good client behavior

[Rikhall]

Yeah I probably shouldn't have mentioned that, I have started tipping since, I understand the way it works and tip everything in America or Canada depending on where I am,

It's just a big cultural thing from England, where it's more the price you see is the price you pay unless the service is excellent, and usually only in a restaurant

I do love my tattoos and this thread has changed my opinion of the matter a lot, not that I wasn't doing it on purpose before it had just never crossed my mind

And thank you I've got a healed one from Bert I should post soon

[jimmyirish]

that doesn't change my feeling that creating art is different from serving me food.

Whilst I understand where you are coming from, I can't help but feel that there are more similarities than you'd think.

I am a bartender, I'm not a college kid working in a bar for some extra cash or someone who can't find any other form of employment. This is the profession that will feed my family someday, and I take my work seriously. When you go into a bar and order an Old Fashioned, your not just buying a drink, your buying a memory and an experience- you should be treated with attention, care and respect.

Tipping is a recognition that you have received that respect, if your bartender doesn't do this then you shouldn't tip him. He needs to learn. I don't think it really matters if you run food or make beautiful tattoos for a living, you tip because you appreciate the service you've received.

I always tip my tattooer and I'm super pleased to learn that some of that tip will make its way to the front desk, because a good tattoo shop, like a good bar is a rare and wonderful thing and i can imagine it takes a hell of a lot of work to get right.

[irezumi]

I must've missed a post here, and

I don't think it really matters if you run food or make beautiful tattoos for a living, you tip because you appreciate the service you've received.

thank you.

*edited thoughtless post

[misterJ]

I like the ideas here. I feel that where I love now many people EXPECT to be tipped for a job being done regardless of their performance. This has actually made me want to tip

People way more when I recognize they are personalizing the experience.

I've been putting thought into how to tip for a large tattoo, especially now considering what irezumi said about it contributing to the shop guys as well.

[growltiger]

I've been to two well regarded London studios recently (Family Business and Black Garden). Being English, I felt terribly awkward about the whole tipping thing but wanted to express my appreciation for what I consider to have been great experiences all round. Both times I asked at the desk on my way out and received the same answer: not expected but appreciated. I also asked how much and was told that most people don't tip at all so anything is great, they gave me a suggested range and I went with the upper limit of that range (because I'm in a position to do so, but I didn't feel it was expected). It wasn't a percentage, they gave me a range regardless of total tattoo cost.

I hadn't considered the shop folk, but now I've read that I'm doubly glad that I tipped as much as I could. In both shops they were fantastic.

Anyway, hope that helps a bit when people are trying to decide whether to tip or not in the UK.

[Valerie Vargas]

I think that's a terribly inappropriate question.

[irezumi]

I think that's a terribly inappropriate question.

You're absolutely right. I posted that thoughtlessly. Pardon me. I know better than that.

[nomadland]

Whilst I understand where you are coming from, I can't help but feel that there are more similarities than you'd think.

I am a bartender, I'm not a college kid working in a bar for some extra cash or someone who can't find any other form of employment. This is the profession that will feed my family someday, and I take my work seriously. When you go into a bar and order an Old Fashioned, your not just buying a drink, your buying a memory and an experience- you should be treated with attention, care and respect.

Tipping is a recognition that you have received that respect, if your bartender doesn't do this then you shouldn't tip him. He needs to learn. I don't think it really matters if you run food or make beautiful tattoos for a living, you tip because you appreciate the service you've received.

I always tip my tattooer and I'm super pleased to learn that some of that tip will make its way to the front desk, because a good tattoo shop, like a good bar is a rare and wonderful thing and i can imagine it takes a hell of a lot of work to get right.

sorry going to have to disagree with you here..

Tipping is a custom invented by big business so they don't have to pay you a decent hourly wage.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah I probably shouldn't have mentioned that, I have started tipping since, I understand the way it works and tip everything in America or Canada depending on where I am,

It's just a big cultural thing from England, where it's more the price you see is the price you pay unless the service is excellent, and usually only in a restaurant

I do love my tattoos and this thread has changed my opinion of the matter a lot, not that I wasn't doing it on purpose before it had just never crossed my mind

And thank you I've got a healed one from Bert I should post soon

Don't bow to the resident bully's pressure mate.

Ive from OZ and have got over 200 hours from an American artist in the US and never once tipped!

Artists also need to understand that clients from other places might not know or understand local customs and be understanding of that. Generally speaking any US artist worth travelling to get a piece off from half a world away charges very high hourly rates for this exact reason. A rate that usually prices out most US citizens as there minimum wage is quite a bit lower.

edit. If the poster in question spent the same amount of time on getting better at tattooing, rather than posting on here, he might not have to whinge and bitch about not getting tipped as he could charge a higher hourly rate.

[polliwog]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but can we talk about something more exciting than money? Like, I dunno, baked goods? Sexy hairy man legs? (I love that almost every picture appearing in the widget right now is of hairy man legs.) It just seems like the topic of tipping has been exhausted. Perhaps it's not my place as a non-moderator to say this, though.

Hair removal is actually one I've wondered about - if it's not a part of your body that's usually shaved, is it better or worse to shave beforehand?

[nomadland]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but can we talk about something more exciting than money? Like, I dunno, baked goods? Sexy hairy man legs? (I love that almost every picture appearing in the widget right now is of hairy man legs.) It just seems like the topic of tipping has been exhausted. Perhaps it's not my place as a non-moderator to say this, though.

Hair removal is actually one I've wondered about - if it's not a part of your body that's usually shaved, is it better or worse to shave beforehand?

don't shave. If you do it yourself its possible that the area could develop a rash etc before you get to the artist in question. If its the legs for men, you can clipper it beforehand but don't razor it, let the artist do that

[Breakme]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but can we talk about something more exciting than money? Like, I dunno, baked goods? Sexy hairy man legs? (I love that almost every picture appearing in the widget right now is of hairy man legs.)

Hell yes! Nothing further to add.

[Rikhall]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but can we talk about something more exciting than money? Like, I dunno, baked goods? Sexy hairy man legs? (I love that almost every picture appearing in the widget right now is of hairy man legs.) It just seems like the topic of tipping has been exhausted. Perhaps it's not my place as a non-moderator to say this, though.

Hair removal is actually one I've wondered about - if it's not a part of your body that's usually shaved, is it better or worse to shave beforehand?

Deffinatly let the artist shave unless it's really long or thick then trim it before, I actually shaved one of my recent tattoos about 10 days into healing because it was causing it to itch more than usual, shaved it and the itching went down again

[Mick Weder]

Tipping is a recognition that you have received that respect.

Different cultures, different expectations I s'pose.

See, in Australia - well my generation anyway, we show respect a complete different way, through gesture.

I tip my tattooer every week! with a couple ice cold ones & a chat before we begin. Old time respect ;) Fuck! we don't even like talking money. We do it once & move on :)

[sighthound]

Yea, I feel tipping is a pretty personal thing. Tip if you are comfortable and for your own reasons, not because it is customary or expected. Like @nomadland already said, it's more of an institutional phenomena than a true 'custom'. And discussions like this perpetuate the fact that tipping is now expected rather than optional, at least in the US.

Not trying to be a cheapskate or anything lol, I still tip my artists

[Pugilist]

Tipping conversations on the internet are the WORST.

@polliwog - feel free to ask the artist what they'd prefer re: shaving! I've only had one actually let me know upfront that I should do it myself, a couple have said they don't care either way, etc.

[tatB]

Hair removal is actually one I've wondered about - if it's not a part of your body that's usually shaved, is it better or worse to shave beforehand?

I've never been asked to shave before an appointment... but I once showed up to an appointment and the artist said "shit, I forgot to ask you to shave the area for the tattoo". So next appointment I'll pre-shave.

[DevilMan]

I always shave the night before an appointment, in the shower, this way i have the least change of a rash or whatever and is the skin 'calm' after the shaving.

Tattooing alone is enough trauma to the skin, it doesn't need the red burning and itching feeling from a dry shave before we even start tattooing

(and i think it's a waist of time doing it in the tattoo shop (and i've got plenty of hair so it takes a while to shave ;-) )

[Tesseracts]

I bought an epilator recently, I recommend those. Although I lost mine so I haven't gotten to use it before a tattoo. I always shave before the tattoo, but I'm female so I'm used to shaving my legs without cutting them. Shaving cream is enough to avoid rashes for me.

[hellbunny]

Last time I was getting tattooed a guy came in for his appointment and he'd just about disembowelled himself trying to shave his stomach for the appointment, I think if you are handy with a razor, shave, if you're not maybe leave it for your artist. ;)

[MadeIndelible]

I shaved my thigh for my first tattoo. The tattooer (reputable) was the slightest bit surprised, but he didn't say anything about not doing it. He just shaved the edges a little more so that the stencil could fit perfectly.

[Lance]

<<< Japanese ;-)

[MadeIndelible]

I'm Filipino, or at least a quarter. I have really hairy legs, but everything else is pretty bare.

[Pugilist]

I bought an epilator recently, I recommend those. Although I lost mine so I haven't gotten to use it before a tattoo. I always shave before the tattoo, but I'm female so I'm used to shaving my legs without cutting them. Shaving cream is enough to avoid rashes for me.

You TOUGH. When I was a preteen and wanted to start shaving my legs, my very Old Country mother was absolutely anti-leg shaving and compromised by buying me one of these. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch.

[beez]

<<< Japanese ;-)

Ahahaha thanks lance, I giggled.

I had ultra hairy (for me) calves when I started on my leg. I wasn't expecting to work on my calf and wore knee socks thinking I was super smart because we were only working on my thigh, and she could access that really easily if I just pulled up my skirt - I really planned for this and thought I was super smart, but she had other plans and I stood for an hour on a chair with my hairy legs out for all. She did not shave them, and hasn't shaved any part of me (okay, this is getting weird) before tattooing me ever.

And then the next day my feet were really dirty looking because it was raining and black dye from my shoes melted on to my feet as I was walking to the shop so I had hairy legs and dirty feet (though I was freshly showered).

So I guess this is an example of good client *intentions* :p.

Next sitting I had a pedicure and leg wax. (Starting to sound remarkably similar to a date. Hm.) Hopefully made up for the time previous!

[Euchlid]

I always make sure I eat a really good breakfast before an appointment, like a big bowl of oatmeal or something that can give you fuel for a while. I also make sure to pack a couple snacks for the break so I don't have to get someone to run and grab me food (although when I was a receptionist at a shop I never had an issue with getting clients food).

I also bring a bag of skittles. The big bags double as a bit of a stress ball squeeze thing for the really spicy spots.

As my latest tattoo was on my thigh, and I don't have the greatest skin I made sure to be really diligent about exfoliating and heavy moisturizing in the week leading up to it. I wanted to give my artist the best possible skin to work on.

I also am usually pretty quiet while getting tattooed. But keeping my eyes closed and focusing on breathing properly works well for me, I have been told that I sit really well by everyone I've been tattooed by so it seems like a great technique!