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.
Mostly because trust in a stranger that's providing goods or services goes only as far as my legal means to get them. It's not even that I assume ill intent. For all I know the other party might just not be qualified enough to gauge how long or how much it takes. I know what I need and I know how much I can afford, if you tell me half-way through that you think it might cost more, we're in deep shit.
Na. My tattoo artist charges $250 an hour. I have a rough idea of how much time it’ll take. I tell my artist how much I’m willing to spend. She adjusts the time she says it took accordingly. I pay her the price I said I could pay and she gets her tip out of that.
As with everything, it’s nuanced and the reality of what happens is somewhere in between both sides of the argument taking place here.
You know the hourly rate, not necessarily the exact amount of time it will take. If my artist says it should be two hours I have a rough estimate, but what if the spot they are doing is more painful than expected and it takes longer? Do I then take advantage of them and say “doesn’t matter if it took 3.5 hours, I’m only paying for 3”?
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.
I'm talking in general, not just tattoo shops. And even there, they are no less of a stranger than anyone else offering services. I spent more time with my doctor and I definitely wouldn't call them anything else than a random stranger.
If you feel lonely and want to make friends, knock yourself out. Might as well just give them money and call it a tip if it makes you feel any better. But most people want to go around their business, not be bothered by some para-social freaks bothering them in public spaces or losing their shit if they don't get free money.
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.
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u/LiveIngenuitygirl 9h ago
Right? Like, set your price properly instead of making me guess the tip algorithm.