Blu Gorilla Tattoo

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

Ok, so Ive been planning to get my first tattoo for months. Lots of thought and planning going into it. So once I know what I want I start looking online for tattoo studios in SC. There are not many around my area. Blu Gorilla comes up in my search...great website and mostly good reviews (these reviews). And it happens that Im planning a trip to Charleston so Im thinking this is the place to go. So I call a week ahead of time TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. The lady I spoke with was very friendly, asked me about my tattoo ideas, was generally pretty cool and helpful. So I tell her Ill be in town and want to schedule an appointment. She says, "I think youll be fine to just walk in." Now, Im no dummy, and I dont really want to wait around (Im in the service business myself, I schedule appointments for my clients), so I ask "Are you SURE I dont need an appointment? Im coming in from out of town." She says no, I should be good to go but come earlier in the day around opening time. Ok, I can do that. Soooo...they day comes (Saturday) and I go in not long after opening. A friendly lady asked Can I help you? and I say what Im there for. "Do you have an appointment?" she asks. Now I see whats about to happen. I tell her no and tell her about my phone call a week earlier. Sorry, were all booked up but we can see you tomorrow at 12. Im supposed to leave Sunday morning so thats not possible. I was so frustrated and disappointed. This is what kills me about businesses who dont know how to take care of people. Im sure Blu Gorilla does great tattoo work and most people are very happy with the results, but you have to get them in the door first and not stupidly deny a person an appointment who trying to make one so they can give you their money. So heres my advice: if youre under 30 you probably wont care about any of this. If youre over 30 then realize when you call Blu Gorilla youre going to have to do your usual babysitting to make sure theyre going to take care of you.

---

EV

Eva Cobau

I was in Charleston for my great aunts funeral. I am planning a sleeve of memorials so after the funeral I thought why not just get the tattoo while Im in aunt Judys home town? I googled tattoo shops being the googler I am- and called asking for a quote. I asked how much for a 2in x 2in tattoo they said no quotes via phone- understandable. The shop was about 2-3 miles from my hotel so I just started walking and hoped for the best. 30- 45 mins I arrive. I see the sign and approach the door. A gentleman with a beard asks how he can help me. I explain what I want and he introduces me to the man who will be the artist for my tattoo. Sadly- I cant remember his name he has a shaved head, eyeliner, and snakebite piercings. He prints the picture and explains itll have to be simplified which I expected. He draws it up fast! and leaves just enough detail. I ask him how much and he says 60$!!!! I am wowed he gives such a decent price. I ask how much for a dash of color and some dates added he says no charge- I love this guy lol. So he puts the dates on one way I didnt like it asked him to change it. No problem so nice. Then I ask again for him to change how he wrote the numbers. AGAIN no problem no attitude. Finally I am happy and he begins. He is so precise and fast the tattooing was over in 30 -40 mins. Maybe even less! It was painless (I do have a high pain tolerance though) but it healed so fast and wasnt achey like my other tattoos had been afterwards. He didnt explain aftercare but he didnt need to for I have other tattoos. He cleaned wrapped me up and I was done. Rung me up and I gave him a 20$ tip for being so great. It was not that we had some great discussion or that the tattoo was extravagantly detailed- it was his sense of professionalism and focus that I truly enjoyed. His lines are INCREDIBLE. So neat and the coloring was just right. Thanks guy who did my tattoo!! Even my grandparents couldnt hate on it and they hate tattoos lol.

---

AL

Alex G

I love this place. I read some of reviews and didnt understand the gap between the great and not so great. Rather than take the critical comments from anonymous reviewers, I opted to stop in myself. From the get go I was impressed. I went in there with a hebrew tree concept. I asked them who would be the best and they said Tim. He took one look at the concept and was as excited as I was. The man genuinely loves what he does. The prices were amazing! I was expecting to pay a lot more. They charge by the hour. The best part is, his clock stops when the needle stops. So anytime I needed a break, it was off the clock. You dont get much more fair than that. Plus they have military discounts. The place was clean and sanitary. My first sitting was about 5 hours (huge back piece), one of the guys was headed to the store and offered to pick me up something. That was not necessary, but just the way the shop atmosphere is. Its a great place to go if youre looking for amazing work at an awesome price in an easy going environment. A big concern for me was sanitation; this is one place where I didnt have to worry at all. Ill be headed back for two rib pieces. The best advice I can give is to make an informed decision. The best way to do that is to actually stop by and talk to the artists. I went to three shops in the local and dropped 3 deposits for the same concept before deciding on Blu Gorilla. I was happy to lose the deposits at the other two sites; worth the money to find the right place. I couldnt give them a higher recommendation.

---

AS

Ashleigh Adamec

First time visiting lovely and delicious Charleston. My two best gal friends and I were searching local tattoo studios via Google and Yelp and came across Blu Gorilla. Both search engines consisted of such positive reviews. When I mentioned the name, one of my friends (who lives there) had also heard of good things through word of mouth. I was curious to check it out the next day! I was immediately captured by Brads exquisite artistic attention to detail and creativity after looking through his portfolio. Was eager to meet and discuss my vision with him, as well as receive professional input. He was attentive when I was explaining and spent 25 minutes coming up with a sketch to make sure it was exactly what I had envisioned. My first tattoo, so I had no expectation of what to expect. Brad walked me through what he was doing and also kept my mind off the pain with his friendly and entertaining humor. Could not be happier! Definitely recommend Brad and Blu Gorilla for your first or 15th tattoo. And if I decide to get another tattoo later down the road, Ill save it for when Im back in Charleston!

---

---