Robot Piercing and Tattoo — Local services in Portland

About a year ago, I was visiting a friend in Portland. I was only in town for the weekend, but we both wanted tattoos. We weren't able to get appointments at our first choice shops, but we liked the artists' galleries and the reviews we saw about Robot, so we both made appointments with Zach. The counter staff was friendly, but it took a long time to even meet Zach and discuss what we wanted. We were both getting relatively small tattoos, so the sketching process was quick.

My friend decided to go first. He pressured her to change her design, but she didn't want to. After a few minutes, they did come to a compromise and we decided to go ahead. Her tattoo was going on her ribs, well below the side of her bra. Zach required her to remove her bra anyway, and wouldn't provide her with anything to cover herself with. He said that it was because he didn't like having anything in his way when he was working, and kept insisting that he's a professional and sees female bodies all the time. That really isn't the point--if a client is uncomfortable, he should try to accommodate them. He did close the privacy curtain, but there was another male artist and client behind the curtain with us, and they kept looking over at her. The 'privacy' curtain didn't completely cover the doorway, so people who were walking by could see in anyway. It only blocked part of the waiting room and the street view. Zach also told us that he doesn't allow any male support people to stay with female clients because "they get too jealous." I offered to leave, since my friend is aware that I'm not straight and don't even identify as female. She wasn't uncomfortable with having me stay and later told me that she didn't feel comfortable being alone with Zach. At that point we should have gotten up and left, but we'd already come that far and we both felt guilty about breaking the appointment. Her tattoo was only going to take a couple of minutes, so we just bit the bullet.

My tattoo was on my leg, so we didn't have any privacy problems there. My main complaint is that Zach altered my design without telling me he was going to do it. All I wanted was a bird, and the next thing I know it was "Oh, I'm adding a rock, I hope that's okay." I really didn't want a rock, but he'd already started the outline, so what could I do? He justified it by saying that "great tattoos have an environment" and he wanted it to be a great tattoo instead of just a good one. I did give him artistic license during the sketching process, but once I had approved the sketch, I didn't expect unauthorized changes. Later, he said that he wanted me to send him pictures of the healed piece for his portfolio (I guess that's why he decided to just change the design without asking).

When discussing aftercare, Zach recommended a different routine than what the shop suggests. That's all well and good, but when I told him that I have a wool allergy and didn't want to use a product containing lanolin, he refused to recommend an alternate aftercare regime. When I was buying aftercare supplies, I did find that the product he recommended has been reformulated without lanolin, but it bothered me that he wouldn't even consider an alternate care plan after I'd expressed concern that it could cause my skin allergy to flare up and ruin my tattoo.

Overall, the work that he did was solid, but his attitude sucked. I wasn't going to bother writing a review because I thought I would get over the less-than-stellar experience, but it's been a year and I haven't. If you like Zach's work and want to give him free rein, you'll probably enjoy your experience. Otherwise, be prepared for him to be stubborn, have zero respect for your boundaries, and ignore your legitimate concerns about something that's going to be on your...

I stopped in to Robot Piercing early this afternoon, after chemotherapy, to purchase a couple of retainers to wear during an upcoming MRI tomorrow and surgery next week. Robot was in close proximity to the cancer center so I decided to head over.

I walked in to the shop with a smiling face, but upon entering, I was immediately faced with such extremely negative energy. I introduced myself, stated that I had recently relocated from out-of-state and what I needed for my upcoming medical procedures. I also mentioned that I was referred to their shop by several people in the community. The reception person was very cold. While they replied that they do have retainers in stock, they were now closing for lunch and I would have to come back another time. I mentioned all I needed was to purchase the retainers. Another person came out from the back room and also stated that they were closing for lunch. I practically pleaded that all I needed to do was make a purchase which would be fast. That person then stated that I needed to make an appointment. I asked "an appointment to purchase jewelry"? They again stated that they are very busy and I needed to make an appointment. I stated "I'm here now and simply need to buy something". They then stated that they could possibly get me in after 4 pm today. I was already feeling nauseous after having chemotherapy and could not wait around - especially being immunocompromised due to my treatment and not wanting to catch an infection prior to my surgery next week. I stated "I walked a long way and don't understand why no one wants to help me". They then stated that they would help me, but I needed to make an appointment. No other customers were in the shop and it could have been a quick sale. As a small business owner myself, I would have have taken the time to make a sale.

Robot Piercing lost out on a quick sale and what could have been a loyal, long-term client for piercings and extensive tattoos which I already have prototypes for. Their cold attitudes and negative energy were extremely disappointing.

After I left, I called Straight to the Point and spoke to Mika who was exceedingly kind and saddened by the experience I had at Robot. Mika apologized, stating that they did not have any retainers in stock, but if I was able to acquire a set in the community, Mika would place them for me at no charge. I was able to purchase a set and I will have them placed on Friday. While I was disappointed by the horrible experience at Robot Piercing, its comforting to know that there are kind people within the community who are willing to help, especially someone who really needs support and encouragement during my trying...

This review is for the guest piercer, Chris. My experience with this professional was extremely disappointing and also slightly disturbing. Things started out fine with Chris marking two dots, one on each of my ears, and asking me to take a look to see if I liked the placement. I did not feel like the dots were even, so I asked him to slightly move one dot. He had a problem with this and told me that his dots were even and it would be a mistake to move one. I tried to explain my vision for the aesthetic of the piercings I was looking for, and the look on his face and his attitude told me that many girls looking for ear piercings had explained their silly visions to him a thousand times before and he did not have patience for yet another customer who was wrong. He reluctantly moved the dot, and I liked the placement better! He did not like this and told me the new placement did not look good. I then asked him to slightly move the dot on the other ear just a hair to see if it could more accurately match this one, and he immediately adopted a "the customer is always right" big fake smile and proceeded to move the new dot so far from the original placement that anyone looking at it would immediately be able to tell it was off. He was trying to prove a point. HIS point. I felt extremely uncomfortable with his behavior and should have walked away, but I politely asked him to please move the dot back to where it was. After he moved it back, I asked him how they looked. He refused to give me his opinion, so then I asked him if it was ok if I got another person to take a quick look. He sighed a giant noticeable sigh, said it was fine, removed his gloves, and sat down like I was being exceptionally demanding. It took me less than ten seconds to ask someone if they liked the placement of the dots. My business took less than ten minutes of his time, and I paid $130 including tip. I have had a lot of piercings and tattoos before, and the experience you have while getting a body modification sticks with you. I can't look at my new piercings without feeling very disappointed and am considering taking them out...