Do you tip your artist?

Diceicle

Do you tip your tattoo artist? If not, why not? If you do why did (do) you?
What would you say is an appropriate rate for a tip?

devodevo

i think its a good thing to tip your tattooist, how much i tip really depends on how long the piece has taken to do. Think about it if you go to a resturant and your waiter has been expecially attentive all night you want to do right by them and leave them a tip...the same should be applied to a tattooist in my book, if you believe they've given you a good service,leave them enough for a pint or two!

FTA69

No way, sure you're paying them €100 an hour to be attentive to their work, they can shag off with their tips!

hot2def

hey. i'm not saying people should tip, but unless you are being tattooed by the owner of the shop, you are probably not paying the artist more than 50 an hour....


And there's no artist whose making 50 an hour for their 8 hour day either. All the tattooists i know personally are making well under the average industrial wage, so there is no need to be snide about it.


i don't expect people to tip, Id rather see their face light up when they look in the mirror. but I'd also rather they kept their inflated and ill-informed ideas about how much money i make to themselves....


this country is crawling with begrudging eejits.

Hellrazer

hot2def wrote: »

And there's no artist whose making 50 an hour for their 8 hour day either. All the tattooists i know personally are making well under the average industrial wage, so there is no need to be snide about it.

i don't expect people to tip, Id rather see their face light up when they look in the mirror. but I'd also rather they kept their inflated and ill-informed ideas about how much money i make to themselves....

Well said hot2def its the attitude that Tattoo artists are making fortunes that has given rise to the amount of bad tattoos I see around lately.

FTA69

hot2def wrote: »

hey. i'm not saying people should tip, but unless you are being tattooed by the owner of the shop, you are probably not paying the artist more than 50 an hour....


And there's no artist whose making 50 an hour for their 8 hour day either. All the tattooists i know personally are making well under the average industrial wage, so there is no need to be snide about it.


i don't expect people to tip, Id rather see their face light up when they look in the mirror. but I'd also rather they kept their inflated and ill-informed ideas about how much money i make to themselves....


this country is crawling with begrudging eejits.

Chillax, I know full well tattooists aren't loaded. I was joking, hence the smiley.

Diceicle

I generally tip, I was just curious as to the attitutes of other people in the locality. Is there a % though?
I posted this thread after reading a (American) tattoo etiquette piece in some part of the interweb. The article in question recommended 15-20%. Would everyone go alone with this or just through whatever you could reasonaly afford to the artist, say 10 or 20 quid?

Star Lord

I'd say if you're happy with the work, then go with whatever you can reasonably afford.

In America there is an unwritten 15% tip rule in general though, regardless of what the service is.

Diceicle

I wonder if anyone is honest enough to come on and say "never have, never will" or something to that effect with regards to tipping.

In my own situation, tipping is something I've only started doing in recent years (if its worth it). Previously tipping was something that wouldn't have entered my head with regards to tattooing.

Here's another question, what makes one tattoo session worthy of a tip another not worthy of a tip?

hot2def

I tip my tattooist.

But then I also tip waiter/waitresses, hairdressers, coffee baristas and taxi drivers. I know the rude, disinterested guy is making the same money as the friendly helpful guy, so I wish to address that.

I am also an american. People don't seem to do the tipping thing here. Thats their call.

Star Lord

Diceicle wrote: »

I wonder if anyone is honest enough to come on and say "never have, never will" or something to that effect with regards to tipping.

I haven't tipped my tattoo artist before, simply because I couldn't afford to at the time.

If I go out somewhere for food etc, I usually tip, so long as the food/service was good.

Toots

I've never tipped an artist, just because I never knew it was the done thing. I've only recently started tipping my hairdresser, I alwasy just thought tips were for restaurants .

I wish I had left tips for Rob and Darren in Colourworks, because they were both fantastic! I'll be going back to them for any more stuff and if I'm happy, I'll gladly tip.

My other tattoo, I probably wouldn't have tipped because I wasn't too happy with the serivce in the studio.

Sweenox

I never tipped my artist and have been going to him for four years now,Ive always been very happy with the work he does but just never heard of tipping tattoo artists till now,I dont think I will tip either,I think I pay enough

Fantasy_Suicide

Only once have I not tipped an artist. Mainly because he did an appauling job of a very VERY simple tattoo - basic hearts on my hand/arm. Very easy thing to do, and they looked hideous! The guy charged me about 180e for literally 20mins of work. I swear, had I of known better at the time, I prob would have decked him.

Shimei

look after your tattooist and they'll look after you

FTA69

Shimei wrote: »

look after your tattooist and they'll look after you

They should look after you anyway, you're a paying customer. This tipping lark annoys the sh*t out of me, I don't tip anyone for anything. I mean if someone really puts themselves out there, like makes a big effort then maybe, but tipping as a rule? No chance. I mean, why tip a waiter or a tattooist? Do you tip the fella working in McDonalds? Or the mechanic who fixes your car? Or the girl who sells you your cigarettes? Or your butcher?

It's an American custom that has spread over here, God knows how.

And before anyone starts I'm currently a student on minumum wage in a service industry and I don't expect tips from anyone, I get paid to do my job as it is.

Star Lord

^ That just reminded me of "Mr. Pink" from Reservoir Dogs

[/off topic]

Diceicle

I was just thinking about this topic a little more and I got to thinking that while I do tip, I dont think it should be an automatic courtesy afforded to the artist by the customer. If you tip everybody, everytime, all you end up doing is rewarding mediocrity along with the genuine people who make the extra effort and who deserve it.
For instance, if I were to go to a tattoo artist with a design, he/she takes the design, stencils it, and tattoos it on without incident or issue, I dont necessarily think thats deserving of tipping. The artist did the job as requested.
However if the artist makes the effort to advise on colour, placement, maybe suggesting other elements to include for a more rounded or better tattoo, then I think that is worthy of tipping.
Sounds fair to me.

BadlyKneaded

I think tipping should be more a gesture of appreciation and not obligation.

When I got my last tattoo done in Snakebite I wasn't on great wages and I felt the tattoo was costing me a lot of money and I couldn't really afford to leave a tip as well as the cost of the ink.

However, when I went back 6 weeks later for a retouch, and wasn't charged, I really wanted to leave a tip to say Thanks! She seemed genuinely uncomfortable taking it and I said "Hey, I'd tip a hairdresser and what they do only lasts a few weeks!"

I think if you feel like the work is good and the service was good and you can afford it, then why not make the gesture?

tread_softly

i always throw 20 quid his way for my bigger pieces. for my ankles/wrist i didn't as they only took about two seconds!

Lilliput69

The guy that does my tats is the owner , he gives me a price for the full tat not the time it takes, i have never tipped him nor have i ever haggled him down in price, i feel i get value for money

FTA69

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

^ That just reminded me of "Mr. Pink" from Reservoir Dogs

[/off topic]

And he was right too.

Shimei

i tip my artist.
a few bob less that ill end up pissing down a lane

tread_softly

mark, you always word your opinions so eloquently

Fiona500

BadlyKneaded wrote: »

I think tipping should be more a gesture of appreciation and not obligation.

I agree. If you can afford it and you are happy with what they have done then there is no reason not to tip them. Doesn't have to be a crazy amount of money. My last tat was €90 so I gave the tattooist a tenner just to show him how delighted with it that I was.

mac123

would you guys tip after each session or just when its finished?

Will

when it's done

Captain Ginger

I do, concentrating on something for that long deserves a pint or two

RoodBoi

first tattoo i got i was chuffed with, small and to the point, gave me a real feel for tattooing when i wasn't so sure. lovely lady doing it too. so, i didn't know anything about tipping etiquette relating to tattoos, but i did try tip coz i was so happy and the lady insisted i didn't. not that it offended her, but she said i was charged more than enough for what i got (minimum charge situation) and i didn't need to pay more. is this normal practice or was this particular artist just being really honest do ya think???







www.tattoo.tv

Fiona500

RoodBoi wrote: »

first tattoo i got i was chuffed with, small and to the point, gave me a real feel for tattooing when i wasn't so sure. lovely lady doing it too. so, i didn't know anything about tipping etiquette relating to tattoos, but i did try tip coz i was so happy and the lady insisted i didn't. not that it offended her, but she said i was charged more than enough for what i got (minimum charge situation) and i didn't need to pay more. is this normal practice or was this particular artist just being really honest do ya think???

Wow! Clearly that was before the recession! It sounds to me like she was being really nice. Never known a tattoo artist to turn down a tip unless they are the owner. They don't get paid nearly what they deserve for all their hard work. I hope you went back to her for the rest of your mods, she sounds great!

RoodBoi

Fiona500 wrote: »

Wow! Clearly that was before the recession! It sounds to me like she was being really nice. Never known a tattoo artist to turn down a tip unless they are the owner. They don't get paid nearly what they deserve for all their hard work. I hope you went back to her for the rest of your mods, she sounds great!

haven't had anything done since but the place has since closed up shop i think. i wonder what they're doin now.