Koolsville Tattoo — Local services in Las Vegas

If you’re looking for a sign; here it is to JUST GET THE DANG TATTOO!!! Came to Vegas to celebrate my birthday. As I drove in, I saw ads for this shops name all over. The 10 dollar tats really caught my curiosity because WHO DOES A TATTOO IN VEGAS LIKE THIS!? Thought what a cool souvenir to remember the occasion with my almost adult children, that came with me on this special trip. We went to the location that was on 1501 S Las Vegas Blvd and it was PACKED! So much so that we didn’t even go all the way in. We hopped on to look for another location to avoid the wait time. This location came up, as it was the next closest one. (About 2 miles or so?) While the handicapped parking isn’t necessarily great or convenient due to being along the main road, the shop was surprisingly not busy at all! Once we spoke with the staff member, Paige, from behind the counter about the deal we saw and what the catch was, we learned that there was none!! Not only do they have 10 dollar tattoos, they have 20, 40, 100, 150 and 200 dollar ones too you can pick from! They’re all part of a flash board that you pick off of. (You can also get custom work done as well but wasn’t sure about that pricing as that was not something I was interested during this visit.) The only real stipulation with the flash board tattoos is the parameters are limited to between your wrist and shoulder on your arm, or your foot and calf on your leg. You can get as many as you’d like as long as they stick to the outlined parameters. When you are all done you get a little after care goodies bag that has a hot pink room key, keychain in it! (I am completely obsessed with it and almost like it even more than the two tattoos I got.) the goodie bag also has after care instructions and after care cream for the tattoo. Everyone was extremely pleasant and patient while our group of five looked and decided on what to get. In the excitement of coming across these killer deals, we failed to realize one thing; we were tourist and we didn’t have all the proper documentation needed to be able to consent for my 16 year old to get a tattoo… to much of my surprise IT WAS NO PROBLEM! All I had to do was have someone from home send a clear, nice, full view photo of the front / back of the ORIGINAL birth certificate, (can’t be a copy of a copy;) and have a government photo ID that had either the same last names or addresses. (Parent signing consent MUST be named on the birth certificate if addresses or last names don’t match.) Once we got the paperwork completed, the real excitement began! They broke our group into two; then worked on us speedy fast! Most of us got two of the 20 dollar deals. I was extremely impressed when I was leaving because there was no gimmick to their advertisement. I’d say all together from the time I walked into the shop to the time I left, the whole ordeal took maaaaaybe about an hour? Hour and 15 minutes? I was skeptical about how well they would heal since they were so cheap but I’m now almost two weeks out and haven’t had any issues or complaints with the work I had completed. (Which gives me huge peace of mind for making the impulsive decision to get a “cheap” tattoo in Vegas. This little shop really sealed the deal and helped make the trip even more special than it already was.) I wish I could remember the artists names who worked on us, but since almost a couple weeks have already passed I have forgotten. I only remember the little sweet Paige from behind...

Let me start by saying I don't like writing negative reviews, but I also don't like poor customer service so here goes:

My coworker had recently got her tongue pierced at this location, and she gave good praise about this shop so I wanted to get my tongue pierced here as well. I called to confirm what time they stopped accepting walk-ins, and the lady who answered the phone didn't sound like she wanted to be there. She gave an attitude and wasn't very friendly. I had read reviews about the workers answering the phones rude and didn't think anything of it; I should have.

Upon arrival, we walk in to the employees back's facing our direction and we are greeted with, "Can I help you with something?", as an employee slowly turns around. Okay, at this point I'm starting to feel irritated but I brush it off and we tell them we want a tattoo and a tongue piercing. We are given the paperwork to initial, without much instruction of course. I read a part I didn't understand, so I asked the employee what it meant and he says, "just write your ID number and phone number at the bottom, it's fine." No, it's not fine if I'm asking about something on your consent papers. I brush it off again. Maybe they're having a bad day. Maybe someone died recently in their family, or they have a lot going on. We're human, so I try to sympathize but at this point it's starting to seem like he just didn't want to be there.

Next, we head to the back. All of the employees are literally watching something on a tablet or their phones. Okay, I get it. It's slow and there's nothing to do, but could you at least acknowledge their are actually customers in the shop? I guess not.

My coworker went first. She sat there for literally 3 minutes, and her small tattoo was done. Awesome, it won't take too long and I'm nervous as hell to have someone poke a hole in my tongue. I get up and walk to the piercer, he says, "one second I'm not ready yet". Okay, I'm sorry if I wasn't given instructions yet again. I thought you were ready. I wait a few minutes, and now he's ready. Perfect. I sit down andI tell him I'm very nervous, he tells me not to move and pierces my tongue. So you don't talk to your customers? You don't comfort them or try to make them laugh to ease their worrying? Alright, now I'm disappointed.

Piercing was done, and it did hurt a bit but not as bad as I thought. Only instructions I received for after care was to use mouth wash. That's it. No specific brand? Alcohol free? How long do I rinse? When can I change my piercing? NOTHING. I didn't ask him these questions because he didn't seem like he wanted to answer them anyway, so I ended up googling all of the information I needed myself. I did ask him his name before leaving and he replied, "Chris." I tipped because I always tip even if I receive a negative experience, but this will be the last time I'm so kind to bad customer service. Thank you for making it mostly pain free. I love my piercing, but I will not be returning to this...

Owner Responded asking WHO did the tattoo.* I quite literally have no idea who it was. Never once did he introduce himself to me. Just asked what I wanted.

I've been tattooed three times at Koolsville now. I'd give them 1.5 stars if I could... but this last experience has me never wanting to return. They have a sign asking for Google Reviews, so here goes nothing.

The 1st time (Jan 2018) I went I paid full price for 3 Venus Tattoos ($60/ea). Mine was a total blow out, my sister in laws was half finished, and my mothers was somehow perfect. I figured maybe my arm twitched or I moved funny so I wasn't too upset.

The 2nd time (Nov 2018) I went in for a walk in on a very rainy afternoon. I got a $10 tattoo on my back ankle. Paid the gentleman $15 at the end and was on my way. The tattoo healed fine and I thought it was so cute I had to go back to get something on my other ankle.

The 3rd time was tonight (January 29th). I went in and the young man who tattooed me in November was the same person working! I thought great he was fast and nice last time- this will be awesome. I'm not sure if he was having a hard night or was tired but he hardly looked up from his Netflix documentary about Ted Bundy. We paid him the $10 before planning on tipping at the end. I think that was our mistake. When he put the stencil on I thought it was a little too low and politely asked for it to be higher. We were the only people in the shop and restenciling takes just a moment, plus it's going to be on me forever so I'd like it in a spot I enjoyed. It seemed a little ticked he had to do this but agreed and without listening to my request to have it level with the Nov tattoo again. I didn't want to upset him further and said it was a okay! It was finally time for the needle to skin and I was waiting for directions. That's when he asked me to stand on one foot, like a flamingo, as he tattooed me. I really spoke up that time as I have a disability that hinders my balancing skills. Again he was upset and mummbled for me to stand/lean on the chair.

As it was a $10 tattoo we only had a few minutes until it was over. The entire experience left a really bad taste in my mouth. I've got 17 tattoos now, from flash work to walk ins to custom pieces I've had lots of different experiences as a "canvas" or customer. Tonight I was very disappointed in the customer service. I understand sometimes it sucks doing the same 10 tattoos every week but it's all part of the job. I hate to think of first timers excited and ending up with an experience like mine. The negative energy alone was...