I think that the issue is that if an artist set a high price, people wouldn't go back because it was a high price (ostensibly, despite that they would go back if it was a low price that they tipped upon).
I think the breakdown here might be that some artists own the shop and some artists pay a booth rent or a percentage of the overall pay. So while some artists get to keep everything they charged you, some might have to split it with the shop owner. Probably best to discuss this stuff up front and know the whole situation. I could understand an artist splitting the gross pay or paying a booth rent hoping for a tip.
Unfortunately in places where someone rents out a space like hairdressers or tattoo artists, tips are a big part of how they sustain themselves, at least in some setups.
Yeah I don't get why americans act as if they're the only nation that pays taxes, rent or whatever. Generally, majority of the world operates that way. People just set the prices that work for them with that in mind.
If the shop owner is taking 40% of your earnings (a common split for shops is 60/40), raising your prices to compensate doesn’t effectively negate the problem.
If a tattoo is $1,000, the shop owner takes 400, leaving you with 600. If you raise your prices to $1,500, now you keep 900 (90% of the previous price of $1k) and the shop owner gets 600. However, a 50% increase in your prices is going to mean sticker shock for people walking through your door, and your prices are likely outpacing the dozens of other artists in your area. Unless you’re very fucking good, most folks are going to go someplace else.
1) some places limit what you charge or give you a range.
2)higher cost of the service itself will not solve the initial problem. If 30% goes to the shop/salon, then charging more means you're still paying out to the salon a lot. If you go by tips, the hairdresser or tattoo artist keeps a lot more.
Okay, so their price should take into account their operating costs. They should charge enough to cover that. Why charge less and hope for tips to cover their expenses?
If the parlor demands a 50% cut of jobs, and the artist needs $100 to break even on supplies, they have to charge the customer $200.
Alternatively, the artist can charge the customer $150, and hope for a $30 tip, which is technically a win-win sort of situation in an absurdly capitalist sort of way.
If the parlor demands a flat $50/day for the booth and overhead, then the artist needs to charge you $150 pretty straightforward.
So on and so forth, scaled up for whatever profit the Artist hopes to make.
Oh so your cool-guy hypothetical in your own comment would never happen then because they won’t let you in their chair to begin with? Well you sure showed them, in your own fantasyland.
That must be a US problem. I have a few tattoos and never encountered an artist expecting a tip. They will bill you the previously agreed price, you pay, have them take a few pics for their insta, have a cup of coffee and a chat, then leave.
This is tipping in a nut shell. We tip because we want to reward, encourage better treatment towards us from service, and also we tip because we know we can’t really do much about the greedy owners who push down their employees. Sure we can vote but at the end of the day I’ve never had a politician respect my wishes even after calling their office.
We tip because we want to reward, encourage better treatment towards us from service,
This doesn't make sense at the individual level because the payment is rendered after the service has already been provided. Tipping might have a larger, cultural impact on the behavior of those expecting a tip but you can't say that your individual choice to tip had any impact on the service you specifically received unless you're tipping up front (in which case you're not "really" tipping - you're bidding).
We tip because we want to reward, encourage better treatment towards us from service
We're not tipping to get better service, we're tipping to avoid bad service in the future. It's coercion, there is no good will. I can't remember the last time I received truly GOOD service that made me feel like they earned a few extra dollars, but of course I'll tip every damn time.
and also we tip because we know we can’t really do much about the greedy owners who push down their employees
This is the sob story to loosen your wallet, but it's not real in most cases. There's a legal requirement for tipped staff to earn minimum wage, and it's a vast minority of owners who would actually do anything against their employees for it.
sometimes it does indeed work that way. you don't tip? next time you go, they're fucking with your stuff.
it doesnt' happen all the time, but it happens enough. it's a bunch of high school educated deadbeats back there going to work after smoking weed, i had someone slip a lime in my burrito once because my tip was too little probably. it was a fucking take out order too.
sometimes you tip when they don't deserve it and still get burned.
i haven't ate out in like 6 years. saved a lot of money, and also didn't have to eat someone's spit, bugs, or whatever shit they put in your food for not tipping enough
That just sounds stupid to someone from a country with no tipping. I usually go to places where people are nice because they're nice, not because they expect surprise money from me.
I spent a few weeks in the usa for vacations, I absolutely hated the fake smiles in the restaurants, which instantly disappeared when the tip wasn't as much as expected.
Where I'm from people are just nice no matter what
That indicates to me that they might intentionally not do a good job unless I pay them extra on top of a price tag they already dictate, and that's pretty predatory. That's not someone I would want anywhere near my skin.
For repeat places or places where you tip before you receive your purchase (like delivery services), it's not actually a tip for providing good service, it's a bid. You're bidding on being the one to receive exceptional service because you paid more up front.
I think it's stupid either way and would rather just pay a higher price for things up front.
I’ve had artists who have set hourly prices, and then at the end they’ll just shoot me a lower price for a piece rather than an hourly rate. Usually I’ll happily tip because I’ve been going to most of my artists for years.
But yeah one time I went in for a “free touch up” of just…clearly poorly done lines…and when I got up and walked out for free the dude was clearly butthurt. I mean, as an artist I get it, but also I paid for it to be done properly the first time (and tipped), so why would I tip again for the correction.
in my experience only, my artist has been spending extra time with me outside of the tattooing process to work out how the tattoo will look, so i've been giving her extra because i appreciate her patience working with me. i've spent 6+ hours at the shop when the tattooing has only taken less than 3hrs
FYI, not every tattoo artist sets their own price. If they work in a boutique style setting where they aren't technically an employee, they set their own price. If they're an employee of the shop, they don't set their own price more than likely. However I will say most tattoo artists are of the kind where they set their own prices.
It sounds like they operate like hair salons in that scenario. The business says "Haircuts $50" so all customers know what it costs, and the barbers pay some amount to have access to a chair in the shop, but have to charge the same prices for their services as anyone else there.
Even then, if you don't like what you're paid then that's a problem between you and your employer, not the customer's business to figure out the economics of every individual business and employee they visit.
Sounds like it depends on their arrangement with the shop. From what I have gathered an example would be the artists pay a % of sales to the shop as “rent” but then keep all the tips for themselves.
Yes, mostly. The shop takes a cut so for that $100 flash tattoo they are getting 50-70% of that and they want more. A lot of shops run flash specials which is a constant stream of small money and not where the good money is. The shop is going to have little sayso on price if you are wanting something larger and custom.
Anyway, tipping is out of control just raise the price and be done with it.
It’s a type of etiquette tbh. Most artists charge by the hour and will often round their final prices down. A tip is just you acknowledging the extra value they’re giving you. It doesn’t have to just be cash either, a six pack or a preroll typically work just as well
They could round their prices up instead? That way the client does not have to guess at 'extra value' provided and can simply agree to the price set out.
If they did that, they would always end up charging clients more than what they quote, and people already think $100/hr is too much. It’s not like they’re giving people bling estimates either; some pieces only go over by a handful of minutes, but others can take an extra 20-40 minutes. At which point it’s up to the artists’ discretion whether to charge the additional hour or not, and like I said: most don’t.
There’s a mutual understanding that your tattoo is permanent, and good artists will put in the extra effort to make sure you’re satisfied with their work. It’s entirely up to you if you want to tip, but I hope you can understand why people, such as myself, gladly do.
Because anyone who's actually gotten tattoed knows artists will generally give and estimate high/low just like every other industry that charges larbor by the hour.
If you don't trust them to be honest, then you can feel free to just pay a static price which will likely just be the highest in the estimate. Do you just think everything that is billed by the hour is a scam?
1.4k
u/tiandrad 9h ago
Why would you tip them? Don’t they decide what to charge you?