weird for booking an appointment so far in advance(two months), Spider Murphy's was like of course you can get tattooed by anyone you want if you book two months out, don't know if it's still the case by was last summer.

It was the clerk who was saying he wouldn't be available. The shop was closing up and I literally caught the artist as he was walking out the door, I'm sure if that wasn't the case he would have spent a few mins and signed me up right there. Meshing schedules was the issue. With the "consult" yea its like a few minute thing. He fits in consults on days he already has appointments with people. He found a day that he had open (Sundays are the only day where I didn't work and he did) and then he just set up the consult a week before that. I left. I realized the consult day was the long weekend i'd be out of town. So that is what messed everything up time wise. Now I want more then just an Eagle. ANd in fact aren't really that conerned with the eagle.

[David Flores]

It was the clerk who was saying he wouldn't be available. The shop was closing up and I literally caught the artist as he was walking out the door, I'm sure if that wasn't the case he would have spent a few mins and signed me up right there. Meshing schedules was the issue. With the "consult" yea its like a few minute thing. He fits in consults on days he already has appointments with people. He found a day that he had open (Sundays are the only day where I didn't work and he did) and then he just set up the consult a week before that. I left. I realized the consult day was the long weekend i'd be out of town. So that is what messed everything up time wise. Now I want more then just an Eagle. ANd in fact aren't really that conerned with the eagle.

Makes more sense, getting schedules to lineup can be tough. I guess I just find it weird how people do business, and how it works for them and how it shapes what is expected in a tattoo shop or the process of getting tattooed in the general public's eyes. Getting a good tattoo is not that hard, once you know what a good tattoo is, and I am sure it will work out fine.

[equilibrium]

I'm curious about folks with ADD/ADHD....anyone have experience with or have adhd that can give me some tips on getting tattooed? I have none and my mind is working on a piece but have always put it off because I can't sit still that long and and am pretty vocal person (ie/ if something hurts I'll curse, etc) Always feel like I'd be the biggest PITA so I haven't gotten anything done yet. I'm concerned about not being an arse while there...haha

[TrixieFaux]

I'm curious about folks with ADD/ADHD....anyone have experience with or have adhd that can give me some tips on getting tattooed? I have none and my mind is working on a piece but have always put it off because I can't sit still that long and and am pretty vocal person (ie/ if something hurts I'll curse, etc) Always feel like I'd be the biggest PITA so I haven't gotten anything done yet. I'm concerned about not being an arse while there...haha

Do you take ritalin? I know two brothers with ADD who didn't start taking ritalin until they were adults. They swear by it--helps them calm their minds, get organized, etc. Of course...back in the day they shared it with me. Had the opposite effect haha. Those days are over. Good times.