Guide for clients
You have opened an artist's link and you want to get tattooed. This is what you will find.
Who you are talking to
At first you are attended by the artist's agent: an artificial intelligence set up by them, which knows their style, their schedule and the way they work. You will see this indicated at all times. The artist reads the whole conversation and can step in whenever they want; if the agent cannot help you, it lets them know.
Your email and your code
Before you write we ask for your email and send you a six-digit code. It serves two purposes: so the artist knows there is a real person, and so you can come back to your conversation from any device with that same email. There is no password.
Before the code we ask How old are you?: 18 or over, 16 or 17 or Under 16. We only keep the bracket you choose, not your age. Drop's artists see people aged 16 or over, so with Under 16 the chat cannot go on; if you got it wrong, press I tapped the wrong one.
At the top of the chat you will see Writing as and your email. Tap it to Change email (for example, to open the conversation of another email) or to Sign out on this device. While your session is open, the Drop website recognizes you: on the home page you will see your email with Back to your chat, which takes you to the last conversation you opened on that device.
Telling your idea
Explain what you want, where and how big, and attach reference photos if you have them. If you like a piece from their Flash (in View Flash, which loads more pieces as you scroll down), press Ask about this flash and it will be attached to your next message as a reference picture; tap it to see it large. You can only ask about the available pieces, not the reserved or already done ones. Photos in the chat also enlarge when you tap them. The agent will ask you the questions it needs and, before closing, it will show you a summary: the idea, the size, the placement, the style and the references of your project, and, if the artist has already set them, the price from and the sessions. Press Looks right if it is correct or Correct it to change the idea, the size, the placement or the style right there and send the correction; the price and the sessions are decided by the artist.
The design is the artist's call: if you ask the agent what it thinks of your idea or what it would change, it will tell you the artist will look at it and write down what you want.
If you send many messages or photos in a row, the chat will ask you to wait a moment before sending more; what you had typed stays in the box so you can send it later.
Booking
When you want a date, the agent offers you free slots over three days, two per day, with your project's name above them: pick the day in the tabs and tap the slot you prefer. If the artist only has one or two free days, you will see those. If none of them work for you, press Ask for other slots. When you choose one, it is set aside for you and the artist confirms it: the chat lets you know as soon as they do. If they cannot, or if they do not answer in time, the slot is released, the chat tells you and the agent offers you others. A proposal you already answered, or that has a more recent one below it, no longer accepts an answer: if you want to change something, write it in the chat. When the artist confirms it, you will receive an email with the appointment and a file to add it to your calendar, plus a reminder 48 and 24 hours before; if anything changes, you will get another email and your calendar will update on its own. The emails go to the address you entered the chat with.
If the artist has closed their agenda, their page says so and the agent does not offer slots, but you can still tell them your idea.
Paying the deposit
Some projects ask for a deposit to complete the booking. When the artist accepts your appointment, you get Pay deposit in the chat and by email, with the amount, the deadline and their cancellation policy. You pay by card on Stripe's secure payment page and the money goes to the artist's account. Once you pay, your appointment is confirmed; if you do not pay in time, it is cancelled and the slot is freed. If you cancel, what you get back depends on that policy.
Signing the consent
When the first appointment of a project is confirmed, you get Sign the consent in the chat and by email. Enter with your email, fill in your details and the health questionnaire and sign with your finger or the mouse; you can also do it at the studio, on the artist's device. If you are 16 or 17, your mother, your father or your legal guardian signs too; under 16 it cannot be signed. What you write is stored encrypted, only you and the artist see it, and you can download the signed PDF.
Change notices
If the artist changes something about your project or your appointment (confirms it, moves it, cancels it), you will see it as a notice inside the chat, in your language and right away.
Changing or canceling
Write it in the chat. The agent hands the conversation to the artist, who is the one who changes or cancels the appointment; if they move it, you will get an email with the new date and your calendar will update on its own; if they cancel it, you will also get an email.
Your review
When the artist marks your tattoo as finished, you will see Leave a review in the chat (and you will get an email): from 0.5 to 5 stars, a text and up to 3 photos. It is published on their page with your first name and the initial of your last name. You can edit it for 7 days from the same place.
Your data
We store your email, your name and phone number if you give them, your messages and photos and your appointments on servers in the European Union, and only for your relationship with that artist. To answer you, the agent sends the conversation to artificial intelligence providers that process it in the United States; they use it to write the reply, not to train their models. You can ask for a copy or the deletion by writing to us from the email you verified your chat with, or by asking the artist. The privacy policy is at drop.ink/en/legal/privacy.
Frequently asked questions
Can I talk directly to the artist?
Yes: ask for it in the chat and the agent will let them know.
Why does the agent not give me a price?
The agent never works out a price: it only repeats the "price from" of a Flash piece or of the project, if it has one. For an idea of your own, the artist gives you the price once they have seen it.