Customer gets mad at tattoo artist for hiding their initials in the design

A customer got angry at a tattoo artist for hiding their initials in their tattoo - and everyone is just as bothered.

Taking to the sub-Reddit Am I The A**hole, the customer in question (who changed the artist's name for privacy) anonymously wrote that they had a photo of the tattoo they wanted and went to a local tattoo shop to get it.

The tattoo was sentimental, as it was a tattoo their father had to pay homage to their deceased grandfather, whose father also had it.

"It was important to me that the tattoo looked EXACTLY as it did in the photo," they wrote.

When they arrived at the shop, the customer said they explained what they wanted, paid, and received the tattoo.

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The customer said they initially thought the tattoo was "awesome" and that all was well. But when the customer showed their great-grandmother the tattoo a few weeks later, that's when things took a turn.

"She's static, grabs my arm to look at and compliment it, then asks, 'Who's AJ?' I [asked] her what she [meant], and she points out on the tattoo where the initials A and J or maybe T were hidden into the tattoo," they wrote.

The customer was immediately upset because it was their artist's initials and their grandmother tried to assure them that it was OK if they didn't notice the initials right away.

That still didn't stop them from reaching out to the artist "sort of irritated."

When they contacted the artist, they said that the tattoo style is called "traditional," and it's pretty standard for artists who do this style to do that in the art.

But naturally, the customer still wasn't pleased with that response.

"I demanded a partial refund, and they refused, so I complained to the owner, who made the artist give me a full refund."

As a result, the customer further said that the artist is now "running a full smear campaign and [is' talking about moving shops."

People took to the comments of the post to address how wrong it was of the artist to essentially "brand" the customer.

"This person straight up BRANDED you! Not only that, this isn't even the artist's design, it's a copied design," one wrote.

"Tattoo artists don't get to sign their work because their canvas is a human being. This is KNOWN. This is conventionally understood," another added.

A third wrote: "I can’t imagine anyone thinking that’s okay. If they want to put their initials in a tattoo they should get consent. Be honest about what she did I’m sure there are others she’s done this to, and potential customers should be warned."

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