A Word on Unattended Children

Cardinal Tattoo recently had an issue with a woman who could not get tattooed because she brought her infant child with her, and no one else.  You got it, she thought we were going to babysit her child for her while she got tattooed.  People, that's just plain dumb.  First of all, the name's Cardinal Tattoo, not Cardinal Tattoo and Daycare.  Secondly, who would do that?  It takes a very special person to leave your child alone with strangers (which is exactly what this woman did when she went outside screaming after we told her she couldn't get tattooed while leaving a screaming baby in our lobby.  The child was still in it's stroller when she walked out, you can't make this stuff up.)

You might think, well, maybe this was a young mother, new to the task.  Nope.  She called her 15-year-old to come watch the baby while she got tattooed. Problem is, she completely lost her cool prior to that and had to be asked to leave after using some pretty choice language towards our still-not-your-effing-babysitters tattoo artists.  

Which brings us to the point of this post.  Tattoo shops are visited by some pretty interesting people, it takes all kinds, after all.  Most of the people we come into contact with are cool, some are awesome, and some, well, some of the people that come into the shop are full-blown Wackoloons.  Nut jobs. Crazy.  Some of them are unrelenting assholes.  Pardon our French.  We were thinking about doing a post on our 'Customer of the Week', a closer look at some of our interactions with people than what we normally post here (you know, such-and-such came in, got a tattoo, and left).  We;re thinking about dedicating an entire segment of our website to this in fact, consider it a public service.  

So, if you're reading this and find yourself on cardinaltattoo.com frequently, let us know what you think the next time you're in the shop, or just give us a call to let us know if you'd read that sort of thing.  If so, we'll take the time to fill you in on a lesser-known or at least talked about side of the tattoo business:  Complete jerks.  Let us know!

By Appointment Only

Due to high demand for our work, Cardinal Tattoo is switching to a By-Appointment-Only setting.  Our soonest available appointment is currently three weeks out and that is not likely to change based on the current rate of booking new appointments.  We would apologize for any inconvenience, but honestly with a little planning there shouldn't be any.  

Also, due to demands on our personnel, we are currently working on a new automated call system in order to increase efficiency for our customers who are getting tattooed or pierced that day.  Coupled with this, we will be adding some additional features to our website to help everyone get the answers they need without having to call.  

We have experienced some issues with people who are all too willing to waste our time and the valuable time of our paying customers by calling to ask questions that could have been answered by coming to this website or even visiting Google (how'd they get our number in the first place?).  Having to stop what we're doing in order to tell someone when we're open, where we are, or how much a piercing costs has become an issue due to the extremely high interest in our services.  While we appreciate and value the interest, once again to be honest, we are doing our best and we expect our customers to do the same.  

Please take the time to read our 'A few policies explained' post from earlier this year.

We love our customers.  They are responsible for giving us our livelihood.  That doesn't mean that everyone who comes into the shop or even books an appointment is a customer.  It's kind of like when someone calls themself a Christian but fails to act like it.  You might call yourself a customer, you might even want to be one, but if you treat us like garbage then you're not.

We are doing the best we can.  We will continue to do our best to make sure that everyone who wants to get tattooed at Cardinal Tattoo will be.  We ask that you please be patient with us while we work to become more efficient.  Those of you who cannot wait; don't have money; don't want to take the time to educate yourself on how this process works; need more convincing that Cardinal Tattoo is the place to be even after looking at our portfolios and visiting the shop; are rude or feel entitled; or if the fact that we're even saying these things offends you, please go somewhere else.  You see, we've had to deal with far too many of these people in recent months for reasons we'll only disclose in person, and quite frankly, we're sick of it. 

If you want the best, award-winning tattoo work that can be had for miles around at a fair price, if you want to be treated with professionalism and courtesy in a drug-free, family-friendly, sterile, fur-free environment (don't ask, it's a long story), then Cardinal Tattoo is the place for you!

A Change of Policy

We at Cardinal Tattoo have long been a proponent of a 'do no harm' philosophy, to take the best interests of our clients to heart and give them the best possible outcome we can.  To that end, we have prohibited certain types of tattoo:  those that promote hate or show an affiliation with gang culture; as well as certain tattoo placement on those that are uninitiated to the detrimental impact having highly visible tattoo can have on one's life.  We have sincerely tried to do our best, to be the best for our clients.

Some folks don't appreciate that at all.

We've gotten complaints from eighteen-year-olds who want their first tattoo on their hand; from couples who have been dating for a full three months and want each other's names tattooed; young people who have  very stable career waiting tables or stocking shelves that are secure in the fact that they'll never need to interview for another job again.  It seems people understand that subject matter may make getting certain tattoos difficult, but that placement shouldn't matter at all.  It is their body after all, who are we to judge?

So, in the interest of serving our customers and reducing the sheer number of nasty reviews left on disgruntledcustomer.com, Cardinal Tattoo has decided to lift the ban on hand, neck, and face tattoos for people who don't meet our criteria of being either heavily tattooed, independently wealthy, or a convicted felon before taking the plunge into highly visible tattoos that could make it impossible to find a good job.  We're here to serve!  

So for those of you who don't meet the above criteria and want to get a tattoo on your hands, neck, or face against our informed judgement, feel free to swing on by Cardinal Tattoo, where the aforementioned artwork can be obtained at a reasonable price, starting at $1500.  Have a magical day!

A few policies explained...

With the resulting uptick in new customers unfamiliar with our services, it's time we revisited some of our policies and the reasoning behind them:

1.   Cardinal Tattoo will not tattoo your boyfriend or girlfriend's name on you, spouses only.  Reason:  Getting a tattoo removed or covered up is a small thing when compared to getting a divorce and if you're not ready to make that commitment, you shouldn't get the tattoo either.

2. No hands, neck, or faces unless you already have one of those locations on your body tattooed; you have at least one full sleeve; you're independently wealthy, or a convicted felon.  Reason:  Getting a highly visible part of your body tattooed can make it tough to get a job.  If you've already got it done or you have a lot of tattoos, you already understand this and have had to deal with it.  Independently wealthy people don't have to worry about getting a job, and convicted felons are already screwed with regard to finding good employment, a little thing like a tattoo won't hurt their chances anyway.

3.  No racist, hateful, or gang-related tattoos, to include Confederate flags.  Reason:  If you want these tattoos and don't understand why we'd rather not do them, we don't even want you in our establishment.  No discussion.  You shouldn't take pride in showing people how ignorant you are.

4.  To set an appointment, you must leave a $60 or $100 non-refundable deposit which will be deducted from the total cost of your tattoo.  If you don't want to leave a deposit, go somewhere else.  Reason:  If you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is, you're probably not going to show up.

5.  If you have an appointment and don't call to reschedule (at least 48 hours in advance) or you don't show up, you will forfeit your deposit.  If you wish to set another appointment after a no-call, no-show scenario, you will be required to pay for the entire tattoo or session in advance.  Reason:  We lose money when scheduled appointments don't show up, we can't afford to take a risk with someone who can't keep an appointment or let us know they won't be able to make it.

6.  We don't like price-shoppers.  It's offensive when someone comes into our establishment to ask a price, only to leave and come back twenty minutes later to schedule an appointment.  It's obvious you've asked around and come back to the least expensive place.  While Cardinal Tattoo is not interested in being the cheapest place in town, we do offer great value.  Rest assured our first quote on a given tattoo is our best.  For that reason, if you leave after getting a quote, when you come back, the price will increase.  It's simply a matter of pride in what we do and not wanting to be mistreated by people looking for a 'deal'.  If our best work at a fair price isn't good enough for you, please go somewhere else.

7.  We close at 10pm.  That means we won't start a tattoo that we can't finish by 10pm.  If you show up at 8:30 and want to get a tattoo that will take three hours to do, you're going to have to schedule an appointment.   Reason:  We get tired too.  We work 10 hour days, at least five days per week.  Unless you're willing to pay double, don't even ask us to stay late.  If that doesn't work for you, please go somewhere else.

8.  If you call and ask us if we have time to do a tattoo, the answer is always 'yes!'  That doesn't mean that we have time to do a tattoo right now.  You may have to set up an appointment for later that day, later that week,  sometime next month, or even later that year, depending on your individual needs and the artist's availability.  If you try to put us on the spot, the answer will be 'come on in and we'll see what we can do for you' or, 'walk-ins are done on a first come, first served basis, the sooner you get here the better off you are.'  Reason:  We're not trying to lie to anyone, but we understand that people tend to want the best tattoo they can get, even if they do get in a hurry sometime.  We also understand that if we tell you 'no' you're definitely not coming, while if we tell you 'yes' then maybe you'll show up, be impressed with the quality of work and people at Cardinal Tattoo, and schedule an appointment.  Besides, people who get angry when they can't get a tattoo right now aren't really the sorts of people we'd like to spend our time working on.  It's not fast food, it's permanent, if you're in a hurry, please go somewhere else.

9.  If you don't like something about us:  The way we look, the clothes we wear, our taste in music, our religious or political views, our sense of humor, our business practices, or anything else we do for that matter- please go somewhere else.  Reason:  Life's too short to deal with the frustration of not liking the person you're getting tattooed by or the place they work.  Getting tattooed should be an enjoyable process.  This is why Cardinal Tattoo is very up front with the way we conduct business, so that potential customers can determine whether they want to work with us or not.

If you've read this far, thank you.  We appreciate the small fraction of the population that cares enough about this art form to educate themselves about it.  We appreciate your interest in Cardinal Tattoo and look forward to serving you.  We will continue to do our very best.