Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

128 The Tattoo Relationship
the flash, the appearance and demeanor of fellow customers, and
photos of past work are important sources of information. The
customer's interaction with the tattooist is of particular importance,
since this is the primary source of the information he or
she uses to calculate trust.
The literature on patient satisfaction with medical service (for
example, Ben-Sira, 1976; Greenley and Schoenherr, 1981) clearly
shows that the client's evaluation of the service is, to a major extent,
shaped by his or her interactional experience with and relationship
to the service deliverer. The tattooee's experience of risk
in the tattoo shop and post-purchase satisfaction depend largely
upon the psychosocial care provided by the tattooist. Interviewees
consistently stated that those tattooists who were friendly, answered
their questions patiently, allowed them to playa significant
role in planning the tattoo, and behaved in what was often
referred to as a "professional" style eased their anxieties and created
a tattoo that was a significant source of pride. The key importance
of the tattooist's demeanor is especially apparent in
these descriptions prOVided by two women interviewees.
(The artist) didn't seem to want to get to know me socially. It
was very professional. Actually, that was a good attitude that
he had. It showed that he was a professional. That was the way
our conversation went. He didn't try to persuade me to get
anything in particular-like when you go to a hairdresser and
they want to cut all your hair off. I expected him to be a little
more rugged. He was very nice-answered all my questions
and if I would slouch or anything he would just nicely ask me
to get back into the position I was in.
I was standing there in the studio talking to the artist and
said, "Well, I want this kind of curly design but can you do a
dragon?" Then we sat down and he began to draw-asking me
if I wanted whiskers, did I want it to look sleepy, passive,
ferocious, or feminine, things like that. I said that I didn't want
it too fierce or too passive. It was really lovely what he drew. He
drew it backwards on this paper so I could place it where I
wanted it. It was good to be sort of able to preview it. He asked
me about the color. That I hadn't really decided.... Mter this