Getting my first piercing and I've got my friend with me for moral support. Called in to see about meeting their piercer. They said he'd be available at 2pm. We show up and he's not there, weird energy in the shop. There are just two tattoo artists on-site at the time hanging out upstairs. They don't come down so we have to shout up to them from the shop entrance to explain that we are looking for Joel the piercer, it's my first time, and I'm considering getting a cover-up tattoo etc etc. The guy recommends we wait while the reasonable lady recommends we come back later. No follow-ups on the cover-up tattoo bit so we dip then come back an hour later.
We get back and Joel there but they take my friend first to get her piercing and don't let me come back to see the process. So I'm waiting through this whole process and there are tattoo artists available but not really approaching me or asking me anything despite me going through their art books. Whatever, right?
It's my turn to get pierced and then the guy tattoo artist from before zooms down the steps and starts chatting up my moral support (he approached her ass immediately smh lol). The tattoo dude vanishes again before my piercing is done. The whole time Joel is talking to me calmly, keeps me distracted with some lowkey life lessons and relationship advice disguised as stories. If Joel were a doctor you could say he has the optimal bedside manner. He's very knowledgeable, clean, precise, and chill. He even recommended a bomb creole restaurant to check out later. Oh, and even his reason for running late was extremely valid.
Definitely left a tip for him too considering how good his prices on piercings are.
If the rating was for just Joel it'd be a 5/5
But since the rating is for the shop I have to give it 2/5 because fr every bit of my experience with the shop (excluding Joel) could've been better. Especially when a mf lets it be known that they're a first-timer. There was a lot of space and opportunity to talk about the tattoos to both of us when we were first waiting for Joel. Then again when I was waiting for my piercings but nah, just weird vibes from everyone but Joel. 2/5 read more