Tat2guy
November 28th, 2007, 04:50 PM
This is something with which all business owners and managers must deal: complaints.
We have all had customers come back into our booth or business and complain that their tat didn't last as we said it would. Having been in the business for almost three years, I know that most of the time it is because the customer didn't understand the care instructions or just made some simple mistakes taking care of their tat.
At a recent fair I had a girl come in with her dad and claim that her tat didn't last. She showed me what was left of it. Other than a few specks of paint in the corners, the whole tat was gone. (I have put tats on customers and myself that have lasted more than two weeks and still look good.) I told the little girl that I would fix it, but I had a few questions. I asked if she had taken a shower and accidentally wash it off. Her answer was no. Then I asked her if she had slept in a nylon sleeping bag? (Because most of the kids at the fair are 4H'ers and sleep at the fair with their animals.) She said no. So, I asked, do you use body lotion or sunscreen? Again she said, no.
I wiped off the rest of her tat and put a new one on her. I told her father that there are only so many reasons that a tat would come off. He smiled because he knew I had tried.
When I redid her tat, the little girl saw how pretty it was again and she relaxed. I told the father how to take care of the tat and gave him a care card. They said thank you and left.
The only other person at the fair to come back was a high school boy. He had gotten a tribal armband and it was a blur – like looking at it through 3D glasses. There on his arm was not one, but three armbands. He asked if it was supposed to look that way. I said no. I asked him if he had soaped it down, applied sunscreen or body lotion, etc. He said no because he really wanted it to last. I ask if he had slept in a nylon sleeping bag and he said yes.
I explained that a nylon sleeping bag is designed to keep the body warm, to hold heat inside, that he probably sweated a lot, and that this caused the smudging – a secondary transfer twice. I assured him that I would fix it.
I cleaned the paint off his skin with 90% alcohol. It all came off except black which usually leaves a reddish brown color like a Henna tattoo. So I used a little Dawn dish soap and water and got the rest off. I then reapplied his new tat. He was very happy with it and left the booth with a big smile.
The next part this story has nothing to do with complaining but is instructive.
A lady picked one of the J.D. Crowe designs. She wanted it on her ankle. I did the usual thing: wiped the skin off with 90% alcohol, put the stencil against her skin, and started spraying. When I finished, I pulled the stencil off as usual but the tat came off with it. I thought, what just happened?
I knew I had not put too thick a layer of paint, so what was it? I told her that I wanted to redo it. She was OK with that. So I wiped the old tat off, used a fresh pad, rescrubbed her skin, and sprayed again. The colors were right; I was happy. Until I removed the stencil and, again, the tat came off with the stencil. Why was this tat not sticking to her skin?
I asked if she used body lotion or sunscreen. She said no. She said she did use baby oil twice a day to keep her skin really smooth. Now I understood why the tat kept coming off. Her skin was loaded with baby oil. No matter how many times I used the alcohol it didn't make a difference. So I tried something different. After cleaning her skin, I put baby powder on it. I then applied the tat. It worked! After removing the stencil, the tat was in place and looked great. Needless to say, we were both relived and happy that I had persisted.
As she and her family departed, I told her that if it didn't stay on, I would refund her money. I told her not to put any baby oil it. She never came back so I guess all is well.
To sum up, when a customer complains about their tat, fix it – redo the tat with a smile; or, if they are still not satisfied, refund their money. It only costs us a few pennies to redo a tat; but if she tells her friends that we are difficult to work with, it could cost our businesses reputation.
People tend to remember bad experiences longer than good ones.
Remember the smiles we put on our customers are worth a million dollars.
Lloyd
Tat2guy
We have all had customers come back into our booth or business and complain that their tat didn't last as we said it would. Having been in the business for almost three years, I know that most of the time it is because the customer didn't understand the care instructions or just made some simple mistakes taking care of their tat.
At a recent fair I had a girl come in with her dad and claim that her tat didn't last. She showed me what was left of it. Other than a few specks of paint in the corners, the whole tat was gone. (I have put tats on customers and myself that have lasted more than two weeks and still look good.) I told the little girl that I would fix it, but I had a few questions. I asked if she had taken a shower and accidentally wash it off. Her answer was no. Then I asked her if she had slept in a nylon sleeping bag? (Because most of the kids at the fair are 4H'ers and sleep at the fair with their animals.) She said no. So, I asked, do you use body lotion or sunscreen? Again she said, no.
I wiped off the rest of her tat and put a new one on her. I told her father that there are only so many reasons that a tat would come off. He smiled because he knew I had tried.
When I redid her tat, the little girl saw how pretty it was again and she relaxed. I told the father how to take care of the tat and gave him a care card. They said thank you and left.
The only other person at the fair to come back was a high school boy. He had gotten a tribal armband and it was a blur – like looking at it through 3D glasses. There on his arm was not one, but three armbands. He asked if it was supposed to look that way. I said no. I asked him if he had soaped it down, applied sunscreen or body lotion, etc. He said no because he really wanted it to last. I ask if he had slept in a nylon sleeping bag and he said yes.
I explained that a nylon sleeping bag is designed to keep the body warm, to hold heat inside, that he probably sweated a lot, and that this caused the smudging – a secondary transfer twice. I assured him that I would fix it.
I cleaned the paint off his skin with 90% alcohol. It all came off except black which usually leaves a reddish brown color like a Henna tattoo. So I used a little Dawn dish soap and water and got the rest off. I then reapplied his new tat. He was very happy with it and left the booth with a big smile.
The next part this story has nothing to do with complaining but is instructive.
A lady picked one of the J.D. Crowe designs. She wanted it on her ankle. I did the usual thing: wiped the skin off with 90% alcohol, put the stencil against her skin, and started spraying. When I finished, I pulled the stencil off as usual but the tat came off with it. I thought, what just happened?
I knew I had not put too thick a layer of paint, so what was it? I told her that I wanted to redo it. She was OK with that. So I wiped the old tat off, used a fresh pad, rescrubbed her skin, and sprayed again. The colors were right; I was happy. Until I removed the stencil and, again, the tat came off with the stencil. Why was this tat not sticking to her skin?
I asked if she used body lotion or sunscreen. She said no. She said she did use baby oil twice a day to keep her skin really smooth. Now I understood why the tat kept coming off. Her skin was loaded with baby oil. No matter how many times I used the alcohol it didn't make a difference. So I tried something different. After cleaning her skin, I put baby powder on it. I then applied the tat. It worked! After removing the stencil, the tat was in place and looked great. Needless to say, we were both relived and happy that I had persisted.
As she and her family departed, I told her that if it didn't stay on, I would refund her money. I told her not to put any baby oil it. She never came back so I guess all is well.
To sum up, when a customer complains about their tat, fix it – redo the tat with a smile; or, if they are still not satisfied, refund their money. It only costs us a few pennies to redo a tat; but if she tells her friends that we are difficult to work with, it could cost our businesses reputation.
People tend to remember bad experiences longer than good ones.
Remember the smiles we put on our customers are worth a million dollars.
Lloyd
Tat2guy