8 Skulls Tattoo on Barrymore Drive in San Jose, Sergio: This is incredibly hard and painful for me…read moreto write. I have never written a poor review about anyone before like this, but I feel this experience warrants attention because of what happened, the financial impact, and my concerns about the way I was treated. If Sergio had taken responsibility for the tattoo, apologized, and worked with me to make things right, I would not be writing this. I went to Sergio trusting him with my skin and believing I was in a professional environment. During the appointment, we spent hours getting to know each other and having personal, vulnerable conversations. We both disclosed that we are autistic, or that he might be, talked about our children, and found many similarities. For the first time in many years, I allowed myself to feel vulnerable and safe with someone. I trusted him. I am a single parent with very limited income and the full-time caregiver of two disabled children. Sergio knew this, and he also knew this was a special tattoo honoring my late mother, whom I love and miss dearly. Unfortunately, my tattoo has peeled and lost significant pigment in several areas. I am extremely distraught and now have to hire another professional to repair it. I have been told a $300 deposit is required, which is money I simply do not have to spare. I asked Sergio to reimburse me, but he refused. He has not offered to pay for the repair, provided a meaningful solution, or given me what I feel is a sincere apology. I also believe women should know about my personal interactions with him. Sergio immediately asked me out the night of my appointment and continued pursuing me. I tried to end things twice. On Monday, two days after my appointment, I peacefully told him I did not think things would work out. Instead of respecting that, he continued pursuing me and asked me to give him another chance. We stayed on the phone for more than two hours, and my home surveillance camera captured the conversation. He seemed sincere and sweet, so despite my reservations, I gave him another chance. During that conversation, he told me about women supposedly accusing him of touching their breasts and other things of that nature. I found that extremely concerning. He then talked about taking me to hotels for sex and asked if I would have sex with him on the first date. I made it very clear that I would not. I had already explained my circumstances and boundaries, including that sexual intimacy was off the table and that I was concerned about having a relationship with him outside the business. Something ultimately did not sit right with me, so yesterday I completely ended things and asked for my money back because my tattoo was peeling significantly and I now need another professional to repair it. Instead of taking responsibility or apologizing, he has continued to avoid accountability. His response has followed what I would describe as DARVO: deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. He shifted the focus onto me rather than addressing the tattoo problem. He also threatened to involve law enforcement over some of my unkind words instead of addressing my concerns. If he wanted no further communication, he could have simply blocked me. Instead, he chose to threaten me rather than resolve a legitimate customer dispute professionally. When I said I would have to take him to Small Claims Court, he responded that he would see me in court and give me a thumbs up. I found that immature and unprofessional. There were also appointment issues. Sergio showed up late and took additional time to complete the tattoo. He later made it seem as though he had gone above and beyond, when the additional time resulted from his own time management. His lateness and the extra time caused me to incur childcare costs I could barely afford. What hurts most is that I genuinely trusted him. I had not felt that vulnerable and safe with someone in many years, and I now feel that trust was taken advantage of. There are positive reviews here, and I do not discount those customers' experiences. Their experiences simply do not change mine. I especially encourage women to be careful when interacting with Sergio and to maintain clear boundaries between business and personal relationships. My experience with his pursuit of me, the sexual conversations, the things he told me about other women, and his response to my concerns left me deeply uncomfortable. I am now a single mother with limited income facing a $300 repair deposit and additional costs while Sergio refuses to take responsibility. A real professional would have acknowledged the problem, apologized, and made things right instead of choosing threats, hostility, and avoidance. I never wanted to write this review, but I believe customers deserve to know about my experience before putting their trust in this business.