Chris lied, did not show for a scheduled appointment, and, continues to withhold my deposit...
I contacted Chirs Aguirre about getting a full arm sleeve- in the initial interactions through Instagram, he seemed super excited about the content and potential of that particular piece. He let me know he had a special going on where one could get a full day session, which would be the best route, since timing a full sleeve is difficult. I was ready!
Chris asked for a 300$ deposit before even scheduling an appointment. After the deposit went through it took more than a week for him to respond to my messages to schedule an appointment. I reminded him I needed a weekend appointment, in order to assure I had care for my children, while I was at such a long appointment. He first came back with a Thursday, so, again I reminded him I was unable to make a weekday appointment... He responded with a Friday 2 weeks later at noon, not quite a weekend appointment, but close, so, I was able to accommodate that day with help from my mother in another town.
I messaged Chris the morning of my appointment expressing my excitement, and, he replied sounding excited as well. I arrived for my appointment about 15 minutes early, and, Chris was not yet there. No biggie, I was early.
My fiancé and I waited... and waited. The other artist called him at 12:25, and, it seemed there was some sort of misunderstanding and he had my appointment down for 12:30, in his books. Also, he was running a bit late, as he was still a ways from the shop. The other artist was very kind and let us know he only lived about 17 minutes from the shop, so it could not take too long. We let her know we were going to run and grab a coffee real quick and return, hopefully, about the same time as Chris. In addition, I double checked my Instagram messages, as that was the only way I had been in contact with him, and, saw that he suggested the noon time, and, I agreed, not 12:30...
We just went a couple blocks over for a coffee, then, straight back to Sacred Art. I did not want to leave Chris waiting, especially since we were getting a later start. I was grateful I had made arrangements for the kiddos to spend the night with my mom. We got back before Chris showed up. Then, we waited.
And waited.
It was about 1:20 when the other artist called him again. He was still driving. At this point I am finally getting irritated and uncomfortable with the whole situation. Chris asked to talk to me on the shop phone; he told me he was still about 37 minutes away! Evidently, for my appointment, he had to drive to Sacramento that morning to get needles at the only store he could find, and, it did not open until 10:15 AM. I let him know, at this point, I was no longer comfortable with the appointment- not only was he extremely late (and still going to be a while), but, he had just driven several hours to Sacramento and back to Redding. Chris said it was all fine, as he did this all the time- but, I was unconvinced and 100% no longer oaky with how I was being treated. I stood my ground and told him I was no longer willing to wait; I was disappointed and so uncomfortable.
He tried to convince me to stay, but after all the red flags: him having the wrong time, being super late, and not having materials even though we had made the appointment a couple weeks in advance. I was done. He proceeded to blame me for not making enough time, and, that was the real reason why I was leaving... I told him I had arranged for my children to be gone overnight and that had no bearing in my comfort level. I let him know the reality of the situation and that his behavior made me uncomfortable, he was unprofessional and rude.
After this he mentioned that all deposits are nonrefundable, as per the sign in the shop. This was never mentioned in the messages, nor was it anywhere on his Instagram, where I had been contacting him. However, If I was willing to keep my appointment failure to myself, and, not give him a bad review, he would refund MY deposit anyway. He admitted he was in the wrong and would love to try and make it right so I may consider his work in the future.
Again, I waited...
No refund was ever issued. I sent many messages asking about my refund and either I got no response or an endless slew of excuses as to why he cannot pay me now. Be careful who you give a deposit to. Chris admitted he was at fault and that I deserve my refund- but, has only given me excuse after excuse as to why he hasn't refunded me.
I would not recommend Chris Aguirre, or, Sacred Art to anyone for anything. read more