River Rat Tattoos — Local services in New Braunfels

I recently visited River Rat Tattoo on February 25th for a daith piercing and a small Cross tattoo. While the artists, Sarah and Pugsley, were friendly and professional, my overall experience was marred by a lack of pricing transparency and poor customer service via telephone with a manager.

When I initially booked my appointment, I provided reference photos for my tattoo and consulted the River Rat Tattoo website for pricing information. While the site listed piercing costs (e.g., $65 for a daith piercing), there was no information on tattoo pricing or mention of a shop minimum. At my appointment, there was no clear signage in the shop displaying this information either.

My one-inch Cross tattoo took less than a minute to complete, yet I was shocked to learn—only after the fact—that there was a $100 shop minimum. Had I been aware of this policy, I might have reconsidered or adjusted my request accordingly. Additionally, my piercing total was $92.54, far exceeding the expected $65, with no indication beforehand that jewelry was not included.

When I called the shop on February 26th to express my concerns, the manager was dismissive. She repeatedly insisted that the shop minimum and other pricing details were “posted all over the shop” and suggested it was my responsibility to ask. She also contradicted my experience by claiming the website mentioned jewelry exclusions, which it does not. Her repeated statement “I apologize” felt hollow, and her defensiveness only added to my disappointment.

I requested a partial refund to address the lack of transparency, but this was denied. I was only offered the return of my $30 tip, which I declined as it was intended for the artists.

Overall, this experience left me feeling taken advantage of. I believe businesses should be transparent about their pricing and treat all customers with respect. Unfortunately, this was not my experience at River Rat Tattoo.

I hope this feedback encourages the shop to improve its communication and customer service practices. Regrettably, I will not...

The first time I got my belly piercing done here was on August 9th. It went fast, it was painless, and at first I thought the lady did a wonderful job. When I got home, I looked at my piercing and it was obviously crooked. On top of that, the piercing itself was too high so it was uncomfortable to wear jewellery. I took it out and waited a month for it to heal before coming back to RRT to have it redone for free. The second time the top ball was centered perfectly, but the bottom hole was way too far to the left making the whole piercing look lopsided again. The piercing was also too shallow. The piercing was poorly done and my body would've rejected it anyway had I not taken it out.

I took photos of my second piercing and sent it to RRT via Facebook and asked for their opinions on it. They read the message, but never responded. They made a mistake, then acted like I didn't exist! I came back the very next day and asked for a refund. The manager, Jess, handed me $25 and practically tried to shoo me out the door. I counted the cash and politely told her that I wanted ALL of my money back. They made a big show of trying to find my information, but for whatever reason their iPad wasn't working. I offered to show them my bank statement, but they refused to look at it. In the end, I got only $40 out of the $48 that I spent on my piercing. I have nothing to show for my experience here except for four unsightly holes around my belly button. Because of all the scar tissue I now have around my belly button, getting it re-pierced a third time would be excruciating. The whole time I was there they didn't even bother to apologize. "Take your money and get out" was the general vibe. RRT may have excellent tattoo artists, but I wouldn't recommend this place...

Hey Heather Marie, I want to start by saying Thank You for hanging out for so long on Friday the 13th. The line was so crazy reaching out the door and into the parking lot. We did 208 tattoos that day. I know that you waited hours and I am so grateful for your patience that day. The fact you picked one of my drawings and I got to tattoo it... I was Stoked... So much so that afterwards we showed it off to everyone before you left.Thank You For the Tip also. After our last text about getting your tattoo touched up. I was able to speak to my Boss. He gave me the OK to do what ever it takes to make you happy. I was thinking about maybe adding a Trad flower or something along that line to the tattoo. I text as soon as I had the OK to do the touch up for free. NO Charge. A friend alerted me to the review you had placed here. Once again like I had said in my text to you. I am so sorry that you feel like you have been treated poorly. I am doing everything I can to make things right. I hope that you will come in and let us both put this in the past and more forward. You know from Friday the 13th that I am an easy going guy and that this shop is full of great people that really care. I know that I can not make everyone happy all the time but I will always try. Damn it... Well all ends OK. She came back in the next day. Out of my own pocket, I redid the tattoo and added to it for extra measure and it turned out great. We are already talking about adding more to the tattoo and a few...