Got into an argument about this with a friend a few years back, I don't have any tattoos and this concept floored me.
It's literally a set, defined, unmoving price point that they can choose. "But I want to pay them fairly"
Ok, part of being a working adult is valuing your time and work accurately, therefore you charge appropriately. If you charge 200$ for a tattoo, and 100$ for your time, just say it's 300$
Do not ask the person to pay 200$ in the hopes that they will tip you 100$.
My wife worked as a server for a long time and she is adamant about tipping servers, our housekeeper, or anyone else she deems has a "struggle" job. But our landscaper, mail person, plumber garage truck drivers, get the payment they asked for.
Yea but there is "The World Of Should" that you're talking about, and then there's "The World Of Is" that we all actually live in. Whatever people "should" do or say is irrelevant if it's not actually how human beings behave, which we behave irrationally quite often about many things.
If the expected rules of engagement with this tattoo tipping culture don't make sense to you, that's totally fine! But if you're interested in a certain outcome, then it really doesn't matter what makes sense, your best bet is to take the action that will truly give you the desired result.
I have a full sleeve that took maybe 8 sessions to complete. I had my artist make 24 full page sketches of original art based on inspiration I gave, we selected our favorite 9 and that's what turned into the stencils. What I wanted is for my artist to think, "Wow this person is generously tipping, so I'm gonna try my absolute hardest to make my best possible work ever, and really take great care to make this sleeve my best artwork yet." So I tipped $100/session.
I don't really care if I should or shouldn't have to do that, or if the artist's result should be identical regardless of tip. Based on how human beings work, if my goal was to get the most beautiful sleeve done which is gonna last my entire life, I'm gonna abide by the rules of engagement regardless of my personal take on them.
cant you just ask them what they expect as a tip and can they just give that quote instead? or would that be offensive or something? idk i have one small tattoo from a billion years ago so idk the culture
I had my artist make 24 full page sketches of original art based on inspiration I gave, we selected our favorite 9 and that's what turned into the stencils.
Alright dude, clearly OP and everyone else aren't talking about this exceptional princely treatment that you're describing, lmao. What you're describing sounds utterly above and beyond (correct me if I'm wrong). In your case, I think a tip was appropriate.
Hey it's not my world, not my rules. I don't make em nor am I saying I like em. I'm not lumping anyone into anything. My only point is that in order to achieve the best outcome for a situation that involves other human beings, one would do well to expect people to behave like human beings and act in alignment with that. Humans from different cultures will not behave the same, so adjusting accordingly would be a good idea.
I'm not sure what you thought I was trying to communicate with my comment, because yours really doesn't make sense in response.
This just goes back to the origin of tipping, before it just became you paying employees wages in lieu of the business. Since it's art that is rather permanent while yes you pay for a dragon on your arm for $200 there is a wide range of how well they actually do the job. So it would be customary to tip if they do a really good job, because you're happy to not have a mediocre tattoo on you forever. Same goes for tipping barbers and stylists, you don't have a goofy haircut for a few weeks.
I'll say I generally agree the expectation of a tip for a tattoo is silly. especially for quick tattoos that are something of a stock image or "flash." I feel it's silly to expect a tip.
But if the artist charges the same hourly for custom or stock I understand paying for the prep they put into it. Even if I feel that should be baked into the price.
However really good tattoo artists are often busy and may no be available. One of my past artists now only does work for previous customers because he can't fit in anyone in. So as a consumer that would like to be prioritized, tipping is a way to be kept top of mind. Which is probably where tip culture comes in and now why it's the norm.
In general I'd agree, but I will admit that right now there is an actually significant thing that makes a real difference in the situation. Tips are taxed differently now. Depending on just how much a person earns through tips, the money is either tax free, or otherwise significantly lower taxed income than regular pay. Still, I'd want to negotiate the total price after tip before services rendered dependant upon quality work being delivered and let them fudge the numbers however they want to make whatever percentage of the total be "tip" vs regular price. Definitely not in favor of the coy game of trying to guess an appropriate amount to tip to not leave the artist hating me.
There's a subjectivity to the quality of a tattoo and you can't know the exact outcome until the tattoo is finished. The tip reflects that final portion.
Think of it like how a job might have performance bonuses.
It kinda isn’t though. I mean smaller pieces sure.
But a set defined and allocated price point for a full back piece that you can only estimate the timing on or number of sessions isn’t easy. They do it. But in those cases wouldn’t you think if you sat for multiple hours possibly over multiple days that the amount of work you were getting would denote a tip to the person laboring over you?
People here seem so weirdly against this. But man tattos can take a long time and go wrong so frequently in the process. If someone is spending loads of time on your body is that not worth a few extra bucks?
But a set defined and allocated price point for a full back piece that you can only estimate the timing on or number of sessions isn’t easy.
You can handle a flat sum or negotiate like an adult: "Look, that tattoo is a lot of work. It expect that it takes x to y amount of hours for a z hourly rate. Could be a couple more because I want to do it well so I'm not going to rush it."
But in those cases wouldn’t you think if you sat for multiple hours possibly over multiple days that the amount of work you were getting would denote a tip to the person laboring over you?
Not really, I spent multiple days in a row for my boss in the lab and nobody is tipping my ass.
This is the same challenges that a ton of jobs face though. I don't tip my contractor despite them laboring over my house for days and things going wrong. An experienced tattoo artist should just take all that into account and set their prices accordingly.
so you rather tip someone who managed to bring you the food which you ordered and not even made it instead someone who made something that sticks to your body for the rest of your life?
idk, especially when its something like art and i really like the result. i wouldnt have an issue to tip. i even give the person who cuts my hair a tip when i like the result.
i tip my artist cause i want her to make more than her split with the shop. she quotes me a cheap price knowing that i'll give her extra that she can keep.
Well, now that we're in the 20th century, neither are the clients. We decided to go for the service based on the advertised price. Your tax evasion schemes are not my problem.
Many shops around advertise at leasts rough prices. And even if they don't, you agree on the price before you start.
Or are you telling me that you think it's normal to render (expensive) services based on a "we'll figure it out later" agreement? Because if that's the case, it's not the tipping culture isn't the problem. It's that there are no competent adults involved in the process.
I've been to many tattoo shops, I've never seen a price advertised (outside of flash on a wall).
They might say "Shop minimum $80", but anything after that is up to the artist to decide what they charge.
I've got around 20 tattoos, I'd say half of them I didn't even ask a price before we finished. I go to shops with professionals and I have always trusted their price. I know the ball park of how much it's going to cost when I go in, sometimes I lowball it sometimes I overshoot it, but it's always in the range.
Then just tell the customer how much the tattoo is. Yall doing all this because you dont have the balls to do it with your boss. But the customer is the problem right? Lol kick rocks bro. That tipping shit is super played out.
So the boss shouldn't take a hit because...thats just the way things are done lol. And the tattoo artist shouldn't take a hit because they need money. So the customer should take the hit because fuck em. I guess its a good thing no one needs a tattoo. Fuck that anti-consumer bullshit.
when the chairs break, the artists dont pay to fix them, the stop does
ditto for lights, windows, POS systems, cleaning supplies, plumbing, etc
its the same for e.g. hairdressers. they pay a fixed rate per week or month for their chair in the salon, or a % of their income. and in return the salon maintains the building they use and usually does advertising/etc as well. ofc hairdressers can also advertise themselves and try to bring in more clients on their own, which they do, and which is good for everybody.
Sounds like something that can still be negotiated ahead of time.
"Tattoo can be 350, or just 300 if you pay cash and don't look at the receipt too closely"
Used to be a thing with plenty of businesses around here.
This all depends. I know many tattoo shops where the artist doesn't touch the cash at all, the head of the shop does. And if the artist takes the tip directly, that can cause issues, because of the splits.
genuine question from a non-tipping culture, if they're setting their own prices, why not make your price high enough such that the split is sufficient?
If I'm a shop owner with a fixed percentage of revenue sharing and I find out that a tenant is lowballing their prices but taking tips on the side I'm suing, kicking them out, or adjusting my agreement to take a portion of 'tips' because what they're doing is flagrantly violating our business agreement. You don't do business with people that lie to you.
the shop sets a shop minimum. other than that, pricing is up to the artist. she could tattoo my entire back for $100 and as long as she gave the shop half, that would be well within her rights.
If anyone deserves a tip, it's if someone comes up with the art from scratch from a description and they blew away expectations. If you can take an idea I have floating around in my head and come up with art that is significantly better than I thought it would be, you've created something more valuable than I initially thought I would get.
For some people, a tattoo is just a business transaction. Just money for a service, period. Other people get REALLY into tattoo, so much so that they try to develop a relationship with the tattoo artist/shop and be friends. They want it to be an intimate, personal thing. They want a little private relationship with the artist and then obviously feel the need to tip. Now some artists feel that exact way back and expect a tip. Some artists are probably like fuck you we're not friends, just give me the money I asked for and stop hanging around unless you buy something.
Tipping is a good way to get a lower estimate for better work. My entire leg was hourly minimum on a split with the shop because I tipped 100%. You’re not just tipping, you’re working shop fee against extra for your artist.
so are a shit ton of services where tipping isn't remotely normal or just doesn't exist. i wouldn't tip a mechanic, electrician, an artist that does commissions (non tattoo related), etc
so are a shit ton of services where tipping isn't remotely normal or just doesn't exist.
And how is that relevant to my reply?
I am simply pointing out that "it’s an agreed upon price that they set." applies to every other service people tip for. The comment itself is pointless.
I'm not getting tattoed in someones home, I'm going to a shop. If you want to be pedantic about it there are several factors in every industry that affect compensation and tip distribution. For all I know the shop they work at set their rates, it's extremely common for high volume and chain shops to have flat rates accross the board. On that same note for all I know the person waiting me owns the resturant. I eat out at small locally owned establishments all the time, I don't generally ask if the person who served me has ownership in the business before I hit the tip button.
At the end of the day every service you paid for is an agreed upon price, whether you're paying an independant contractor or an employee, theres an inherent implication that the person agreed to their compensation which is included into the price you agreed to pay for the service. Tiping culture is completely ambiguous, "you set the price" is irrelevant and applies to everything.
All artists I've gone to have done the same. I've never had an artist balk at getting what they asked for, because that's the price that they decided is fair. All the comments about "my guy was offended at 20%" or whatever are bonkers to me.
Sole proprietors should actually be insulted by tipping. It's like suggesting they lack the common business sense to set the correct price on their service.
they do price properly, most tattoo artists that i've recently looked into charge between 250 and 400$ an hour. Thats a mindblowing rate as is, ~2k a day minimum assuming you booked 8 hours. Lets assume they only work part time doing 20 hours a week, thats 240k a year before tax and fees like rent, bout 5k a year on supplies etc. Tell me why they need a tip on top of that?
Idk i hate tipping culture as much as the next guy but it always made sense with tattoos since arts subjective (especially if your sitting down before finding perfect measurements and alterations) not tipping is saying "its not up to my expectations/standards, im not coming back and im not paying full price for it".
Disagree, the price before tipping SHOULD be full price. Why would an artist price their work below what they actually want in hopes that a customer might tip them? That's a high risk
Idk that's just the logic I've heard from a couple. The hours of them drawing the stencil and getting tattooed you can always bring it up, get to know the person, ask them questions like why it costs so much, what kinda tattoos do you like doing, what's up with tipping? Etc. Id say like 80% of my tattoos have been free so i don't really mind tipping
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u/LiveIngenuitygirl 9h ago
Right? Like, set your price properly instead of making me guess the tip algorithm.