Imperial Tattoos

I received a tattoo when I was in Louisville on vacation. I live in Washington State. The tattoo has errors, crooked lines, and it does not match the design I brought in. I know that an artist cannot copy a design exactly, but the design I ended up with is far from what I showed the artist I wanted. I am naïve about tattoos. This is my third. I assumed everything would work out well, I was happy, happy for what I perceived as having received friendly competent service. I signed all the forms as requested. When I got back to Washington and took off the bandage, I saw the errors, but decided to put on the second bandage, hoping when it came five days later, things would have improved. They did not. I began emailing the business. I was stonewalled initially, then told repeatedly there was no refund policy and I had signed a release to that effect. They repeated that a lot, in several emails. That I had signed a release. And they repeated over and over that they did not offer refunds. I went for a consultation to a tattoo artist in Washington state to see about fixing the errors. I was transparent with Imperial about everything I was doing and continued to press them for help offsetting the charge for fixing the tattoo here in Washington State. I received more messages to the effect I had signed a release and there were no refunds. All along, I had hoped they would work with me to help me find a reputable artist in my area, and help offset the charge of fixing the errors, which is why I consulted with the artists in Yelm, WA, and told them all about it. Finally they said to come in and they would fix it no charge. By this time, I had made it clear multiple times I live in Washington State, and coming in to have it fixed in Louisville was not an option. After a great deal more back and forth, a lot of telling me over and over I had signed a release and there were no refunds, I told them I'd be filing a complaint with the BBB and putting negative reviews on Yelp and Google. Well. Then the message changed. Substantially. They said they had been discussing working with an artist I found in Washington and helping to offset the cost of a fix, but now that I'd filed a complaint with the BBB "that ship has sailed". There were a couple more back and forth emails communications, but as they said, that ship had sailed. And I replied, not only had the ship sailed but it was well out of the harbor. I have the complete email chain and will provide it to anyone upon request. The tattoo was $115. That's a high price to pay for the negative impact this review, as well as the BBB complaint and the Yelp review will cost their reputation. Unfortunate all the way around for all involved. But just remember - if you frequent Imperial Tattoos in Louisville, you sign a release! And there are no refunds! And if you sign a release you have no recourse! And you sign a release! You sign a release! You sign a release! Don't forget! You sign a release!

Update: I received this response from the BBB 9/24/2021:

Dear D:

This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 8/31/2021 against Sean Smallwood Presents Imperial Tattoos & Piercing, LLC. Your complaint was assigned ID 15820682.

The BBB has made several attempts to resolve your complaint filed against the above-named business. Unfortunately we have not received a reply from this business. Your Better Business Bureau receives the cooperation of the majority of firms when working with customer problems. Sometimes however, we encounter a company that simply refuses to cooperate.

We sincerely regret we have not been able to assist you. However, please know that anytime BBB must close a complaint as "no response," the company is advised that continued failure to answer the complaint may have a negative impact on their rating with BBB. When potential customers check the company's BBB report before doing business (always a good practice), your complaint will help the BBB alert these consumers regarding the company's business practices.

Sincerely,

Conciliation Department
Better Business Bureau

Glenn done an amazing tattoo❤️, great atmosphere, great people‼️

I enjoyed my time there. The prices are reasonable... I was there 6 hours and got a big tattoo. You expect to pay. The artists were all great. It felt like you were there with your friends. I will be back and will tell everyone who wants to listen that this is the places to go!

John did little matching tattoos for my husband and I. We love them!!! He was so friendly along with the other artists in the shop !

Beware!!! There's an $80 minimum they fail to tell you about until the tattoo is finished & it's time to pay. Went there for my 18 yr old daughters FIRST tattoo and was charged $160 bucks for 2 six letter word tattoos that were the exact same. Spoke to someone on the phone that said $5 a letter for small letters. Tattoos are completely covered by a womans thumb for retrospect.

Tim does Great work but $80 for a small six letter word is ridiculous!!

The tattoos turned out good but me and my friends were booked at 1 and we didn't get seen until 2:20. We originally were going to see Matt but he was not able to do it as he was sick so he rescheduled us with Tim. Tim came in 10 minutes late and then proceeded to talk on the phone, eat and take a smoke break in front of us before even setting up his station or reviewing our paperwork. He complained the whole time about how he was called in too early as if it was our fault. The health department was present and it seemed like an inconvenience to everyone in the shop to wear a mask, customers included. The tattooing went fine but the atmosphere and attitude was overall off putting.

(in response to the owners) When we first walked in the shop nobody was wearing a mask. As soon as the health department walked in some put a mask on some did not. Tim came in 10 minutes after our scheduled appointment time and continued to run around for an hour complaining and essentially doing nothing. I understand that we would have been seen at a slightly different time but our original artist had said that Tim could get us in at 1 so we expected to get seen at one.

I researched shops in the Louisville area for weeks knowing I’d be traveling there. I settled on Imperial tattoos. I was nervous going in because I knew I’d probably be walking out with my biggest piece yet (quarter sleeve) and let’s be honest.... they’re permanent everyone’s nervous. My family was greeted by the shop owners’ wife Amanda, very nice and personable woman (I’d come back just to see her tbh 🤣) she helped all 3 of us that were getting tattoos in my family and was just really knowledgeable and helpful. I picked Sean as my artist he knew exactly what I wanted, it came out beautiful, he was quick and I have no complaints at all. This shop has a great atmosphere and great people running it.

Charlie is phenomenal at his work! I've had a lot of people stop me to check this beautiful piece out. And I love it more and more every day! The shop has a wonderful atmosphere and a great location. I can't wait to come back! Keep on rocking and together we will crush the Rebel Alliance!

I spoke with Tim. H he was very knowledgeable and helpful.

Great little place. We didnt end up getting a tattoo but the artist was very nice and funny. We were just a walk in and my wife couldn't decide what she wanted. He pulled out some personal sketches and other things for us to look at. He was very accommodating. I watched him finish up a scream tattoo which looked great.