Tipping your tattoo artist

2007-08-01 02:14 AM | 1 comments

Here is a question I was e-mailed about the common question “what’s a good tip?”

Becki Writes:
“I have a question about tipping. What is the proper way to calculate a tip for a tattoo? Assuming I’m happy with the tattoo, should it be based on the price, the number of hours the tattoo took or something else? How about tips for a free touch up?”

Thanks!
Becki

Well, Becki, tipping is entirely personal. And although it is customary, it’s not expected or asked for. (ie your artist shouldn’t ask you for a tip) The only thing I can tell you is the most common
amount for any tattoo or touch up, and the patterns I detect in my experience. people generally tip about 20 dollars or 10-20 percent,
whichever is higher, OR whatever they can afford. Some people tip in a credit card and round up to
the nearest logical amount, especially if they’re also buying a t-shirt and getting a tattoo, plus the credit card processing fee. It might end up with me getting a weird tip amount like $18 or something.
The largest tip I’ve ever gotten was $200 for an $800 piece. But I could also say that I’ve gotten more percentage-wise: from a $70 tattoo, I was tipped $30, making the amount an even hundred. Some people don’t tip at all. Some people tip only at the end of the project (like a large
piece that requires multiple sessions) some people are so excited about the tattoo they forget to tip or don’t know if they should or not, and end up not tipping.
Personally, I don’t really have a
preference. any tip is a good tip. Sometimes just knowing that the
person is happy and tells everyone they know about you and sends business your way is in some ways better than a tip. I had a girl bake
us cookies one time, that was cool. A guy that worked for a liquor distributor brought me a very nice bottle of wine from his collection. So a tip doesnt have to be money at all, it could be anything. It’s basically anything “extra” that you feel the tattoo artist has earned or will enjoy, or you feel like doing for them, in exchange for going beyond just slapping your tattoo on and sending you out the door.

I hope this helps … let me know if you have more questions :) xo nickhole