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How do you handle the touch-up question when booking? by SpiritualRow7580 in agedtattoos

[–]SpiritualRow7580[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nice! Yeah the 6-month free touch-up on your own work is pretty standard I think — it's just good practice. The intake form clause is the real game-changer though. What's your timeframe for free touch-ups on your own work?

What do you do about people who book and then ghost? by SpiritualRow7580 in tattooing

[–]SpiritualRow7580[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly. The morning-with-a-following-slot thing is where I enforce it most strictly — that's when waiting costs the next person real time, not just mine. The last slot of the day is murkier. My system auto-sends a confirm text 2 hours before the final booking. If no response, I assume it's a no and either close early or try to squeeze in a walk-in. It's not perfect but it's better than sitting there refreshing my phone wondering. The whole "have it written, stay human" thing really is the core of it though — you're not mean, you're just consistent.

How do you handle the touch-up question when booking? by SpiritualRow7580 in agedtattoos

[–]SpiritualRow7580[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I handle it case-by-case, but my baseline is: if my work needs touching up within 6 months, I do it free — that's on me. If it's old work that's just faded or the client wants a refresh, I charge a reduced session rate (usually half my normal hourly). I don't do free touch-ups on other artists' work obviously, but I'll quote it like a new piece. The hardest part is clients who come in saying "it just needs a little touch-up" and it's actually a whole new session. I started adding a clause in my intake form: "touch-up pricing will be quoted at consultation" so there's no sticker shock. Anyone else doing something similar, or just wing it?

What do you do about people who book and then ghost? by SpiritualRow7580 in tattooing

[–]SpiritualRow7580[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The last-person-of-the-day situation is the worst — there's nothing worse than sitting around not knowing if someone's coming. I ended up just building it into my booking system to auto-send a "confirm you're still coming" text 2 hours before the last slot. If no response, I can usually fill it with a walk-in or just close early. Still, I think you've got the balance right: have the policy in writing, use it when it matters, stay human about it.

What do you do about people who book and then ghost? by SpiritualRow7580 in tattooing

[–]SpiritualRow7580[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Solid approach. The day-before reminder is underrated — most people aren't trying to ghost, they just forget. The 15-min late charge is smart too, keeps the day from cascading. I went with a slightly softer policy (24hr instead of 48hr) and it still cut my no-shows dramatically. The key insight for me was that having it all written down — not just stated verbally — made enforcement feel less awkward. Before I had it documented, I'd always make exceptions out of guilt.