"Respect and Loyalty"

With Respect and Loyalty being the topic I will be explaining some of Tattoo Artists BIGGEST problems with this but I wont be listing ALL the ways to disrespect us, I will just pick a few out of the many..MANY different ones and how it ties into Loyalty as well. 

Respect is a very, very large part of this industry. With that being said, a HUGE problem that we all encounter is the amount of DISrespect we face. We are a business based on trust... if you don;t have respect for us as people, artists, business owners... then there's no trust.. if there's no trust then we cant do our job and well... that just doesn't work does it? Just because you're coming in to have the saying RESPECT AND LOYALTY permanently placed on your body doesn't mean you show or demonstrate it.. just saying. 

One of the Number One ways to disrespect a tattoo artist is to cancel an appointment that you have had at the exact time you should be walking through the door... giving an excuse about why you cant show, THEN posting on facebook the proof of the opposite of what you said.. 

Now there are a few things wrong with this.. Problem 1: The Cancellation. If you cancel an appointment at the exact time you are to be walking through the door then we can't schedule someone in your absence so we lose double money and possibly a client. If we have to turn away a new client because we couldn't take their walk in due to the 2 o'clock appointment you had and didn't show up to.. then we lost that walk in, their business and money and yours as well.

 On the topic of money that runs into problem 2: Your excuse. You call at the appointment time giving us a sob story about not having enough money in your check this week or you lost $100. That's sad and it sucks and believe me I know what its like to work your ass off, then when the check arrives you curl into a ball and cry at the amount that you DON'T see. That being said you don't have to give us this whole sob story about how you don't have the money. All we need to know is that you cant come then we handle the rest. Ok done deal. 

Problem number 3 is: Facebook. So now you've canceled and given us the excuse.. but half an hour later (time frame into the appointment you should have had) I or my Staff see you post on facebook about how you're on a shopping spree right now and got the best $200 deal at Macy's, or you're on your way to Atlantic City to spend your paycheck, party hard and have a great weekend..... But.. wait.. Didn't you just call saying you had no money in your paycheck and couldn't afford the $80 tattoo appointment that you've had for months? Didn't you call saying you were broke? THAT is disrespect.  Please, do not get me wrong... your life is NONE of my business but if you took the time to call me to cancel your appointment and come up with a story that will help your situation and then post all over facebook KNOWING I or my shop can see it... THAT is my business because you've made it PUBLIC at this point. Easy fix. DON'T FRIEND YOUR TATTOO ARTIST ON FACEBOOK IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIE TO THEM!!!!

I LOVE having my clients on my facebook. I get to see what tattoo ideas they may post online and then offer up my services. I get to see them post the pictures of the tattoos I give them and all the responses and reviews I get. But if you are going to stand me up, lie to me about it and be disrespectful to me and my shop at any point of our client/ artists relationship then DON'T add me. I can clearly see what you lied about and like I said before your life is none of my business but when you screw me out of money and time... I don't take kindly to that.

Onto the other part of this post... LOYALTY. 

Now loyalty comes in many different ways. We have clients that are so loyal to us as artists and a shop that they have permanently tattooed our shop logo on them and are basically a living, breathing, walking billboard. Do I expect every client to be THAT loyal? No. Absolutely not. But a bit of loyalty is always a nice thing. For example, if you are walking down the street and someone stops you, compliments your tattoos and then asks where you get them done.. you think for a minute then list multiple spots in the local area... STOP, REWIND... The person who stopped you asked where YOU get them done and if you get them done at my shop I would hope you say my shops name. However you answered multiple shops.. not just the one you go to therefore that person you encountered has less of a chance of coming to our shop and experiencing what you did. I can't control what you respond to people but it is nice when the response is one that puts people in our direction. 

Second example is once again FACEBOOK! I've seen that classic notifications "so and so tagged you in a comment" you go and read it and its on someone else's status that reads "Where is a good tattoo artist? What are they good at? Looking for some new ink." Your comment reads something like "oh you should go to my artists Such and Such at this Shop located here, their specialty is color and they're cheap... or you can go to this shop.. I've heard they're good.." Why would you mention that other shop if you go to the first one you've mentioned? You say you would NEVER go anywhere else so why even suggest it? That's one of those Loyalty AND Respect moments... Oh and you called us cheap... really? Now were budget friendly or "Fair and Work with the Client". Not Cheap.  

Or I've even come across a comment suggesting to go to me and then suggesting to check out my "competition" because were "both so good at what we do".. then continue to say that you are going to my competition for a tattoo that you PREVIOUSLY commissioned me for!!!! Let that sink in.. I won't even explain how disrespectful that is on so many levels.. 

I see the posts of new pictures of new tattoos when you stood us up but went somewhere else because they were "cheaper" or "closer to home"... once again see above Facebook Respect paragraph ^. 

 

Last but not least one of the biggest most disrespectful things you could do to a tattoo artist that also has to do with loyalty is: Standing us up to go get the tattoo done by a local scratcher.... BOOM! Big Problem. 

1: This is a problem because people know you've been coming to my shop for years... they see the new picture of your ink up on facebook and AUTOMATICALLY think it's from us but... it confuses them because it doesn't look like our work. This is not only a problem because it is attached to our name (loosely) but now that person may have the idea in their head "well if that's they type of work they're doing now ill never go there!" and THAT is unfair to us and them as potential clients. 

2: If you made an appointment with me or even if you didn't and you're just a "loyal" customer and you decide to go to a scratcher to get a tattoo you are giving me a HUGE slap in the face. For those of you who don't know a Scratcher is someone who tattoos out of their house, demonstrating NO cleanliness or attention to cross contaminations, infections and germs.. they are not licensed or trained in anyway and will more than likely give you the worst tattoo of your life ( But hey it was cheap right?). Now that youre up to date back to the point. You stood up a clean, professional safe place to get a great tattoo for a dirty chair in a hotel room or kitchen (also call them Kitchen Magicians) some cheap ink and an Ebay tattoo "gun". Doesn't get more disrespectful than that. 

3: Yes its YOUR body and your choices but going to a scratcher instead of a professional causes problems for the professionals. Scratchers usually don't monitor ages as well because.. why would they? So when that 16 year old they tattooed in a Hotel gets caught at their house with a new tattoo and the mother flips out, demands they tell her who did it to them and they decide to lie and think of the FIRST shop that comes to mind guess who gets the threatening emails or phone calls? That's right.. The professionals. Us. Who wouldn't DREAM of touching that 16 year old but they were scared so they lied and said it was us. Or maybe that mother who was flipping out is a dedicated customer to us and that's why the 16 year old said it was us. That's even WORSE because then we lose their business as well!  Honestly, no one has time for that so please just stop. 

The sad truth of the matter is I could go on and on about how we face disrespect every single day in this industry and I probably will write another article later on about different ways but for now I hope this opens some peoples minds and eyes into our reality. I'm a person just like you who deserves respect and I appreciate all the customers/clients I have that give it to me. Thank you for reading. Cheers. 

"That One"

As tattoo artists when I say something like “That One” we usually all automatically know who im referring to. Those of you who are not in this line of work, I shall explain. “That One” refers to that ONE client that thinks everything you do revolves around them and they are your ONLY customer..They think your business would suffer without them and that's the only thing you strive to do.. their tattoo. Let me expand a little bit.

Example number one: “That One” calls and would like to make an appointment. You gladly take the call, chat about the design and what is wanted and you make the appointment. Then the appointment day comes up. Now, they have stopped in prior to the appointment to drop a deposit down to ensure that they WILL be showing up at exactly 5PM. Well 5PM that day rolls around and guess what? They aren’t there! Then your phone rings and its them. You ask where they are and their response is something of the following: “Oh my bad i’ll be there in half and hour no big deal bro” or “oh well i’m going to be late so ill just show up at 7 since that's better for me” or even “ well i’m late anyway so i might as well just make it tomorrow at noon, see you then”.

Heres the many problems we have with this. Number 1: Oh my bad, no biggie dude is not the way to speak to the person who you want to tattoo you, especially if its a FEMALE like me. Number 2: If I made your appointment for 5PM then there is a reason I made the appointment for that time! Not only may there be a person in the slot directly after you but I may have been leaving early for reasons I should not have to tell my client. This is a business not a frat house where we share every personal bit of information. The appointment that was directly after yours is now being pushed back and that does not look good for me or my business, it is unprofessional and frankly quite stressful. Not to mention my shop closes at a specific time and I will not be starting your 3 hour tattoo 2 hours late going past my closing time. I have a family and reasons I close at that time at night. I am a very accommodating person but I won’t jeopardize my plans and rules for anyone. Now Number 3: I assigned the appointment at 5PM on a specific day for a reason. That means it had to be the day i assigned..not the day afterwards at noon. That slot is not available therefore I made it for the specific time slot that you are now trying to currently change.

As a business woman it absolutely infuriates me when someone comes into my shop acting like they own the place. You are coming to me for something you want so please show a bit of respect for me and my business. Please do not misunderstand any of what I am saying. I love my job and clients but this type of behavior is not only uncalled for but down right rude to us as artists and business owners. We strive everyday to accomplish our dreams and bring happiness to those who need it. This does not help us reach this goal. Unfortunately this is a problem that is world wide and ALL tattoo artists have to deal with. It makes our jobs just that much more difficult, especially for a female tattoo artist. We find that clients, especially Male clients with little respect, do not take it well when we enforce our rules of the shop and respond with a “No”. We stand our ground and stay strong and that may result in a not so happy client because this client is not just any client… they are “That One”. “That One” does not know that they are wrong, that they are rude and that they are borderline ridiculous for acting in such a manner that may put a damper on your client/artist friendship. So they continue, even after you have dropped hints, subtle examples of exactly what they are doing or even flat out telling them they are wrong. There is a fine line between figuring out a reoccuring problem trying to fix it and completely losing a client because you lost your temper and yelled at them for making you mad. Unfortunately that is something we battle with on a.. not so everyday basis but more like twice a month type problem.

Depending on where your shop is this could be a local problem, happening all the time, or just a sometimes problem that will be easily handled. It is sad to me that tattoos artists have to deal with this at all.  There are so many things us artists have overcome just to do our job on a daily basis that this should not be one of them.

As I said before this may occur when “That One” calls but it is even more frustrating when it is through any type of social media or texting. “That One” insists on blowing up your phone or facebook asking you “How much this costs? What time are you open? What do you think of this design?” and then proceed to send a million messages of pictures of what they are thinking of getting. Now at my shop we like to treat our customers with respect, love and like they are family. However when we clearly respond with “I am not working right now please contact me during business hours” that is not us trying to be snotty or rude. That is us trying to be professional and responding to the client to let them know we are not ignoring them but we are also not at work so won’t be doing work related things. Ten o’clock at night is not an appropriate time to ask if a feather flowing over your collar bone saying “be free” would look sexy in your bikini and when can you come get it? We are tattoo artists not security for an overnight bar.. chances are we aren’t even awake due to the ridiculous amount of time and work we put in everyday. As humans we are allowed to be tired which occurs more often than not. I feel as though some people look past this and just expect us to continue going day in day out without getting tired or running out of steam, i’m almost sure of it. I realize that this day and age tattoos are much more popular than they were back when they first started to surface but this doesn’t mean that we don’t have families, friends and plans, dates and vacations to go on as well as the occasional blissful sleeping that we’ve heard of. I love being a part of such a demanding industry and I would never take it for granted but these occurrences makes it difficult to enjoy our jobs. Clients are what keeps us going, and believe me we appreciate it, they are the heartbeat to our body. It makes it so much easier when they appreciate us as much as we do them.

Just remember clients, don’t be “That One”. Stay tuned for the next post. Cheers.