Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

118 The Tattoo Relationship
As is the case with haircutting. plastic surgery. and similar quasitangible
services. tattooing reqUires that the customer be present
throughout the service delivery. entails a close personal involvement
between the client and service worker. is a relatively nonstandardized
service. and is produced only upon request. Further.
the tattoo service involves technical skills with which the client is
commonly unfamiliar and that he or she finds difficult to evaluate.
While the service is sold. produced. and purchased simultaneously.
the relative permanence of the service outcome means
that appreciation or dissatisfaction continue long after the service
interaction is terminated (see Kelly and George. 1982).
TattOOing is. therefore. a consumer service which is low in
"search qualities" (attributes the buyer can determine prior to
purchase). Reliable information on tattooing is almost nonexistent
in mainstream social circles. Most members of American society
have had little direct experience with tattooed people or the
settings in which tattoos are applied. Tattooing is also a service in
which "experience qualities" (characteristics the client can determine
and evaluate only after purchase) are extremely high. The
specialized and somewhat mysterious tattoo service is also high
in "credence qualities" (attributes the consumer is unable to ascertain
and assess even after haVing been involved in the purchase
experience). Few tattoo consumers. especially first-time
reCipients. possess the specialized knowledge necessary to judge
the technical merits of a tattoo or to evaluate the relative quality
of the service delivery (Zeithaml. 1984).
This chapter focuses on the situated experience of the major
participants in the "tattoo event" (Govenar. 1977). The first section
employs the consumer researcher's concept of "perceived
risk" to orient a discussion of tattoo reCipients' in-shop encounters
with tattooing and the approaches they take to reducing their
risk and minimizing post-purchase regret. We then turn to look
more closely at a topiC introduced in the last chapter-the tattooiSt's
occupationally based categorization of clients and the techniques
he or she uses to control the tattoo interaction.