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.
If you were a doctor or other "appointment needed" professional, no one would dare disrespect the time slot with the stuff of which you speak! They would be sent away & those that fit the "That One" description, would never even think of contacting you at all hours with that nonsense. I think it's about time people respect your time as a professional & understand that there are people who have been told "no I'm not available at that time I already have an appointment" who would have loved that appointment time for their tattoo. Rock on - you're doing great! MD
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