ComplaintsforBlack Heart Studios

• Initial Complaint

  06/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This complaint is for the business owners ********************** and ************, his wife who is the one who tattooed me. This tattoo is on my chest and is barely a year old. It is a cover up which is not yet finished, she started it and I paid her a total of $350 for it. I relocated to ********** last January, and am now ready to resume working on this tattoo. I consulted an artist a few weeks ago, who has about 20 years experience tattooing and does amazing work. He looked at the work ****** did, took a picture of ************* the photo, showing me how bad it looked, which is not normal. He showed me the outline was bleeding and the color is fading, bottom line it looks awful and should not look like this, if it had been executed properly. As a result, the artist told me everything would have to be re-done, which means that it is going to cost me more money, because the whole outline and the color that is already there will have to be done again, entailing starting a **************** from scratch. I am requesting the $350 I paid for this back, which is only fair. Also, please note that this is the first complaint I file, but there could be many more complaints and reviews filed online and the pictures showing this terrible work will be posted as well, which will not look good, should the business choose to continue ignoring me, as I have already made several attempts to contact the business by phone, leaving a detailed message with one of their apprentice who took my number, I also emailed both owners and also sent them both text messages with the picture, all of which have been ignored. That is definitely not the right and honest way to treat a customer, they should stand behind their work and take full responsibility when they mess up, instead of avoiding dealing with issues when they arise, The reputation of their business and their name is at risk here. *I am attaching three pictures which should also be forwarded to the business (a normal view and two close ****

  Customer response

  06/28/2023

  Since no response was received from the business yet, and I believe they do not check their emails regularly, I am requesting that a copy of the complaint is mailed to the business at the following address:

  Black Heart Studios
  **********************************************************

  Thank you

  Business response

  06/29/2023

  We are writing in response to the complaint from *****************************. The coverup was started Saturday, July 24, 2021 for the outline of two roses over a pentagram on her chest. Prior to starting this tattoo ******** stated she only wanted to work an hour at a time due to her finances. The artist advised she get laser removal to lighten the existing tattoo prior to starting a coverup. Laser removal is always recommended when anyone has a dark black tattoo they are trying to cover. The artist did accommodate ******** and said she would work with her an hour at a time however a coverup would take time to complete properly. The artist informed ******** that since she had very sensitive skin which she noticed after the first session, the artist would have to slow her machine down on the next session to prevent damaging her skin during the shading process. August 19, 2021 ******** texted the artist asking her to complete the coverup in her next two hour session which was paid for in advance. ******** said she was tapped out and already gone over her budget. The artist tried to accommodate ******** several times on days she tried to schedule. January 31, 2023 ******** texted the artist informing her that she moved to ********** and would have the tattoo finished in **********, and thanked the artist for doing such a good job through the first part. Since she texted the artist on her day off and she did not receive an immediate response she texted the artist the she had talent but sadly no manners on February 1, 2023. Then ******** texted the artist on June 16, 2023 asking for a full refund of $350 on services that were already rendered. Stated she went to another artist in LA that had 18 years experience and he told her it would need to be redone. Just a reminder the tattoo was not completed before she moved away. She stated she took a picture of the tattoo and if you zoom in and look very closely you would see the imperfections. If you zoom in on any tattoos you will find small imperfections. We have since changed our shop policy specifically due to the interactions of this client. We no longer allow clients to only get an hour session at a time on large pieces or coverups. We appreciate you taking your time to read our response. 
  Screenshots of all texts are available upon request 

  Customer response

  06/29/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  None of the facts described by the business in his response have anything to do with the quality of the work that ****** performed, my budget has nothing to do with it, nor do my text messages, those are just a bunch of excuses the business is coming up with as a "cop out" to avoid taking responsibility. I have a beautiful sleeve tattoo on my arm that is much older than this chest tattoo, which does not have any imperfections, it still looks gorgeous, and the artist who did it worked on my arm for more than 2 hours at a time. The issue here is the quality of the work and the poor manner it was executed in. And yes, it did look good at the time it was done, but now looks awful, the pictures speak for themselves, so unless they are blind, they should see that the outline is bleeding and the color has faded, and once again, this should not happen, and it has absolutely nothing to do with my skin.

  It is such a shame that the business is refusing to own up to their mistake, and prefers to engage in pettiness.

  So I will ask once again, for the final time for this $350 refund, which is the right thing to do, given the way the tattoo looks today, it should not look like this, had it been executed properly, period !

  And I will reiterate once again, that this BBB complaint is the very first step of many more complaints/reviews that could be filed, which will not be a good look.

  Please advise.

  Customer response

  07/04/2023

  Hello,

  can the business be reminded that I am still waiting for their rebuttal answer or I will be moving to the next steps in the upcoming days ?

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩