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Dont get down on yourself... I have come to the conclusion theres just some people out there that are just stupid and/or don't understand some of the tattoo etiquette that exists. I have had clients in the past do stuff like that to me as well, and of course its a bummer. Heres something i'll share with you, something to be cautious and aware of. This is a true story...
Jim my mentor told me something 8 years ago, at that time Jim was in the tattoo industry for about 10 years and I was just getting started this was early on in my apprenticeship, he said "as a tattoo artist you will make a lot of friends. People will want to be your friend or it may appear to look like they want to be your fiend simply because you are a tattoo artist." Its said but true, Jim had a ton of friends! They would call him all the time to say "hey" shoot the shit and what not, One day Jim Decided to stop tattooing "he retired." When word got out, no one called him anymore. Just goes to show your not really sure who is a real friend or not. Some years later Jim decided to get back into tattooing when Carson first started the Neuma and shortly after is when I met him and was taught. Theres a lot to be said in that story and it has never left me.

Hey mate, another way to separate truly loyal customers from those who are just trying to take advantage of your kindness is to set up a very basic "membership" system. Our studio has gold and platinum members cards. When they have done a certian amount of hours in the chair, they are given a gold membership card. This gives them a small permanent discount off the hourly rate and a few other perks such as cheaper stock etc. If they are a long term client that gets A LOT of work, they are upgraded to a platinum card. This gives them a larger discount off their work, higher discounts on stock, free aftercare etc.

We put this in place because, like you, you want to show appreciation for clients who really do appreciate the time and effort you go to, and as we work with over 98% custom work, it is a hell of a lot more work than standard flash based studios. And you cant help but want to give discounts to your loyal customers.

This way, they prove their loyalty to you before getting any discounts (and if people aren't happy to pay full price in the first place, then they generally will never be a loyal client anyway). And the amount of "kindness" they recieve from you in the future is fully dependant on their own decision to continue getting work done from you.

Its a win-win. They get treated like royalty and you dont get taken advantage of. Hope that helps in some way. Cheers