Caricature Artist

I tried to book his company for an event and I contacted him on my cell phone. Immediately after inquiring about his services, I started receiving numerous texts from him trying very hard to book my event. I was shocked that he used this method of communication and felt it was a bit awkward, but I thought he was just ambitious, so after discussing what his company offers, I thought I'd give them a try. Within seconds, I receive a request for payment via PayPal for a non-refundable deposit to reserve the date for our event, which I wasn't expecting. I figured he forgot to mention this and it was just an oversight so I paid it to confirm the reservation. After paying this, I get an email from Mike stating that there are certain requirements for his services and that the 'artist reserves the right to accept gratuity from guests drawn for the duration of the event.' This was a private event where I didn't want my guests to feel pressured to tip the artist and was going to use the art as a keepsake for my guests to take home. After all, it was for a sacred baptismal event. After I sent Mike an email explaining that we didn't want there to be a tip jar, he immediately cancelled our event without even trying to contact me to discuss this issue. He was very unprofessional and even stated he was doing me a favor for offering his services for 2 1/2 hours. Sorry, but if you indicate that you have impeccable high speeds (under a minute per your website) at drawing your subjects, then why have a 3 hour minimum while the majority other caricature artists have the standard 2 hour minimum. My event was only for 100-150 guests. Please be warned- do not pay invoice until you receive all the necessary details and 'requirements' from Mike. It's rather a shady business practice to ask for payment before providing all the details to your clients. Furthermore, they don't bring their own table, linens or chairs, so if you didn't have these available, well you just paid a non-refundable deposit. They also require a tent or umbrella if it's an outdoor event. Again, you're out of a deposit if you don't have this available. It's this type of information that Mike failed to provide me until after he received payment. Luckily for me, he fully refunded me because his priority is money since I objected to the tip jar. He's lacking tremendously in customer service and showed zero effort to compromise or try to communicate a solution. It shows a complete lack of professionalism and incompetent business ethics. I'm hoping this review gives you a warning and that you be very cautious when inquiring about their services. I even apologized to him if I seemed too demanding because I just didn't want to spend anymore time researching another artist for my event. Even after that, he complained that it took too long to make this reservation because he stated that I asked too many questions. Wow, and to think I apologized to this man for being a normal customer! Unbelievable! Do yourself a favor and hire another company because if you dare make it difficult for Mike one bit by asking too many general and necessary questions, he may cancel your reservation and waste your precious time too. I've never had this type of experience with a vendor before. I'm glad I saw his true colors before allowing his company at my event.