diff --git a/lib/charms/tempo_k8s/v1/charm_tracing.py b/lib/charms/tempo_k8s/v1/charm_tracing.py
index 68547ae2..e7eddbfd 100644
--- a/lib/charms/tempo_k8s/v1/charm_tracing.py
+++ b/lib/charms/tempo_k8s/v1/charm_tracing.py
@@ -294,8 +294,8 @@ def wrap_init(self: CharmBase, framework: Framework, *args, **kwargs):
         # self.handle = Handle(None, self.handle_kind, None)
 
         original_event_context = framework._event_context
-
-        _service_name = service_name or self.app.name
+        # default service name isn't just app name because it could conflict with the workload service name
+        _service_name = service_name or f"{self.app.name}-charm"
 
         resource = Resource.create(
             attributes={