tattoo people- tipping question

I don't know about tats but with anything if I get a deal I still tip based on the original price (like where my friend used to work, we got free drinks and 50% off our meals, but I would tip based on the price of a drink and full priced meal).

ok, then, I agree with you, but what is an appropriate percentage tip?  I think I tend to over-tip at lot of the time...  based on the actual price, my husband tipped about 40%.  I thought the work was worth about double what he paid, so in that case he tipped about 20%.....

I didn't realize you are supposed to tip for tatoos.  Good to know.  I'm thinking of getting one for my birthday and I wouldn't have thought about that.

you don't HAVE to tip for anything, but it's good etiquette.  Especially if someone is doing something permanent to your skin.. LOL.. plus, if you like the artist and your tattoo, tipping increases the chances that they will remember you in a positive way and be eager to work on you again.  In some tight tattoo communities, artists will actually warn other artists AWAY from people who don't tip or tip poorly....

Ah, really good to know since there's probably 3 or 4 I want eventually.  It just never would have occured to me, but now that you bring it up it makes sense.

 I don't think I've ever heard of anyone tipping for tattoos here.... I don't have any tattoos yet, so maybe it's just sometihng I don't know about!  Or maybe it's just different here?

Liesje

I don't know about tats but with anything if I get a deal I still tip based on the original price (like where my friend used to work, we got free drinks and 50% off our meals, but I would tip based on the price of a drink and full priced meal).

That's what I do, too.  There's a little local restaurant that frequently has BOGO coupons in the paper, but I tip based on buying both meals w/drinks.  I guess I just don't think the waitperson should get stiffed because I got a good deal.

Joyce

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Liesje

I don't know about tats but with anything if I get a deal I still tip based on the original price (like where my friend used to work, we got free drinks and 50% off our meals, but I would tip based on the price of a drink and full priced meal).

That's what I do, too.  There's a little local restaurant that frequently has BOGO coupons in the paper, but I tip based on buying both meals w/drinks.  I guess I just don't think the waitperson should get stiffed because I got a good deal.

Joyce

I had my piercings done at the same place and they have a tip jar that says "Show us you are happy with our work & leave us a tip."

I don't really know much about tipping for body piercings so I think I just threw in a $5. But the piercing only cost about $15.

This is kinda the point of the post... It seems to me that nobody really knows exactly what they "should" be tipping, as in percentage based on total price and then up or down based on service/satisfaction from there....

I did a google search on tipping tattoo artists and found this on about.com: http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/a/tipping.htm. It has a quote from an artist on if he expects a tip or not. I've also been looking for anything from Miss Manners, but to no avail. Hopefully this helps a little?

This one too: http://askville.amazon.com/curious-supposed-tip-tattoo-artist/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=1619869

Apparantly it's not required and most times it is not expected.

THAT is a very interesting link.....

I love it because it's so completely different from my expectations as a client.  I expect to be able to provide a 20% tip minimum or I don't get tattooed.  I know in the long run that kind of defeats the purpose because then the artist makes zero instead of something, but it's what I am comfortable with.  As I said, I tend to overtip, at resteraunts, bars, whatever.. so I suspected that I might over-do it.  I wonder why I feel compelled to do that??

That said, I've never had a bad tattoo experience so I would tip anyway because I choose artists I like as PEOPLE to begin with,, maybe it's because I like them that I feel confused about tipping them.  What is an appropriate tip for your friend, you know?  it's kind of a delicate balance, I guess.  Too much feels like charity, and too little.. well you know.

 As for whether or not it's expected, I have overheard many a conversation about the "a-hole who didn't tip.." (I now work right next door to a tattoo shop- I'm afraid to ask them directly because they might someday tattoo me and I don't want them to think I'm fishing LOL)

badrap

  As I said, I tend to overtip, at resteraunts, bars, whatever.. so I suspected that I might over-do it.  I wonder why I feel compelled to do that??

For the same reason I do it ... if you're tipping 20%  it's easier to round the total up to the next highest number divisible by 5. If the bill is $32.00, I round it up to $35.00 and add 20%.  The difference between 20% of $32.00 and 20% of $35.00 is so minimal that if it was going to be a deal breaker I wouldn't be eating out in the first place. And it makes me feel sooo much smarter to be able to calculate it so fast. Have you ever been seated next to a table of little old ladies who have to pull out a calculator and spend an hour trying to figure out how to add the tip and divvy everything up four ways?

Joyce

$6.40 or $7. Um... anyway.

 I tipped my piercer $5 for a $20 piercing, but I was paying for two piercings and so I tipped $10. The three people I'd tip really well,  1) my piercer/tattooist,  2) my hair stylist,  and 3) my groomer. I'd tip a tattooist well, based on service and friendliness. 20% is propably about what I'd go.