These cats were great! I got a small tattoo on a Saturday night and the entire staff was super cool. Sure they are very sarcastic but I love it. I'll def be coming back. read more

Awful customer service. I was treated very poorly over the phone and would never trust them to tattoo me.

I love this place. I only had the pleasure to work with Chris and he's awesome. He took his time and made sure I was ready and knew what and where I was getting the tattoo. His personality is just a bonus. I wanted to take him home read more

I just got my tattoo there from Rhino. I came in with 5 photos of ideas and he designed exactly what I wanted and did an excellent job. The shop is nicely decorated, very clean, & professional. Everyone was friendly and I had a wonderful time from start to finish. While I was waiting the staff were engaging & fun. During my tattoo I saw them greet anyone who came in nicely and you could tell they treat their customers like family. I was even sent home with a temporary tattoo for my daughter. Highly recommend! read more

Maximum Tattoo treats you like family! They have a great selection of talented tattoo artists with a wide range of styles. It's refreshing to know that I don't have to drive to the city for ink and can trust that I am given a fair price for the work. I'm always impressed with this suburban shop!!! read more

Got a tattoo from Aaron Stockwell today. He is a true artist and did an awesome job. The other artists were also great and enjoyable to chat with. I would highly recommend this parlour. Great job guys!! read more

I have NEVER been so insulted than I was by an employee of Maximum Tattoo. My mother was told "f*** you" and many other terrible things. AWFUL AWFUL customer service. I would never trust them to tattoo me! read more

I was extremely disappointed with maximum tattoo. My friend was so excited to get her tattoo until we talked to an employee who was extremely rude to us. We were a little confused on the process. He did not help us but instead yelled at us. He insulted us, called us a "bully", and dropped the f-bomb. We DO NOT recommend to get a tattoo here. Terrible customer service! read more

Amazing place. Chris does amazing work. Always happy have gotten two tattoos (only have two so I got my first one and second one at Maximum. One from Sarah. One from Chris both look pretty awesome.) These people are really talented have great art work and are willing to do what it takes to make your tattoo the best it can be. They have really good ideas and have lots of walk in tattoo art on the walls. I would say go on a weekday if you plan on getting a big tattoo done but weekends are typically walk in tattoos! Other then that best tattoo shop around the only one I am willing to go to. read more

This is not a salon or a foot spa.. It's a tattoo shop! If you want to gossip with your girls then go somewhere else!! Not saying they won't talk with you, of course they will but it is a type of work where they need to get the job done, so if they don't talk to you for a while its because they are WORKing!! On YOU!!! To let you have exactly what you want. Appreciate the hard work that goes into the art piece given by an artist. I haven't meet a single person at "Maximum Tattoo Shop", that was rude. The owners run an amazing shop! I would never go anywhere else. All the artist there are TOP NOTCH !! They do amazing work and are such great people. If they aren't talking to you 24/7 during your tattoo it may be because they are concentrating on make you a badass tattoo! Don't take it personal! Appreciate the art work. Good flow through the shop comes from them and they do an amazing job. Tattoos are not cheap! Just because your paying a lot of money doesn't mean your some special person and get special treatment. Everyone is paying a lot of money. It's art work on your body for the rest of your life. You get what you pay for. You want a crappy tattoo. This is not your place. All that will come out of" Maximum Tattoo Shop" is gorgeous, incredible art pieces that people will talk about everyday! Amazing shop! Amazing artist: not about the gender it's about who has a great hand to make beautiful art. Sara Ray at "Maximum Tattoo Shop" is absolutely amazing!!! If you don't know, come in and check out her work yourself. Not only is she extremely precise, but she's so down to earth. I waited a long time to find the perfect artist to get a rather large side piece and I'm so glad I did. My roses came out better than I could have even imagined. I get complimented on them all the time and now I have all my friends coming to him as well : ) "GOOD WORK AINT CHEAP AND CHEAP WORK AINT GOOD" - SAILOR JERRY ************HANDS DOWN PEOPLE THIS IS THE REAL DEAL**************** read more

Was in on Monday to get a tattoo for me & my daughter who just turned 18. We brought in some ideas of what we wanted & Beth drew up 2 fabulous designs for us. I love mine & so does my daughter. I really appreciated how Beth made my daughter feel at ease & kept checking in on her, (actually asked me too how I was doing), as this was her first tattoo. I would definitely go back. Thank you Beth! read more

First off I would like to say that this place might have some very good tattoo artists. I saw their art and pictures and I was impressed. I had heard some very good things about the place. So I went by and I spoke to a man named Phil that worked there. Came off like a good, cool guy to me. I showed him the type of tattoo I wanted and we agreed to an appointment on a Saturday from next week. He took out his book schedule and wrote down my name and phone number in case he needed to contact me for any reason. I left the place excited and looking forward to that day, my girlfriend who was there with me at the time when I went to make an appointment with Phil was also very excited for me. I waited the week off and me and my girlfriend drove back all the way down to Deerfield where the place is located, I lived in Kenosha WI at the time so it was about a 40-45 minute drive depending on traffic to Maximum Tattoo. As I came in excited and ready for my first "big" tattoo I came in and was greeted by a female receptionist which never knew nor found out her name, and another female artist named Kate. Kate was working on a tattoo with one of her customers and another artist named Chris was in the back also working on a tattoo with a customer. As I came in with my girlfriend and was greeted by the receptionist I told them I had an appointment with an Artist. Which was Phil but at the time I didn't know his name, I had completely forgotten about it. Kate looked at me clueless and said that if I was talking about Phil that he wasn't there that day. She said that he was sick and had bronchitis. Disappointed and a little frustrated I told her why nobody called or said anything to me? My girlfriend also said that Phil should of called me prior to me making the drive all the way down here, she said that was a little unprofessional from them and I agreed. Kate immediately responded to me saying "well I don't think he knew he was going to get bronchitis today" saying it a little rude. I responded telling her that it's obvious nobody knows when they will get sick or not, but that didn't mean Phil or someone from here couldn't call me to let me know that he wasn't going to be able to tattoo me today. She didn't say anything back. After 5-6 minutes of me and my girlfriend just standing there like idiots the receptionist took out a piece of paper and pen and told me to write down my name and phone number so Phil could call me back and reschedule. I wrote down both my name and number gave the pen and paper to the receptionist and told them to have a good day. Tuesday I called Maximum Tattoo since I never got a call back from them since the Saturday I had gone. And Phil answers. I finally ask him for the reason why he never called me to let me know he wasn't going to be able to tattoo me. He said he was sick and that he apologized, his whole family got sick with him he said. As soon as he finished saying that I decided to give him a second chance and asked him when we will be able to do the tattoo we agreed upon and immediately he said he wasn't going to do my tattoo anymore. He said because his receptionist and Kate and Chris who was sitting all the way to the back at the time I went said that I was "extremely rude, violent and that I threw a pen at the receptionist when I left". In disbelieve I was in a loss of words for a couple of seconds, and I told him that they where liars, I told him that I would never do that. I told him and I quote "I'm not an as*hole, i'm not going to disrespect nor assault somebody over a small mistake that you did". And then he said "then all the people that I trust with my life have lied to me" I reassured him again that I never did any of that and that his co-workers where lying to him. He rudely said that I could call him Saturday of that week to see if he "felt like doing the tattoo for me" I hung up. I looked at some of the reviews here on google and yelp and asked many friends about the place and they all agreed that the female employees from Maximum Tattoo where rude, and very short with customers. I greatly advice anyone against going to this place. Very horrible customer service and very rude people. Phil is a good guy I guess, he was just lied to, But thanks to his ignorance and thanks to his lying and rude female co-workers he lost himself a loyal customer and a lot more thanks to me not recommending that place to all of my family, friends, and friends of friends that live around Deerfield. Very disappointed and frustrated at that place and their people. Bunch of rude liars. I wish Phil good luck and hope he finds a way to restore his business with people who actually know the meaning of courtesy and customer service. read more

I've had 5 tattoo's done at Maximum Tattoo. I get excited and anxious and not sure what to do, and being older than most of the clients I see in there, and I found that it all depends on the artist you get. I find Beth to be extremely rude and condescending. I've had lovely tat's done there, but my last experience was horrible. I thought they were "artists," and they don't take appointments when I call, so I tried to explain what I wanted to Beth, and even though I was the first person in there, I ended up with a straight out of the pics on the internet lightning bolt. I said fine because I really wanted to commemorate an experience I had, and was charged $70. I forgot who actually did it (Beth checked me in and took the people who came in after me), and at least he put color in for that price. I asked later, as it got to bothering me, what their minimum price is, and was told it was $50. Seriously, a lightning bolt on my arm. So I asked the artist who did my tat, in person, if we could expand upon it, and he got very defensive and then flat out rude. I tried to tell him I really liked how he came up with the idea to hombre the color, but he seemed very upset that I wasn't thrilled. I've only had 2 artists take what I came in with and "freshen" it up to be lovely tats that I get compliments on. I think I'll try someplace else next time. They do a good job, but there's communication elements missing in the customer service that makes it hard for me to deal with them. read more

Attitude sucks this place is chock full of it starting with the owner. Do yourself a favor and take the time and shop around, you'll save yourself hundreds of dollars. I saved almost $300 over what I was quoted and am extremely happy with what I received from a competing shop just a little bit north of them. read more

I honestly cannot believe anyone gives this place a good review. I have had nothing but rude and unprofessional experiences with Beth the last few times I went in for either a touch-up or a new tattoo. She simply sees me and acts like I am being a huge burden to her, giving me a instant "no" to any design I bring in for her. I give up at this point and won't return for any further business. I see Speakeasy Custom Tattoo multiple positive ratings so I plan to take my new ink there. read more

Walked in with my family, all excited to get our first tattoos together and from the second we walked in there was an awful vibe. The lady at the register put in no effort and acted as if this wasn't her job and we were bothering her, all we wanted was the number ten tattooed on all of us. They had NO BOOKS to show different types of font for numbers, when we asked the lady mocked us and made sure to let us know there was a $50 minimum. She printed out 4 options of font which all looked the same and said that was all they had. We looked up fonts on our phones that we liked and tried to show them but instead of being open to our ideas they yelled and swore at us until we left. We walked in so excited and this place totally ruined the experience for us, we clearly ended up leaving without tattoos and specifically made this yelp account to warn people about this awful experience, GO ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Katie Cain did a great job on my tattoo! I went in with friends and we were all a little nervous. She called us down and made us feel comfortable. She even fixed a spelling error on an old tattoo. read more

I went in today to get a tattoo that was very personal to me. At first when I walked in, phil was doing a tattoo on someone and told me that in 30 minutes he should be done. I came back thirty minutes later and the place had many people...he was nice enough to tell everyone that I was first and that they could go after me. The place was very clean (which I looked for). I was extremely nervous because it was my first tattoo and I am a pansy to say the least. He made me feel super comfortable and advised me on what to do during and after my tattoo. Yes, it was a painful experience...but I can definitely say that I was comfortable even through all the pain. In the end I loved my tattoo and the service. On top of all of that, he charged me way less that the other places I was considering! Thank-you Phil, I'm extremely grateful for your work! read more

I was introduced to Beth by my brother. He knew that I was looking to get a tattoo done so he recommended her and it was the best choice I made! I told her what I wanted and she gave me her input as well which REALLY helped because it was my first tattoo and I was a little nervous. It was a tattoo of a peacock feather and some writing attached and she did it in a way where went with the curves of my body...very nice. I also told her that I didn't want it too visible if i was wearing a short shirt and she accommodated that as well. I've gotten many compliments on it and a few of my friends have said that they'd like to go to her for their next tat. Would definitely recommend her, you can tell that she is a very experienced tattoo artist. read more

The staff was quite nice, the place was clean , and the artists were fairly good. My boyfriend and I went in to get tattoos and while the wait wasn't that long the tattoos looked...bad. The ink was of very poor quality and faded quickly. I went back in a second time to get my outline coloured in. Katie, a very kind artist helped me with the design but halfway through the tattoo I noticed she had already applied some colour without consulting me on which shade I preferred and by that time it was too late. My tattoo's colour is faded and parts of my skin look dry. I've had tattoos done at various places so I know that the ink was of low quality. My suggestion, don't get a tattoo from here. read more

This place is ridiculous. I have never been treated so poorly. Beth was extremely disrespectful to me and my friends. She tried to tell me their wasn't "a tattoo shop in the world with needles small enough" For a tattoo behind the ear. We thought maybe she misunderstood and tried showing her images of exactly what we wanted because it's clearly been done before and it wasn't a very detailed piece of art. She proceeds to raise her voice and tell us that she's been doing tattoos for 16 years and we were "too young" to understand that skin stretches and we can't get these tattoos. We already have tattoos, and children. We understand how our bodies work and we were 100% sure we wanted these tattoos, not that we asked her opinion on our age. If she didn't like the tattoo and didn't want to do it, that's fine but there were a million polite ways to say that instead of lying saying it's not physically possible and telling us we are too young to understand tattoos. Side note, we found a better artist who was able to do our tattoos without the judgement. read more

while i have not been to this location,i got my tattoos from phil at his old shop,his work is the best in chicagoland as far as i'm concerned.all the stuff he did on me was one-off custom stuff and i couldn't be happier! nice guy too.i can't wait to come check out the new shop. read more

So.....I'm not one who typically writes reviews unless it was a horrible experience. Let me tell you something, this was absolutely the best tattoo experience that I've probably ever had. Do yourself a favor, and go see Katie. She is absolutely unbelievable. She is absolutely amazing. She's fun, very artistic, and an absolute pleasure. The prices are fair but most of all, the work she does is absolutely amazing. I've been looking around for quite some time to try to find my artist. I found her today. I will never go anywhere else. Trust me on this and go see Katie. You will not be disappointed read more

Best tattoo shop of all time. I couldn't be happier. Phil, Beth, Katie, and Chris all have soooooooo much talent. If you want a bad ass tattoo go to Maximum Tattoo. LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!!!! read more

Went in with my best friend today to get a couple of simple word tattoos to celebrate her birthday. When we walked in the staff was super friendly greeting us, and treated us with a ton of respect even though we were just getting small tattoos. Sara was great, she made me feel comfortable during the whole process and was able to hand draw my friend's design with incredible ease on the spot. Sometimes an artist can seem outwardly irritated when they get a walk in who just wants a simple little thing, but she really took the time to ensure that we were happy and treated us like valuable customers. I was very happy with the service at Maximum and will definitely be coming back for some more complex work. After seeing how INCREDIBLY talented Sara is after getting home and looking at her work online, I definitely want to get a piece that really shows off her artistic spin (i'm thinking red headed pinup =P) Thanks for accomodating us, and being super friendly, fun and down to earth. read more

Phil is THE BEST! 1st tattoo, looks AMAZING! Gorgeous job, super experience. Highly recommended!! I'll be back!

Was recommended by a friend. Very talented artists. Beth, the woman I worked with, was very flexible and willing to cooperate with my desires. Highly recommend, and will certainly be going back for my next piece. Most likely with Beth again. read more

Very poor customer service. This is not a review on the quality of their work, it never got to that point. I went in to get a very small tattoo fixed. I showed the woman the tattoo and told her what I wanted to have done. Her immediate answer was "I am not a computer." That does not build confidence. Silly me, did not walk at that point. I explained that the person in Texas who did the tattoo did not do a very good job. No empathy from her, like sorry that happened I will fix it so you are happy. Instead she defended the person. Silly me, still did not walk at that point. She then places a form in front of me. I asked her, "What should I do?" There was a lot on the form. Her reply in the most unfriendly voice was, "Fill it out." Smart me, put down the pen and walked out the door. As a customer service professional, I believe I can pass on some tips to the woman that waited on me. It is important to establish confidence in your customer. You did not do that. It is important to have empathy. You did not have that. It is important to make a positive connection with your customer. One way is through the tone of your voice. You did not do that. So there was a missed opportunity for the shop. I ended up going to Liberty Tattoo in Libertyville and they were everything you were not as far as customer service goes. And they did great work. read more

I accompanied a friend to get a tattoo here. The group in front of us had 5 (!) people all getting large tattoos, but we were told to wait rudely and weren't even allowed to fill out forms or anything in advance. After a 45 minute wait, we were finally addressed. My friend told her artist (Jim) that she got nervous about pain, so she wanted him to take the tattoo slowly. She already has a tattoo, so she knew the pain level, she just wanted to be able to go slowly. He said he was very patient and didn't mind giving this small wave tattoo 40 minutes extra attention. Jim set up the area and got ready to tattoo her, then complained when she needed to take a couple deep breaths before he started. He told her no matter what that she would be paying $50 even if she didn't get it at this point because he had set up the materials. This is obviously horrible customer service because she should not have to pay for a tattoo she didn't get. He started to tattoo her and forced her to place her arms in an uncomfortable position because of the way he wanted to sit next to her. He spoke loudly and openly to the artist next to him about how he wanted to trade customers with her "because anything would be more fun than this". My friend heard and got nervous and felt pressured to let him continue. I gave her some words of advice about to just relax and breathe and that is when Jim started yelling at me because "i was causing a circus" and bringing "chaos" to his shop. I was only reassuring my friend, which he couldn't do because of his poor interpersonal skills. He promptly kicked us out, without finishing the tattoo, or cleaning and bandaging what he had done. When I asked for his name, he refused to give it to me and I had to look it up online. I do NOT recommend this shop at all. The customer service is so poor and the artists are arrogant, mean, and impatient. read more