Anyone who has worked in any sort of front-facing position, like retail or food service, can confirm that some clients are really difficult to work with and refuse to see reason.
Tattoo studios can experience exactly the same thing with their clients, from not agreeing with designs to somehow believing they know more about tattooing than the artists themselves.
Tattoo artist Adam Abrew, who works at the Devoted Tattoo Studio in Palm Coast, Florida, shares videos featuring some of his clients, his artwork, and tips for artistic tattooing on his Instagram page.
One of Abrew's most recent videos features an intoxicated client who was stenciled with a neck tattoo, only to for it to be resized without re-stenciling it.
Eager to get the tattoo artist more attention, TikToker @sageofthe6tats shared the video to their channel, where the video quickly went viral.
At the beginning of the video, the videographer caught Abrew mid-conversation with an intoxicated client who did not want him to remove the stencil design from behind her ear, despite wanting the tattoo to be a different size.
Abrew tried to explain to her that he would still tattoo her, but he needed to redo the stencil first to make sure the sizing, positioning and design were accurate, which the client still declined.
Abrew can be heard explaining in a gentle parenting style:
"Hey, listen, you're telling me you want another size, so what we have to do now is wipe the stencil off to put another one on. Do you see how that works?"
When the client refused to see his vision, Abrew offered to reschedule for another day when she wasn't intoxicated—but when she pressed to continue with their appointment, she finally agreed with him to re-stencil the design.
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers applauded the tattoo artist for how he de-escalated the situation.
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
@sageofthe6tats/TikTok
After the TikTok video went viral, Abrew took to Instagram to thank fans for their support, and said that a full interview about what went down is on the way.
The TikTok community was quick to empathize with Abrew's experience and also applauded him for his patience and willingness to walk her through the experience, even if she was reluctant to be led at first.
Hopefully, when she woke up the next day, she was happy with the design she had chosen while under the influence—but the good thing is that Abrew's professionalism would not add to any potential regret.
@champmom/Instagram
@virginmary502/Instagram
@mswardvw/Instagram
@jenni_rus/Instagram