issue with a tattoo studio

Alan b.

Okay, looking for advice on what to do/how to handle a situation with a tattoo studio, and more specifically, an artist in said studio.

My sister went to get a small tattoo recently in a studio in mullingar.
I'm not going to name them just yet before I go any further,

The tattoo is vert small and very simple.
And after the tattoo, she took a lot of care of it, and kept it as instructed by the artist.
Worth mentioning she has 5 tattoos already and I've a lot of work done too including half my leg completely covered. So we know the hazards of not looking after the tattoo.

After a a couple of weeks, the tattoo still looked like it was scanned over, the black ink looked as if it still had skin over it, and almost looked like a splinter would look under the skin. There where some gaps in the lines where it looks like he didn't put the ink in deep enough or not enough ink.

We went back to the studio two weeks ago first thing as the studio opened to show the tattoo and see if it could be touched up.
The tattoo artist wasn't there, but the guy who was there said yeah, it would need to be touched up, and said touch ups if needed are free on work they've done.
He said he couldnt fit us in until late that day but as we couldn't stay around that late we hadto arrange.a better date and said we would call and book an appointment and said it would probably be a week away as she was away for a few days. That's fine, just give the shop a buzz in advance was the reply.
I should say I was with her at the shop.

So, no issues there,
I called the shop on Wednesday last to arrange an appointment for somethime over the weekend, we where told they where free Saturday, and after reminding them who was calling the artist the artist asked if we could do a 4pm appointment.
We where hoping for a first thing in the morning appointment as it wouldn't be a very long sitting but what can ya do.

So Saturday comes, and having driven from Dublin, we where just parking the car, and she notices a missed call from about 10 mins before from the shop.
She called them back as we walked up to the shop. It wasn't the artist that answered, but the guy who does the piercings or manager. And he tells her tha he was calling to cancel her appointment.
She asked why, and was told that they where a bit busy today and wouldn't be able to do it today. (keep in mind, its a one word tattoo less then an inch long in plain black.)
She told him she was outside now, and that she was after driving from Dublin to make the apointment, and he asked her to hold on a second and could be heard saying to the artist that she was after driving from Dublin. He came back and said "yeah, sorry but there's no way we can do it today, that's why I was trying to call you earlier."
(the phone call 15 mins before the appointment was scheduled)
She told him we would be up in a second as we where outside the shop.

So, she goes through it again in the shop, and the manager basically says the same thing, there's nothing he can do and won't be able to fit her in.
My dad was looking through the artists portfolio at this stage as he was considering his next big piece and pointed out that the tattoo was so small that it would take all of 5 or 10 mins to do, and that the cost of driving up and down and paying for parking and then having to do the same again on another day at this stage costs more then the tattoo actually cost to begin with, and that it wasn't exactly an issue where she didn't look after it, it was an issue with the tattoo being done wrong.

He said it to the artist again, who looked up to see the tattoo, and ten looked back to what he was doing with barely a grunt, that apparently meant he couldn't do it today.
So we where left with no confidence in the when or if he would be ever free to do it.

More annoyingly, the artist didn't even have the decency to come and speak to her about it and just ignored us.

At this stage if it was me, I don't even think I would want to get it fixed by that artist and certainly wouldn't trust him with my usual 8 hour sittings.

What do people on here recommend as to a solution.
The only issue I've had like this was a bit of touching up that was needed and the artist done it without question over a year later as I was on holiday abroad when I got it done.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Go somewhere else.

Alan b.

well that would be my opinion aswell, but the issue is,
the tattoo is so small and simple, that i cant see her getting it fixed without having to pay the full hourly rate of the studio, or, having to wait till she is getting her next tattoo done to have the artist touch it up while doing it.

oh, and i was mistaken, i thought it was the manager, but in fact it was only an apprentice that was doing the talking which makes it all the more frustrating that the artist wouldnt even stop what he was doing to talk to her.

is it worth the hassle trying to look for money back?
would you wait and let the artist finish it when he has the time?

Mansized Wreath

What studio?

Melion

So you expected him to stop the tattoo he was doing? Break down his station and set up for your sister, then break down that station and go back to the tattoo he was doing originally? That's not how things work.

SolvableKnave

Alan b. wrote: »

I called the shop on Wednesday last to arrange an appointment for somethime over the weekend, we where told they where free Saturday, and after reminding them who was calling the artist the artist asked if we could do a 4pm appointment. We where hoping for a first thing in the morning appointment as it wouldn't be a very long sitting but what can ya do.

So Saturday comes, and having driven from Dublin, we where just parking the car, and she notices a missed call from about 10 mins before from the shop. She called them back as we walked up to the shop. It wasn't the artist that answered, but the guy who does the piercings or manager. And he tells her tha he was calling to cancel her appointment. She asked why, and was told that they where a bit busy today and wouldn't be able to do it today. (keep in mind, its a one word tattoo less then an inch long in plain black.) She told him she was outside now, and that she was after driving from Dublin to make the apointment, and he asked her to hold on a second and could be heard saying to the artist that she was after driving from Dublin. He came back and said "yeah, sorry but there's no way we can do it today, that's why I was trying to call you earlier." (the phone call 15 mins before the appointment was scheduled) She told him we would be up in a second as we where outside the shop.

Seems to me that the artist shouldn't have started another piece when they have an appointment booked Melion. And to try and cancel the appointment 10 to 15 minutes before the agreed time is, quite frankly, extremely bad form and unprofessional. Then for the artist to not even ATTEMPT to try and talk/explain/lie to their face is just the cherry icing on the cake.

Melion

SolvableKnave wrote: »

Seems to me that the artist shouldn't have started another piece when they have an appointment booked Melion. And to try and cancel the appointment 10 to 15 minutes before the agreed time is, quite frankly, extremely bad form and unprofessional. Then for the artist to not even ATTEMPT to try and talk/explain/lie to their face is just the cherry icing on the cake.

**** happens in a studio, his earlier appointment may have arrived late, something may have had to be changed for that tattoo which took up some time. The artist most likely didn't know the person was travelling from Dublin to Mullingar to get a tattoo, something which makes no sense to me.

I don't see where the artist lied.

Melion

And the little quip from the OP about the guy being "only an apprentice" is ridiculous. Does the OP think he knows more than this "lowly" apprentice because he has a tattoo on his calf?

And I'd like to know how the artist managed to look at the tattoo while ignoring his sister, some talent there.

Danpad

**** like this does happen...in **** studios. An appointment was made, you did your bit and turned up. 15 mins notice from him to cancel is not enough regardless of whether you live next door or in another county. I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy if you booked him to start a sleeve (and he scheduled the whole afternoon to do so) and then you rang up a few mins beforehand and said "nah, I can't make it." Obviously things are a bit more fluid in studios and a degree of flexibility may be called for with both parties but to turn you away at such short notice is really bad form. If I were in your shoes I'd gladly pay more money to to avail of another artist's proffesionalism and courtesy.

Star Lord

Melion wrote: »

So you expected him to stop the tattoo he was doing? Break down his station and set up for your sister, then break down that station and go back to the tattoo he was doing originally? That's not how things work.

Unless you're directly involved here, and were working at the studio in question, I'd love to know why you're getting so defensive over something that was extremely bad form on the part of the artist/studio. And if you are, declare that you are instead of just jumping on the posters in this fashion.

If they were not going to be able to fit them in, 1: why take the booking in the first place, and 2: why not simply move everything on a little rather than cancelling with 10-15 minutes to the appointment time?

Sounds to me like they already had the money from doing the tattoo in the first place, so the people coming in for the touch-up job didn't matter to them.

andrew241983

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

Unless you're directly involved here, and were working at the studio in question, I'd love to know why you're getting so defensive over something that was extremely bad form on the part of the artist/studio. And if you are, declare that you are instead of just jumping on the posters in this fashion.

If they were not going to be able to fit them in, 1: why take the booking in the first place, and 2: why not simply move everything on a little rather than cancelling with 10-15 minutes to the appointment time?

Sounds to me like they already had the money from doing the tattoo in the first place, so the people coming in for the touch-up job didn't matter to them.

+1

money was in the back pocket and he had no interest in doing the touch up

Melion

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

Unless you're directly involved here, and were working at the studio in question, I'd love to know why you're getting so defensive over something that was extremely bad form on the part of the artist/studio. And if you are, declare that you are instead of just jumping on the posters in this fashion.

If they were not going to be able to fit them in, 1: why take the booking in the first place, and 2: why not simply move everything on a little rather than cancelling with 10-15 minutes to the appointment time?

Sounds to me like they already had the money from doing the tattoo in the first place, so the people coming in for the touch-up job didn't matter to them.

I am in no way affiliated with the studio in question, never even been in Mullingar. I understand both sides of the argument. How would you feel if you were getting tattooed and the artist turned around and asked you to take a break for 10 minutes while he does a small touch up for another customer?

That's one thing, then you have the cost to the artist of having to dispose of all the needles, inks, whatever else he is using at the time, get set up for the touch up, then get set up again for the original tattoo he was working on.

It's obviously very unprofessional on his part to have double booked like that but as I said earlier, anything can happen in a studio where appointments run on past the expected time and if they are "in the zone" then they won't stop just because they've reached a certain time. I know I have had to change appointments at short notice(never 15 minutes).

Star Lord

Melion wrote: »

I am in no way affiliated with the studio in question, never even been in Mullingar. I understand both sides of the argument. How would you feel if you were getting tattooed and the artist turned around and asked you to take a break for 10 minutes while he does a small touch up for another customer?

That's one thing, then you have the cost to the artist of having to dispose of all the needles, inks, whatever else he is using at the time, get set up for the touch up, then get set up again for the original tattoo he was working on.

It's obviously very unprofessional on his part to have double booked like that but as I said earlier, anything can happen in a studio where appointments run on past the expected time and if they are "in the zone" then they won't stop just because they've reached a certain time. I know I have had to change appointments at short notice(never 15 minutes).

I don't think that they expected the artist to stop what they're doing/working on to do it, and we all know these things can take longer than expected, but I think that at 10-15 minutes till the appointment time, surely asking if they'd mind waiting instead of cancelling would be the way to go? I've often had to wait till after an appointment time to get work done while the artist finished off what they were working on, and I'd never have had a problem with that. Such short notice cancellation is pretty bad form though.

Melion

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

I don't think that they expected the artist to stop what they're doing/working on to do it, and we all know these things can take longer than expected, but I think that at 10-15 minutes till the appointment time, surely asking if they'd mind waiting instead of cancelling would be the way to go? I've often had to wait till after an appointment time to get work done while the artist finished off what they were working on, and I'd never have had a problem with that. Such short notice cancellation is pretty bad form though.

Absolutely but id rather know what piece he was working on at the time before slating him straight away. What time was the OPs appointment for? If it was a late appointment then the original piece he was working on might not have been finished by the time the shop closed. Theres not enough details in the post and is just resulting in people jumping to conclusions.

Also, why travel from Dublin to Mullingar of all places for a tattoo?

SolvableKnave

Everyone can appreciate that appointments can run longer than expected. I'm sure we've all been in the situation where we are either sitting for longer or haviong to wait while the artist finishes up with a previous appointment. In my experience, the artist has always taken the time to either tell me that he is running a little behind and would i mind waiting, or would i mind while he goes to his next client to explain that he is running a little late. This to me is perfectly acceptable, and somewhat expected, if the artist is behind schedule. The OP did state that the artist requested they arrive for a 4pm appointment. Again, to not even have the decency, regardless of how long it would take to finish the client he was working on, to explain to the OP and his sister that he was behind schedule is unprofessional.

Hellrazer

Melion wrote: »

**** happens in a studio, his earlier appointment may have arrived late, something may have had to be changed for that tattoo which took up some time. The artist most likely didn't know the person was travelling from Dublin to Mullingar to get a tattoo, something which makes no sense to me.

I don't see where the artist lied.

I agree but aswell as that a "5 or 10 minute" touch up isnt just a 5 or 10 minute job.The artists has to setup and probably breakdown his station from the last customer unless you want to be tattooed in someone elses body fluids.

That takes time.

I agree that a 15 minute cancellation is completely unprofessional but sometimes things happen that you cant control.He should have given you more notice.

I think theres more to this story than we`re being told.

Alan b.

just to clarify, i by no means think i know more then an apprentice,
in fact, the apprentice was far more polite and apologetic then the artist himself.
what i meant was that the artist had his apprentice make the cancellation and had him do the taking instead of talking to us himself.

also, of course we didnt expect that the guy would stop the current tattoo and do hers, that was not what was expected at all.
but was would have been nice would be more then glancing up from what he was doing and then turning away again mumbling to the apprentice.

there was no mention of doing it when he finished what he was doing.
simply, theres nothing i can do, he can't do it today.

we would gladly have waited to have it done when he got finished.

they did also know we came down from dublin as it was said when we called in that we would be coming from dublin.
why we chose to go to mullingar doesnt really matter as it has no relevance.

niallam

Would you have been prepared to hang around until he'd finished the tattoo he was doing?
That's what they should have offered you as tattoos can run over, a 4 hour sittings sometime turn into 5 or more

I'd personally go somewhere and not recommend them to anyone. I got tattood in kells last and was so happy I told my friends and since then the artist has gotten 3 new customers and all happy new customers too.

DeltaWhite

Keep hounding them until your sis can get it fixed. Dont take no for an answer and eventually the artist is going to have no choice or else it looks bad on him and his premises. And then dont ever go there again! There are a lot a places around where excellent work is done. You have to research these places and do some background checks until you find the best place for you

Melion

DeltaWhite wrote: »

Keep hounding them until your sis can get it fixed. Dont take no for an answer and eventually the artist is going to have no choice or else it looks bad on him and his premises. And then dont ever go there again! There are a lot a places around where excellent work is done. You have to research these places and do some background checks until you find the best place for you

This is exactly why i asked about Mullingar? The amount of quality studios in Dublin and you chose to travel to Mullingar. Pay peanuts, get monkeys is the phrase that pops into my head.

Esoteric_

Melion wrote: »

This is exactly why i asked about Mullingar? The amount of quality studios in Dublin and you chose to travel to Mullingar. Pay peanuts, get monkeys is the phrase that pops into my head.

Where did the OP say that they paid a cheap rate?

And why does the location seem to be such a big issue? I'm in Dublin and I plan to travel to Limerick for one of my tatts, and Manchester for another. The OP had a problem and you seem to just be jumping on the fact that they went to Mullingar. :eek:

OP, if it were me, I'd just go somewhere else. If they're messing your sister around, do you want her running the risk of being messed around again after travelling from Dublin? It'd be easier to just find a reputable place in Dublin and pay to have it fixed there. Pain in the backside, but it means no more hassle and things will be sorted out ASAP.

Melion

LyndaMcL wrote: »

Where did the OP say that they paid a cheap rate?

And why does the location seem to be such a big issue? I'm in Dublin and I plan to travel to Limerick for one of my tatts, and Manchester for another. The OP had a problem and you seem to just be jumping on the fact that they went to Mullingar. :eek:

OP, if it were me, I'd just go somewhere else. If they're messing your sister around, do you want her running the risk of being messed around again after travelling from Dublin? It'd be easier to just find a reputable place in Dublin and pay to have it fixed there. Pain in the backside, but it means no more hassle and things will be sorted out ASAP.

There are amazing artists in Limerick and Manchester so I can see why you would travel to those places. I don't see why someone would travel to Mullingar other than price.

Esoteric_

Melion wrote: »

There are amazing artists in Limerick and Manchester so I can see why you would travel to those places. I don't see why someone would travel to Mullingar other than price.

Could be a friend recommendation?

Star Lord

No point surmising and guessing why they went to Mullingar, could be any variety of issues, so please stop second guessing the OP.

Melion

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

No point surmising and guessing why they went to Mullingar, could be any variety of issues, so please stop second guessing the OP.

Thats why i asked and the OP said why they chose Mullingar wasnt important.