First No Call, No Show!

[ApprenticeLife]

I think I'm officially a tattooer now! Haha. It was my only appointment this week too (my teacher dislocated his shoulder on Monday, so it was the only time I could book for myself). The client and I have been in touch off and on all week, but he never called the shop or sent me a message saying he couldn't come today. Just silence. It's all good, because a super nice guy offered to let me do my first script on him tomorrow morning.

All sarcasm aside, one of the biggest things I've learned in my apprenticeship is that people LOVE talking about the tattoo that they "want" to get, with barely any intention of actually getting it. I take deposits when I schedule for my teacher, so we don't have many no-shows, but what makes a person think it's ok to do that. I realize that tattoos are a luxury for people, but it doesn't make it any less serious when artists have family to support and bills to pay. Imagine going to work and your boss saying, "By the way, you're getting paid $500 less this month" and that's with just one no-show.

I mean, I'm an apprentice with all of 11 tattoos under my belt, so I get it if people have second thoughts on letting me "practice" on them, but just be straight up with me. Either way, I'm SUPER motivated to just drop some undeniable lettering on this guy tomorrow and make anyone that thinks I'm not ready to tattoo them be bummed. These "practice" tattoos are only going to be free for so long. I can't wait to have "friends" ask for, "just this small, simple tattoo" and respond with "Sure thing. Shop minimum is $100. Will that deposit be cash, card or check?" Hahaha thanks for letting me vent : ) Wish me luck tomorrow.

[cltattooing]

Welcome to tattooing, haha. Deposits are definitely crucial for avoiding that situation. Not much you can do with that when the tattoo is free though. Also don't ever sweat taking a deposit from someone, I take deposits from even my friends. Also fuck the people who don't want to pay for your services when you get to the point where you can charge for them.

And also for future reference, this thread would have been better as a blog post. It doesn't drum up any real discussion that people here can relate to, mostly because there are like maybe 5 tattooers who still post here? If that?

[ApprenticeLife]

Welcome to tattooing, haha. Deposits are definitely crucial for avoiding that situation. Not much you can do with that when the tattoo is free though. Also don't ever sweat taking a deposit from someone, I take deposits from even my friends. Also fuck the people who don't want to pay for your services when you get to the point where you can charge for them.

And also for future reference, this thread would have been better as a blog post. It doesn't drum up any real discussion that people here can relate to, mostly because there are like maybe 5 tattooers who still post here? If that?

Yeah. I'm not too upset about it. Just made me feel like a real tattooer. Haha. I use the deposit as a test. If someone comes in saying, "I want a sleeve/backpiece" and doesn't have at least $100 for a deposit, it's probably not time for them to invest in a multi-session tattoo.

And I figured it would spawn some discussion on how serious to take tattooers as workers. I find that people, even experienced and heavily tattooed people, don't tend to respect the pressure of tattooing as a livelihood. It wasn't until I tattooed for the first time, and experienced the physical/emotional aspects of dealing with people, their appearance and their blood, that I fully understood how serious it is. It's not all hanging around and drawing; it's physically, emotionally and financially draining.

Anyway, not sure if you meant that there is a better section to post this or if I should post this on my blog... but I don't have a blog, so someone can delete it if it's taking up space. Maybe it can make room for the next, "I want my first TAT! Wut shud I get?" ; )

[cltattooing]

Yeah man, it's impossible to fully understand until you do it. I think just dealing with people with the utmost professionalism and care is the only way to get anyone to take you seriously. Cause people do take it seriously, and I think in some places more than others, but all you can do is just be a class act and take precautions to not let folks dick you over.

Haha and I didn't mean that, threads like that are dumb and there doesn't need to be more than one of those kinds either. Just that every user on LST has a blog under their account and that this site has multiple purposes and other areas where you can make good contributions :) Like this thread to me, reads like a firsthand account of your day, which reads like blogging so I just wanted to be like "hey look! We have that too"

[ApprenticeLife]

Yeah man, it's impossible to fully understand until you do it. I think just dealing with people with the utmost professionalism and care is the only way to get anyone to take you seriously. Cause people do take it seriously, and I think in some places more than others, but all you can do is just be a class act and take precautions to not let folks dick you over.

Haha and I didn't mean that, threads like that are dumb and there doesn't need to be more than one of those kinds either. Just that every user on LST has a blog under their account and that this site has multiple purposes and other areas where you can make good contributions :) Like this thread to me, reads like a firsthand account of your day, which reads like blogging so I just wanted to be like "hey look! We have that too"

Ahhhh! I see! I had no idea that was a thing. I only access Last Sparrow with Tapatalk and I can't seem to find the blog option through here. I'll have to check out the website, because I would love to write about my experiences more. Thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated. And I agree, I'm learning that I'm great with being professional and real with existing or potential clients, but I totally can talk some shit about it later. Hahaha

[marley mission]

i can relate

i'm a social worker who works in a school but also have done private practice for about 15 years

people are assholes is the answer you are looking for

ah the stories i could tell

and while you do deposits

alot changed when i started charging cancelation fees

i myself think no call no show is about the rudest thing you can do to a professional

but its part of the game i guess

anyway

good luck with your tattooing career

i forget if i follow you on IG?

[AverageJer]

I'm a social worker too. Crazy job that requires lots of tattoos to cope.

I'm relatively new to getting tattoos so I can still kind of relate to not really getting the full scope of skill and talent it takes to be good at. This is probably true with most (or at least many) professions and most of us humans are more than willing to take others for granted without giving it much thought.

Good luck to the OP. For what it's worth, I like new threads and tend not to notice the blogs as readily.

[Boiled Dove]

I find it tremendously rude to just flake on an appointment with no communication. I also get very annoyed with people who are late for meetings/appointments. That just shows a lack of respect for the other person's time; that they feel their time is more valuable than yours.

I've worked for myself and owned a restaurant in the past so I fully understand the feast or famine nature of your business and how one missed opportunity can wreak financial havoc.

I was actually really glad to hear that when I went in to book today's session that my guy was having to book things a month out instead of the week and a half to 2 weeks he was at last year. He is a solid tattooer and a damn nice guy and it seems to me that consistently having a month booked ahead of you would lead to a sense of some financial stability in a volatile market.

Sorry if I ramble, still on my first cup of joe.

[Dustingormley]

I totally get where you're coming from about the physical/emotional stress. I did my first tattoo on a friend not too long ago (at a shop) and I was blown away with emotion. I knew I was going to be nervous, but I didn't anticipate my reaction. After I was done I felt amazing, but during I was stressing hardcore. The entire aspect of dealing with a living breathing canvas is a whole different ballgame especially since I'm not particularly a "people person." I relaxed a bit more on my second one, and with time I hope I can chill out completely.

As for the no call no show; every street shop deals with that. It's usually people who make appointments over the phone that don't show up. In general people don't think of tattoo shops in the same way they think of other professional offices. Once an artists girlfriend came in and was bugging him about something and he was drawing for an appointment. She got pretty steamed because he wasn't giving her his full attention. He said something along the lines of; how would you feel if I came to your office and tried to talk to you while you were busy working?