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Tattoo tipping [Resolved w/pics!]
i n c u b u s
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So I'm gettin my third tattoo on sunday but am still confused on whether or not to tip the guy afterwords. I didn't tip for the first two and it went fine but I still wondered after if it was a douche move or not. I mean he's makin money off me either way right? What do you guys think and how much? For reference the tattoo is about 200-250$.
See my last post on page 2 for the result of my story and some pics!
See my last post on page 2 for the result of my story and some pics!
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My tattoo was 250 and I gave her 300.
But most of my friends have, and they always tip generously. If you like the quality of the work too it helps to build a good relationship with the artist so you can go back in the future.
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I mean unless he fucks up.
But here's something I've never understood.
Why am I tipping this guy who is making $100+ an hour? I think that kind of moves him out of the tipping bracket if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I still do because it's expected and this guy is on me with a needle, but still, it's ridiculous...
You figure someone works 6 hours a day making $100 an hour. $600 a day X 4 days a week = $2,400 X 4 weeks = $9,600 a month. Take away even HALF of that and he's still way out of the bracket of people who should be getting tips.
I tip my tattoo artist, and since I work at a restaurant, I bring him food all the time too. It's a nice give and take.
Make it a habit to be friends with your doctor, butcher, and tattoo guy.
EDIT: To clarify a bit, you're not a douche if you don't tip. Most professionals understand that tattoos are fucking expensive luxury items so tipping on top of an already substantial amount can be quite a big deal. I don't think many artists will end up looking at you worse for it unless you really come off as ungrateful. Usually a 'man this is fucking awesome' does the job enough. It does go a long way to show that you appreciate and respect the work they did. Be enthusiastic about the job they do (if they do a good job) ask for business cards. Bring in friends who are interested in tattoos and be a friendly face around the parlor. A tattoo tends to mean just as much to the person getting it as the person applying it, so it shouldn't simply be an "exchange cash for goods and services" situation. People don't tip because the artists wouldn't make enough money otherwise, they do it because it's yet another way to show your appreciation and thanks.
Tattoo shops work on a salon model. the tip is a way of giving the guy cash directly above and beyond what he's meant to split with the building. Of course, now-a-days, shops no longer take the lions' share they used to, and tips are usually pooled, but that's the origin of the practice as I understand it.
I host a podcast about movies.
If it works on a "salon model" then he merely rents his space. He's still walking with a TON of money.
rent, power, water, heat, and equipment are all things he has to pay for
the 100$ isnt directly into his pocket, he has to pay for many other things
Did you bother to read my post? I pointed out that if you took away even half of what he was making he'd still be hitting around 60k a year. Last time I checked $100 is on the low end of the hourly scale as well.
Do whatever you want. But as most of the people here have pointed out, it is customary to tip. Frankly, if some guy or girl is going to spend three hours putting good art on me, the entire time staying inside the lines and not fucking it up, they deserve a tip. I consider that a far grander feat then some guy managing to pour beer into a glass. No offense.
Yes, and that is reflected in me paying him $100+ an hour.
I do far far far more than pour beer into a glass, but I'm not abut to throw this thread off the rails.
EDIT: And like I said, I have more tattoos than probably everyone in this thread combined and I DO tip. I just think it's a silly practice in regards to tattoo artists.
i think that as a person that depends on tips as a part of income, you have a skewed view of tipping...
most people on the other hand couldn't care less if the waitress or bartender isn't making enough to cover their rent or feed their kids... they tip b/c they appreciate prompt and good service, and want to ensure that this service continues... essentially it's a combination "appreciation-award" and "bribe"
by this logic, tipping a tattoo artist who is placing permanent artwork on your skin, is required
tipping a McDonalds clerk or Walmart cashier is not required... and i'm certain that you don't tip these low income people either?
If as a bartender I was paid more than minimum wage I would agree that tipping wouldn't be required. Tattoo artists make money hand over fist, so your logic doesn't really work I'm afraid.
Like I've already said, I do a lot more than punch keys on a register. Try and ask a Walmart employee how to make a Ramos Gin Fizz (or most bartenders for that matter). My job is a skilled profession where I make a low base wage, thus the tips increase my pay to reflect my level of skill. Tattoo artists skill is represented in the hourly fee they charge.
yes i did read your post, but what you aren't understanding is that owning your own business doesnt make you rich
also from your logic that means he would have customers solidly booked for an entire day with no one breaks in between
edit: a lot of people depending where they are from don't tip in bars either
tipping is a good idea for any service-based industry, but I don't know that I'd say it was necessary
tip if he did a great job and you expect to come back to the same artist, he'll remember you and good things may happen
6 hours is a solid day since when? I know plenty of tattoo artists that are booked solid for months in advance. I'm not talking the shitty walk-in places here.
In my six years of bartending I've been stiffed less times than I can count on one hand. I work in quality places though, so...
Overheard is not 3/4s of their income. I'm not sure where you're pulling that number out of.
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A tattoo artist pays for: needles, ink, insurance, space and utilities. A tattoo that takes an hour to do will probably also involve thirty minutes to an hour of talking to the customer, during which they will not be paid.
From a tattoo artist on the intarwebs
Bartending is a complex, tough job. However, it's also a job that anyone can learn to do. Anyone. I don't think I have a single friend who didn't bar tend at some point in their lives. Tattoo artists have to have a knack that not everyone has. You also pick ones you like and keep going back to them because of their style. Think of the base price you pay for a tattoo as the flat fee for the labor. You will, hopefully, have chosen an artist whose work you really like. Tipping them well is how they are distinguished in pay from the guy down the street who just does flash all day.
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No, how they're distinguished in pay is by what they charge per hour.
All the places I've gone are owner operated, not tattoo sweatshops, so who knows?
Even at a 50% commission rate they're still taking in upwards of $50 an hour and you want tips on top of that? Really?
And I dunno, I've seen some hopeless bartenders out there...
Tipping is meant to convey to the artist that you enjoy their personal touch to the piece enough to throw them a little extra cash on top of what the "going rate" for the tattoo might be. It's operating under the assumption that you could have gotten the same tattoo for about the same price anywhere else, but this one was worth a little extra because of the personal touch they put in that you could not have gotten had you visited a different artist. Of course there are other ways of achieving this objective just as well, but tipping has become the most commonplace because it's simple and pretty universal. Not tipping doesn't make you a douche, but if you didn't like the job enough where you deemed tipping was not warranted, I would recommend not going back to that particular artist and finding one who is worth the tip.
If you have 3-4 artists pulling 5 hours a day, that's 1500-2000 a day, gross, before any tips or secondary sales. If you have piercing in the building as well, that's mostly profit and most of them take <1 hr to handle. But we won't worry about either of those factors. Materials cost MAYBE 20 dollars an hour of tattooing. So our 2000 is now 1600. Run the shop with 15 booked days at 75 percent commission and the house has 6000 dollars toward overhead. If you have help, you hire them from a pool of people lined up to work for minimum wage and credit, or apprentices that are practically indentured.
Tattooing is a fucking gold mine. The only reason more tattooists don't live on nob hill is because artisticness occupies the space in their brains where sense and ability with money normally go.
They do not NEED the tips. The tips are an outdating pricing convention. That said, the tip is, in reality, part of the price at the current time, so you should tip if you can. And any time you can tip in cash, you should, if pleasing the artist is the really reason for the tip. Even if the artist is the shop owner, he'll like not paying the "visa tax" on the tip.
I host a podcast about movies.
My tattoo artist is amazing. He takes the bare bones sketches I have and turns them into works of art. He doesn't charge for the extra time he takes to re-draw the tattoo. I've never been dissatisfied with his work.
I usually tip about forty to sixty dollars. It's enough that he remembers me and is always willing to accommodate me when my work schedule makes it hard to get an appointment.
I know he doesn't own the shop and I like to make sure he walks away with something he doesn't have to pay out on.
I don't know much about tatoo artists, but I have a feeling it is fairly difficult, and not much room for error.
the point the op is making is that the price of tattoo is already quite high, and where restaurant tips basically represent almost independently contracting the waiter, the tattooist gets a large portion of that high price already. They don't have the same relation to the "sticker price" that waiters do. Tipping them is more about being polite and patronizing them (in the historical sense).
I host a podcast about movies.
also keep in mind it might be better to tip non monetarily. i gave my guy an awesome art encyclopedia of buddhist symbols and he loved it since that was his thing
Yeah seriously. You tip a waitress because they didn't fuck up your order. You tip a tattoo artist because they didn't fuck up your body for life.
Also, if they're a nice person, too. When Spawnbroker and I went to the tat parlor to get his tattoo done, the artist made great conversation. He was intelligent, well spoken, funny, and nice. He could have just sat there working for 2 hours in complete silence if he wanted to, but he didn't. That, I think, is worth tipping just by itself.
Check out my art! Buy some prints!
This is just not clicking in your head.
Becoming a doctor takes even longer, but I don't tip them do I?
It's not the overhead or whatever that's taking out of his price, it's the hours that he works per week. Unless you're top shit, then it's hard to find enough clients to fill a 40 hour work week, let alone a 20 hour one. That's where a lot of the cost comes from.
All the skilled people here in Portland are booked out weeks in advance.
I've never seen an unintentionally idle tattoo shop. I'm not calling you a liar, but I have not personally seen it.
I host a podcast about movies.
Of course you're more than welcome to not tip your tattoo artist, but if the guy/gal does a great job, is friendly etc. and is someone in general you'd go to again because of their level of service, I don't see why you wouldn't want to go the extra step for them. Especially if they, like in Alyce/Javen's examples, go the extra step for you.
Yea the Artist I see in a town of 150k has a calender that goes out three months in advance and the only openings are only ever in the last two weeks of the calender. I've personally seen this guy calender and some weeks he actually puts in a good 40 hour work week. Its crazy how popular he is and the business he works for.
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I host a podcast about movies.
So wanna see the end result? Check it out and again thanks for all the replies:
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