Danny McGuinness and Nelson Guerra own Tiger Tattoo, a studio in the city centre of Dublin. It provides a range of services including custom tattoo designs and colour sleeves.
Tiger Tattoo serves a variety of clients of all ages from people getting their first tattoo to repeat customers. The shop prides itself on being LGBTQ+ friendly and takes both walk-in and appointments.
The characteristic that might be most surprising about the business is that it is rather seasonal. There is a slowdown between October and February, which is when the shop works on bigger pieces like back tattoos for their clients. Things pick up again for smaller pieces the rest of the year, especially in the summer months, with the arrival of tourists. Tiger Tattoo sits on Dublin Castle’s tourist route. Simple shamrock tattoos are popular with visiting tourists.
The business includes five tattoo artists that each have their own clientele as well as serve walk-in clients. All of those schedules can get a little hectic to juggle; that’s where Square Appointments comes in.
The Objective
- Time and money savings
- Prevent no-show appointments or clients having a tattoo drawn at Tiger Tattoo, but then taking their business elsewhere
- Ability to accept prepayments
Tiger Tattoo was looking for a solution that could help create business efficiencies and solve a couple of common client challenges: either outright no-shows or clients that would walk in, have a tattoo designed for them, and then change their mind and get it done at another studio.
Additionally, with so many tourists coming to the business, being able to accept card payments was important to facilitate smoother workflows and create a better customer experience.
They knew that a scheduling and appointment system could help solve some of these issues, saving the business time and money in the long run.
The Challenge
Tiger Tattoo tried using several different booking and payment systems in the past, but found that each one came with either hefty maintenance fees or didn’t have the integrated payment solutions that they wanted for the business.
They decided that any new solution needed to satisfy four conditions to help the business run smoothly:
- It had to include a prepayment feature that would allow Tiger Tattoo to charge a deposit for appointments or larger jobs.
- It needed an integrated booking and payment solution, so that a client could make an appointment and pay via the same interface.
- Pricing for the solution needed to be upfront, transparent, and without hidden fees.
- An integrated, free website builder was important to help tie everything together online and offer an appointment portal for clients.
The Solution: Square Appointments
Square Appointments has all the tools Tiger Tattoo needs to be successful, from scheduling appointments to taking payments on-site.
“Since using Square appointments our bookings have gone from 0 to 60mph. We have doubled our appointment bookings, more than doubled revenues and have completely eliminated no-shows”
They don’t have to worry about tools that don’t work well together or any hidden fees. Plus, getting started was a breeze.
“I created my account, and had it set up in 2 days. I was on my phone, but then I learned it’s better to do it on a desktop.”
Now, when a client books with Tiger Tattoo—particularly for a larger tattoo—it starts with a consultation and a small fee, which acts as the deposit. This consultation creates accountability for clients to ensure they keep appointments.
“It’s so handy and it locks your clients into their appointment. When people hand over their card details for prepayment, it makes it more official. And then they show up!”
Integrated tools allow the team at Tiger Tattoo to do everything from one dashboard and interface. They can take payments in person with a Square Reader, sell gift cards, and even take appointments through social media channels like Instagram. The business has seen a 30%-40% increase in its client base since starting to use Square Appointments.
“40% of our bookings come through Square Appointments. We have a lot of artists who are big on Instagram, and that’s where people shop for their tattoo artists, so having Square Appointments integrate with our Instagram account has led to more bookings coming from this channel.”
All of this works with transparent pricing and no hidden fees, so Tiger Tattoo knows its costs up front and doesn’t have to worry about surprises later, unlike other tools and bank terminals they tried in the past.
“What is the #1 benefit Square Appointments brought to our business?“ - “Prepaid Consultations”
Finally, Tiger Tattoo was able to easily build a website for free with Square Online. The website showcases business services, location, and allows clients to buy gift cards and book appointments online.
“When we found out that Square also offered a free online site, we were able to quickly build our website ourselves. It’s so simple.”