Tattoo Shops and the employees that work at the studio have a relationship that is unmatched in other industries. I can only think of a few industries where the people who work at the establishment are running their own business. Real Estate Sale People are Independent Contractors running their own business, but after working briefly in that industry I found the work environment more cut throat then even the tattoo business. Most of the time you were lucky to see those who worked in the office because they mostly were on the road or worked from home mostly. An office environment was mostly a place where people were more cut-throat to their peers. It was often encouraged by the broker.
The Tattoo Environment is more often then not a very fun place to work. Of course it has a competitive atmosphere but the owners of the shop should ensure fair play. Some times it can be taking turns on walk-ins or if one artist needs to fix another artist work within the shop- the artist who made the mistake needs to pay the one artist fixing the work the money for his time. An owner of a shop should never allow one artist to still another artist clients. An owner should ensure that if someone is advertising their business out of their own money- that artist receives the request from the customers.
In turn for a good owners loyalty to the artist. The artist should in return respect the things that the shop has provided them. If the shop is a fun place as well as a place where money is being made then some loyalty should be shown in reverse. Shop jumpers are an example of an artist with an attitude problem or a god complex. Shop Jumpers are those who like moving shop to shop after only a few months and when something doesn't go their way they up and leave. It's funny in the end how most the time they are often left without a shop to tattoo in. Word spreads very quick among the shops and usually those shop jumpers are black balled.
It is amazing how artist take for granted the opportunity to work in a shop environment. Many people spend years and thousands of dollars to get the chance for a studio job. It should be a lesson to those already working in a shop that they should keep hungry and loyal not only to the shop but also their clients. Ever since opening the tattoo school at Aberration Pro Custom Tattoo I've seen alot of people who are dedicated to the profession and co-workers they are with. I've got the best staff an owner could wish for. They are always willing to learn and eager to work. They do not have the God complex and treat the customers how they should be treated. When they graduate the program and choose to go off on their own I'm hopeful I taught them to be respectful to clients, perform your best work, and be loyal to the shops they work at. That loyalty if you have a good shop owner will always be paid back double and triple. After all most of the studios I've worked for everyone was like a second family.