One of the most unprofessional and frustrating experiences I’ve had. I was initially quoted $80 by Mark, who seemed decent and straightforward. Then Savana stepped in uninvited, took over the entire interaction, and immediately began changing the story to justify nearly doubling the price.
After making me sit there for over an hour, she suddenly raised the price to $150 with no clear or honest explanation. It was obvious the pricing was being made up on the spot. Despite this, I agreed and completed all the paperwork—only to then be told they wouldn’t do the tattoo because it was “closing time.”
So in summary: waste the customer’s time, change the price arbitrarily, and then refuse service. Completely unacceptable.
This place clearly lacks basic professionalism, internal communication, and respect for customers. Joel made zero effort to resolve anything and simply deflected responsibility instead of addressing the issue.
If you value honesty, transparency, and even the bare minimum level of customer service, avoid this place.
Response from the owner:Hello Jagruti,
After doing my due diligence as a new small business owner in the area, I wanted to address a few things from your review.
First of all, I am very sorry you were frustrated, however, there are a few misconceptions within your review. Each artist at Artistic Impressions has their own pricing structure. Mark is decent and straightforward. He went above and beyond to meet your needs. He quoted you $80 (almost our minimum), as a courtesy for being a new studio in the area, and to allow you a chance to give us a try. He initially explained to you how the design you wanted was not going to hold up over time due to it being very small. He explained this to you, and regardless of his recommendation, you did not take him up on his offer initially and left for your car. You did not accept his offer. You came back 10 minutes or so, and Savanna tried to see if she could help you.
When you came back, Savanna started to help you as she was the one that could at the time. Everyone else was busy with other clients. She did not “step in uninvited” as your review stated. You had already refused Mark’s offer. So because she was the one that was helping you, you had to move from the deal you refused with Mark, to Savanna’s deal. She quoted you $150. That wasn’t her doubling the price, that was you getting a great deal from Mark, and refusing it. Savanna wasn’t justifying her price to you she was explaining her pricing structure so you were better informed. What you wanted was very unrealistic. As a tattooer of 30+ years, I can attest that they were making the right decision and tried multiple times to not only meet your demands, but meet your budget.
No one “made you sit there”. You were always free to do whatever you like as we do not pressure anyone into getting anything from us. Our work speaks for itself. Pricing is made up on the spot and every tattoo shop unless a price is negotiated ahead of time. By the time Mark and Savanna both had redrawn designs, and going back and forth with you, the day had simply run out. If artists decide to tattoo after hours, they can at their own discretion. The hours posted are “walk-in hours”. We have families and children to go home to and take care of..
So in summary, you came in initially with unrealistic expectations of what you wanted the tattoo to look like, the artists redrew designs without taking a penny from you to further help you, you were disagreeable with the entire process, and then got upset that you were not ultimately helped as a result. All completely acceptable due to the situation.
We have a combined tattoo experience over around 140 years together as a team. 3 of our team members alone make up 100 years of combined experience. (30+ years of tattoo experience each)
Another thing. You mentioned Joel making zero effort to resolve anything. Joel does not have the authority to resolve anything. He was always just trying to be helpful. You were being very disagreeable and hard to work with. Joel is a master tattoo artist. He isn’t a manager or owner. You are accusing the wrong person wrongfully.
However, if you still would like to come in and give us a second try, we would love to help you.
We DO value honesty, transparency, and excellent customer service. Just look at all of our other reviews of only being here around a month. 🙂
And because we are transparent and honest, we are reposting the customer’s review that saw your entire interaction as it was unfolding. (He was one of the customers who witnessed the whole thing in real time.) He left the review right after you left the review.
See:
Jose Magana
I was there during this interaction, and the bad review the lady left does not reflect what I witnessed. The staff explained clearly why the tattoo she wanted could not be done as requested, especially because the very small numbers would not produce the quality results they stand behind. They were honest about that, ..... (see the review below this one )
