reverse psychology

It seems the harder you make people work to get an appointment, the more they perceive you as some kind of awesome unobtainable talent. Not that I have done it on purpose, and it’s not that I haven’t gained a few skills over the years, but without really thinking about it, I’ve raised my brand equity just by not being around as much.

It’s funny, but I used to know a shop that said that they were booked up for months, even though they weren’t. People got the impression that these guys must be awesome and would do almost anything to get an appointment. The shop would then book these folks for the “future” and then cherry pic the ones they wanted to do and when, and call up the client claiming they had a cancellation. I hated the scam but had to admire the brilliance of it.

I now find myself with less time to tattoo and you would think I just got twice as good or something. People will wait forever just to get in. Nothing has changed except the availability.

It’s kind of weird that the worse you treat people and the longer you make them wait, the more they tend to think you are the shit. I’m sure there are textbook explanations for this but I still find it strange.