I have looked through the answers regarding if you should tip a tattoo artist and some dealing with how much, but I always see inconsistent answers….which is due to everyone and their opinion, so I was hoping to get some kind of solid answers from asking myself.
…..In May I will be sitting down for my 1st session of a 3/4 sleeve; in all there will be four, five hour sessions. The artist is the owner of the shop, well known, does great work, and charges $175/hr. The sleeve is going to cost around $3500. By the way, this is my first tattoo….yeah, starting off big.
Is a tip expected for such an expensive piece? (honestly I would feel weird not giving a tip…I think I’m more concerned about the perception of giving a $100-200 tip opposed to tipping around 15-20%, but I would still like to know if a tip is expected)
Do shop owners get tipped less than their employees?
If you do tip, how much would you tip particularly on this piece?
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x2….. i dont tip if it costs more than $500 for a general rule 😀 lol. but other than that, i usually tip $20-50.
Hi
The easiest answer is ask the artist and explain your financial position. Being polite and frank does not cause any bad blood or embarassment.
$3500 is a nice chunk of work and unless you are part of the monied elite it is likely gonna be breaking your bank account.
Here is an example when I got one of my tattoos done I was really pleased with it I offered to tip him 10% and he said no.
However in conversation he mentioned his son was struggling with his schoolwork in history in which I have a degree.
I gave him some free tutoring for his son and his son got through the class. I would have never known this was needed unless I had asked and it was no real big deal to me to give up an hour a week for 6 weeks.
There is no consistent answer as everybody has a different attitude to giving and receiving tips.
Take Care
Matthew
Hi Xander
No you are right we Brits are averse to tipping – but lets face it we get shitty customer service 90% of the time anyway.
How many places do you call up or go in and they treat you like they are doing you the favour by taking your business and not the other way around – doesn’t encourage the feeling of leaving a tip. 🙂
That said if I am very pleased with an artist or service I do tip but that is just me.
Take Care
Matthew
am i just tight lol ????
i think its a token of appreciation to the artist no matter where you live, but only if you want to….. its not expected !!
i got one tip last week, its weird because she had a piece done on her wrist but then went away on holiday the next day…. unfortunately she used savlon on it but had a reaction and she couldnt remember the other cream i advised her (bepanthen) any way…. long to short….. she came back for a touchup, nothing major just a couple of lines, when she asked how much it was i told her it was free for touchups…. while we were chatting she asked what do i drink and i thought nothing of it, she returned the next day with a 3/4 litre bottle of jack danniels for me.
plus her hubby has booked in for a cover up and she asked for a drawing doing up for her next piece…. 😀
ps… if they read this then thanks nicki & richard 😉
I think we are so used to tipping in the States (hair & nail salons, bars, food service, massages, etc) that it’s automatic to assume we tip tattoo artists as well. I think if you really like the work and felt they did a good job you can tip, but from what I have heard it’s not expected. I think at $175/hr you are already paying a good chunk. I would probably give an extra $20 or $40 if I was going to use the artist again in the future.
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