1 / 1
I haven't used real names for this.
About 6 weeks ago I paid £150 for a Japanese fighting fish tattoo to cover an old butterfly tattoo I had done when I was 18.
When I got home and had a good look at the tattoo, I noticed that the fins and gills were missing and a lot of detail was missed in the tail. It looked nothing like the picture I had sent in advance, and I could still clearly see the butterfly underneath as the colour of the new tattoo was done in pastel shades, which is not what I had asked for.
Whilst tattooing, the Leo was telling me that he hadn’t smoked his joint this morning and that it had made him feel on edge, which in turn made me start to feel uneasy. He spoke about his steroid use and about how agitated he can get, but he thought it was worth it as it gave him a good physique. He also bragged about how much money he was making but that he hated tattooing and would be happy if he never had to do another tattoo again. This all made me feel uncomfortable, but at this point he was halfway through the tattoo.
Once it was finished, he let me have a quick look and from what I could see I was happy at the time, but it was very rushed and he was starting to wrap it in clingfilm before I got the chance to have a good look. At this point his next client was waiting so I appreciated that he probably just felt rushed.
When I got home and had a proper look I immediately wasn’t happy with the work. I sent Leo a message explaining this and that I felt the tattoo wasn’t complete. He said he could fix it in about 2 weeks’ time, and I agreed but didn’t confirm a date.
A few days later I was in town when I passed a tattoo shop. I decided to call in and get some advice. They said that the tattoo would need about 6 weeks to heal before an attempt to fix it should be made. They advised me that if I wanted them to put it right it would cost around £140. They also gave me advice to speak to the owner of shop Leo worked at to complain about his work. After having some time to reflect on my appointment I realised that I wasn’t comfortable having Leo rectify the mistakes, after all, he had caused them, and so I put all the information into a message and sent it to the owner of the shop – his boss.
She apologised and said she had seen the messages and was mortified by his work. She said she would fix it for me, free of charge in about 6 weeks’ time, when I came off my holiday. I asked if she could confirm a date during a period of annual leave that I have and she did not respond. I asked her again a few days later and she said she would get back to me that evening. She didn’t. I also haven’t heard anything from Leo in the past 6 weeks to check on how it’s going.
I have since come off my holiday and have requested an appointment my annual leave. I can only get it done during leave as I work the same hours as the tattoo shop, and they don’t do evenings or weekends. She has got back to me today and has said that she is fully booked, but she can book me in with Leo instead. I explained to her again the reason I didn’t want to see him and she hasn’t got back to me. At this point what should I do? I don’t think I want to go back to this studio at all. Should I request a refund, what would be the best way to go about this and has anyone else been through something similar?