Mackinaw Tattoo Mackinaw City Michigan — Local services in Mackinaw Township

My friend called Mackinaw Tattoo on a Saturday and asked when was the soonest she could get in to get a small lip tattoo. The man on the phone said he could get her in the next day as he only had 2 other appointments. He said he would call back tomorrow at 12 when they open to let her know when she could come in. 1pm rolls around Sunday and still she had not heard back from them, so she calls to inquire on when she could come in and to ask if there was room for her friend to get a small tattoo as well. The guy says to come at 2 and that he could fit the friend in after. They drive an hour and arrive at 2 to find that they had not schedule the friend and that she would have to go on the bottom of the list behind 6 other people. They drove from out of town to get there and now wouldn’t be able to both get tatted. On top of that, she had to wait 2 more hours after they said they’d be ready for them to mention FOR THE FIRST TIME that there was a $100 minimum. Least to say no one got tatted but wasted two hours of their day for no reason. The man at the desk clearly had not spoken to his fellow employee and lacked any sort of communication on scheduling. They also don’t schedule by appointment so there is no sense at all of when you should come in, absolutely no organization to their system. Instead of taking responsibility for the error, the man was rude and argumentative, never apologizing. If they can’t schedule appointments, I wouldn’t let them touch me with a needle. The man also started mocking my friend before they left the shop... DO NOT GIVE THEM...

We were on a girls trip the UP and I had promised my niece I would get a tattoo with her before she went to college. After trying a few places and finding everyone only taking appointments and no walk-ins, we almost gave up. We decided to look for a place in Mackinaw on our last day before heading back down. We called Mackinaw Tattoo and were greeted by a very friendly lady who gave us the most excellent news: they take walk-ins and are open at noon. In the hours before our arrival, we talked the other two in to getting tattoos as well, so now we needed 4! We got there around 12:15 and they already had people on the waiting list for the day. We jumped on as well, and after a few stores and some pizza, we got the call it was our turn. We had a newbie with us and Josh had been the artist there when we first arrived. He handled her nerves superbly and worked on a design she would love. He did two great memorable script tattoos for my niece and I, then a sweet small one for my Mom. He was great at maintaining rapport, keeping us going and making us feel very welcome. While we were taking turns getting tatted up, my niece had her rook pierced by Mike and she talked me into getting my nose pierced. Mike was super professional, kept it simple and easy and made me feel at ease before and after my nose piercing. Great service, friendly and comfortable atmosphere. I will surely be back...

Bottom line is, the tattoo turned out fine. The reason I am giving my review 2 stars is because of the experience. I called the number listed and the man I spoke with was happy to talk to me and told me the artist in St. Ignace would have time for my walk in appointment. We drove up from Mackinaw City and walked in feeling like a nuisance to this artist. He told me he didn’t talk to anyone to tell them that he would do the tattoo but with some persuasion he decided to do it. From start to finish the process took nearly two hours for a very small and simple tattoo. His demeanor was negative the entire time, I did not feel welcomed or valued as a customer. The bathrooms left so much to be desired, and he would periodically argue with a woman from the shop next door behind the conjoined wall. I witnessed three other customers walk in during the time I was there and he gave them all the same lackluster attitude. Yes, the tattoo came out looking nice but I would go elsewhere for a...