1/5 -- Terrible experience, especially for something I had planned for years…read more
I genuinely hate leaving reviews like this, but my experience with this shop was unacceptable.
I came in on my birthday for a Haku tattoo that I had been planning and looking forward to for years. I was originally quoted $900. The artist, Abi, convinced me to make the tattoo significantly larger than I had originally wanted.
We then waited about an hour and a half for her to get started and work on the design. Once we were finally supposed to begin tattooing, her machine was dead, so we had to sit there for roughly another hour waiting for it to charge.
But the worst part happened after the tattoo had already started.
When Abi was almost completely finished with the outline, the shop owner walked over and asked, "So what's the plan here?" I was then told that because of the size of the tattoo -- the size I had been convinced to get -- and because they now considered it a "half sleeve," the $900 was only going to cover the outline. If I actually wanted the tattoo finished with color, I was told it would be another $500.
So the price effectively went from the $900 I had been quoted to $1,400 after the tattoo was already outlined on my body.
At that point, what exactly was I supposed to do? Walk out with an unfinished outline covering my arm? It was my birthday, I had planned this tattoo for years, and I was already committed once the tattoo was on my skin. The way the additional charge was presented felt hostile and incredibly money-driven.
After paying all of that and finally finishing, I wasn't even given what I would consider adequate aftercare wrapping. No second skin was offered. My tattoo was covered with Saran Wrap and tape, which started falling apart almost immediately after I left the shop.
To make matters worse, the finished design did not come close to the reference image I had provided. When I later brought up the things I was unhappy with, Abi told me that I only had three months to receive a free touch-up because that was supposedly the shop policy.
That three-month restriction was never explained to me at my appointment. What I was told was that touch-ups were free. Neither my partner nor I remember being told there was any three-month deadline.
When I pointed that out and tried to address my concerns, Abi blocked me on Instagram.
That was apparently the resolution after I spent $1,400 on a tattoo I had dreamed about for years.
I can deal with delays. I can deal with mistakes. What I can't accept is being quoted one price, being convinced to increase the size of the tattoo, having the price substantially increased after the tattoo was already on my body, and then being blocked when I raised concerns about the finished work and a touch-up policy that was never clearly communicated to me.
This should have been an awesome birthday memory. Instead, the entire experience left me feeling taken advantage of.
avoid this shop
