Successful business visions must be built to last. Whether your company is a startup or you are repositioning an existing business for future growth, the last thing you want to do is create a “theme” when you actually need a vision. While this has always been true, during this recession the need for a powerful and unifying vision has never been greater.
So what’s the difference between a theme and a vision? A theme is superficial at best, and vulnerable to whims and frequent changes of direction. Themes are bright, shiny objects that may briefly attract attention. Visions inspire your guests as well as your internal customers–your employees and other vital stakeholders in the organization.
Visions can’t be created by outsiders, no matter how talented a consultant is. A vision is an organic expression of the shared creativity and dreams of the people within the enterprise.
However, there is a process that ensures that your vision can be birthed and articulated. It’s called a Strategic Vision Session.
“Oh, brainstorming,” you say. “We did that.”
Brainstorming is just one step in the Strategic Vision process–an important one. But what comes before the brainstorming dictates the quality of the brainstorming session. Have you planted the right seeds? That storm may be watering the wrong crop.
What comes after brainstorming determines whether that deluge of creativity can be channeled into appropriate action. Which will benefit your crop more, a flash flood or an irrigation system?
An SVS includes a progression of specific processes, each one building upon the last. It begins by helping the group articulate the current reality and “conditions on the ground,” as well as the organization’s strengths and potential threats to its success. The outside facilitator helps participants get past habitual thinking and enables them to overcome roadblocks and even taboos. A good facilitator orchestrates participation from the group, preventing stronger contributors from dominating the session, and bringing out the creativity and insights of less-bold individuals.
Whether you’re a new spa, a turnaround project, or even a vendor, a Strategic Vision Session ensures that your efforts will not be forgotten with the press release. The product of an SVS is a Vision Brief, which guides the work of the entire team, across every function. Because it is co-created by your team as well as skilled facilitators, everyone has a stake in the outcome. It’s not “his idea” or “her idea,” but “our ideas,” powerful, distilled concepts that represent the DNA of the business. A Strategic Vision is not just the flavor of the month.
You may be surprised at who makes profound contributions to a new vision. We were in a session for a relaunching hotel spa in which the head chef made one of the most remarkable and powerful contributions of the entire day, something that grew into one of the key vision elements. This is why we insist that companies include as many of their stakeholders as possible. This usually annoys them–it’s not convenient to pull people away from their work for a day or even two (larger groups usually require longer sessions.) Sometimes more powerful players don’t see the value of including representative (or all) frontline employees. But the more participants, and the more time committed, the richer the outcome. The work that’s done during this period can guide a company for years, not months. It’s well worth the effort.
In new and relaunching spas, the Vision Brief guides the work of everyone from architects to marketers to hiring managers who choose the therapists and support staff. Everyone, literally, is on the same page, but they’re expressing the Vision through their particular function. The Vision touchstone is the place to return when conflicts or confusion arise about priorities, because that happens in all projects. At that point, the parties involved pull up their copy of the Vision Brief and looks for a way forward that honors the work that has been done together.
Not surprisingly, the Strategic Vision Process is one of the most satisfying and morale-boosting experiences employees will have in a company. Nothing creates ownership like participating in the birth of an organization’s vision. An SVP doesn’t always include an entire organization; it can be done for a group or team. We’ve just found that the more people involved, the better the quality of the output, and the more people with a serious stake in the outcome.
Not to mention, the more fun it is.
It’s a sign of the times. There are lots of distressed spas on the market right now. Many of these spas look like real bargains, selling for pennies on the dollar of their replacement cost. How is a potential buyer to know what the business is really worth?
Valuing a business is both a science and an art. The science includes the valuation formulas that are typically used. One valuation formula is “multiple of earnings.” Earnings include net profit, but it’s typically adjusted upward with “add backs,” things the business owner has written off that are primarily for their personal benefit, such as their salary, a car or business-with-pleasure travel expenses.
The art? That’s the value of the business relative to the buyer’s opportunities. Strategic value is just one of these considerations. For example, if you already own a spa and you’re considering the purchase of a second spa in a nearby town to expand your brand, and you can leverage an existing back office, that business may have more value to you than to the buyer who’s starting from scratch.
Is the seller using a business broker? If so, the “book,” or sales documents for the spa, should be filled with important data that will help you assess its real worth. There’s also a lot of fluff in there, but the numbers are the most important.
The financial statements should tell you much of what you need to know–that is, if they’re in good shape. A spa that’s for sale is probably losing money, so expect to see that reflected in the profit and loss statements. If things look too rosy, ask to see a P & L that has not been recast for the sales package, so you can understand what the add-backs are quickly. (The business broker should have this information at his or her fingertips anyhow.) We want to know what the spa has really been doing in the last year. Previous years were probably better–but that’s not terribly relevant these days.
Once the add backs have been calculated, you might see a small profit. Here’s the sad news for that seller, and for you as the future owner: spas generally sell for 2-3 times earnings (profits.) My brother in law, who’s in biotech, on the other hand, can sell his company for 18 times earnings. Spas and salons (and most personal services businesses) are at the low end of the scale when it comes to valuation.
That’s right; a salon with a net operating profit of $50,000 may sell for $100,000, but a biotech company with the same earnings could fetch $900,000.
It’s not just our low profit margins that dampens value, but the flighty nature of our workforce. Plenty of spas and salons that are sold lose a substantial number of their service providers. Spa and salon employees spook easily, often not waiting around to see if a new owner will actually improve things. As we know all too well, even the loss of one good employee with a strong following can mean a substantial drop in revenue, as clients follow them elsewhere.
Of course, it’s not just profit, but the balance sheet, that will determine the valuation of the business. The business is worth less if its assets are outweighed by its liabilities. One potential source of liability is unredeemed gift certificate/gift cards. You must be confident that the documentation of this liability is complete–and it often isn’t.
If you are simply purchasing the assets of the spa (an Asset Purchase), such as its lease and its equipment, and don’t plan to use the business name, you don’t have to assume its liabilities, including gift liability. Even so, it may be a good marketing idea to redeem gift liability in part or in full, on a voluntary basis and for a limited term. The value of the goodwill generated will probably exceed the hard cost of redemption.
You may be looking at a spa whose earnings with addbacks are $50,000, and using a multiple of 2x to give it a value of $100,000. But their gift certificate liability is $200,000. Here’s where “art” comes in, again–how do you determine the real liability there, since we know not all gifts will be redeemed? This is where a spa management consultant can help–looking at historic trends, aging of the gifts, etc., to produce a realistic number. Maybe that number is closer to $80,000, and you’ll only end up spending $40,000 in payroll and backbar supplies to service that $200,000 liability. If you want to use the spa’s trade name, you’ll pay for this. But an asset purchase, where you wipe the brand slate clean, can eliminate the liability. Will changing names and rebranding the business cost you more than $40,000, in hard costs and lost business?
As well, you need to know the laws about gift certificate expiration in your state. Some spas pay tax on their gift revenues as they come in (the most prudent and IRS-favored approach); others wait and pay taxes as those gift certificates are redeemed (setting a spa up for an ever-growing tax liability.) If you want to sell your business and you’re in the latter camp, a buyer will have to consider this.
In California, the value of unredeemed gift cards can be converted from a liability to income after three years of dormancy. By law, the gift cards don’t expire and you still have to honor them, but at least you can get it off your balance sheet.
We’re even aware of spas being “sold” for the price of assuming gift liability and a lease–no money is being exchanged in some of these deals. Landlords who are desperate to avoid vacancies in their shopping center real estate (which depresses rents and makes any other space less desirable) are sometimes willing to provide free rent–we’ve seen periods up to one year.
The decision to retain the spa’s existing name and branding is one to approach carefully. Look at online review sites to get a sense of how well the spa is managing its customer relations. It’s usually not possible to interview employees, but sometimes key management employees are privy to an owner’s decision to sell.
Reputations are on vivid display online, though you do have to take ratings with a grain of salt, since most review sites skew to the negative. Yelp, most notably, will “age out” positive reviews posted by people who write no other Yelp reviews, after just 90 days. Google aggregates reviews from different sites, providing a cross section. Some spas ignore online review sites, like Yelp–to their peril. If you think the spa’s name is “radioactive,” then don’t hesitate to rebrand. If the spa is established, with a reputation that’s slightly tarnished, an aggressive “under new ownership” marketing campaign, followed up with real improvements, may work the needed magic. Keep all of this in mind when thinking about how much you’re willing to spend on a spa.
This is merely an introduction to some important fundamentals of valuing a spa for sale, but it’s far from comprehensive. It’s essential to get help from a reputable business broker experienced in the sale of small businesses, and doubly so if the sellers are not using a broker themselves.
Owners are often emotional about selling, and probably under a lot of stress. It’s helpful to have a cool, collected third party between you and them. The first notion a seller needs to discard if they’re serious is the idea that they should be able to “get their money out of” a failing spa. It’s not going to happen–but you don’t want to be the one who gives them the reality check.
Next time: financing the purchase of a spa
I was doing a hardhat tour of a new spa in the wine country yesterday, one we did the space plan for at the soon-to-reopen Hotel Yountville. (Yes, the teeny Napa Valley town whose restaurants are famed for possessing more Michelin Stars than most major cities.) I remember being a bit challenged by the dimensions of the floor plate as I was working on the design a year ago. But as I walked through it yesterday, I was delighted by what I saw.
Interior architect Lisa Holt of DLS Hotels, our client, did an impressive job of creating a light-filled, airy and charming interior as she took my design from two to three dimensions. Lisa has been an enthusiastic spa visitor and has actually owned and operated a small luxury hotel and spa with her husband and DLS partner David Shapiro.
Fortunately, one direction we could go was up. Lofty ceilings and spectacular, tall treatment room doors create a slightly Alice-in-Wonderland feeling.
In the wine country, the last place I want to be is a cave (unless it’s filled with champagne.) Lisa brought the outside in with extensive use of tall windows, repeating the elegant rhythms of the doors, and we designed small private garden sitting areas off each treatment room. Bringing the outside in takes a small footprint and helps it to live large. The wet areas of the spa give onto a lounging pool, extending the spa experience effortlessly outside.
Being able to get outside while at the spa is a real luxury, and even a little bit of outdoor space can enhance the guest experience dramatically. I know that I’m willing to spend more time at a spa when I can be outside sometime during my visit. Resorts usually get this right and plan for it from the outset, though I’m often surprised at how catacomb-y spa designs can be, and cut off from the outside.
Outdoor space is not always an option, especially for day spas in retail settings. But sometimes an opportunity is right under our nose, in the form of ugly-duckling outdoor space that has become invisible to us through its very familiarity. It’s hard to look objectively at your own space, especially if you’ve been in it a long time, so sometimes it’s worth consulting with a designer to see what they “see.” One of my favorite publications for inspiration for small outdoor spaces is Sunset. They have a long tradition of outdoor makeovers that are simple, clever and inexpensive.
A few years ago we turned some found space on a second floor balcony at Preston Wynne Spa and turned it into a cabana-curtained loggia replete with cushy furnishings, outdoor rugs, and a private pedicure area for al fresco treatments. Five feet wide and thirty feet long, it was not useful for much of anything and surfaced with a very unattractive waterproofing seal. We added decking panels that sat atop the surface to create a more attractive foundation, and a fountain to muffle outside noise, as well as lush planter boxes (these also helped create more privacy.) With some soft goods (which are easy to refresh each year) it has become one of the most popular features of our spa.
Bonnie Waters at Changes Spa and Salon in Walnut Creek, California, found an unloved easement between a parking lot and the side of her building, a plain little patch of tanbark and forlorn shrubs. She convinced the building owner to allow her to use the space, which had no other purpose, and developed it as a charming outdoor terrace for her spa’s newly expanded retail and party room, screening it from the parking lot with landscaping. Because she couldn’t make permanent changes to the easement, she used decomposed granite with pavers set into the soil, rather than mortar.
Probably the best example of enhancing the guest experience with “found” outdoor space is at Osmosis Spa Sanctuary in Freestone, California. After years of operation as a landmark day spa specializing in Japanese enzyme baths, Michael Stusser, the visionary owner of Osmosis, carved a spectacular and authentic Japanese garden from a patch of creekside brush. This work of art is now the highlight of any visit to the spa and has created a remarkable identity for Osmosis.
I’m looking forward to experiencing the new spa at Hotel Yountville, inside and out, after our opening during Harvest season. Spas at their best reconnect us to nature and a more natural way of being. Outdoor space is often more than a sum of the parts; it’s always a great value-add.
We posted this short, funny, customer service video on YouTube, showing common sales and service “horrors” that happen in spas and salons everywhere, ruining chances of retaining guests, rescheduling, and retailing. Each vignette illustrates a fatal flaw–some obvious, some more subtle–and all of them re-enactments of real spa employee behavior I’ve personally experienced. It’s a great clip to show at a spa staff meeting, and certain to get people talking.
When you’re ready for the horror to end, you’ll find each of these scenes, along with vignettes showing the proper way to “replay” each, on our 80 minute employee training DVD, Selvice: Seven Steps to Abundant Sales and Stellar Customer Service. On our site, there’s an introduction sequence and a short example of the DVD’s “before and after” curriculum.
Thanks to BoomCycle Online Marketing for their stellar video editing on “Tales from the Spa.”
Holly Stiel, the great hospitality customer service guru, says it perfectly: “Being Right is the booby prize.”
Last week, an article in the Wall Street Journal described Proctor & Gamble’s burgeoning PR disaster involving a new disposable diaper that may be causing rashes. They’re printing the liquid-absorbing gel onto the surface of the diaper instead of putting it inside several layers. It makes the diapers thinner. P & G insists it was the most-tested new disposable diaper ever. Great! They avidly courted 50 influential Mommy Bloggers before the launch. But after all that, 7,000 Facebook-wielding Mommy Bloggers (and counting) have stormed the barricades, demanding the return of the previous version.
But P & G is mad as hell and they’re not going to take it any more! (I can just hear them hollering in the board room, “I thought you said we got ALL the Mommy Bloggers!”) The company that wrote the book on branding and brand management is not in the driver’s seat any more. It is a profound illustration of just how much business has changed in the last few years. You almost feel sorry for the poor saps, as they draw their line in the sand and stare down the jostling mob just across the moat.
So. How do you think this is going to play out? Do you think those Bommy Moggers are going to listen to the voice of P & G reason?
British Petroleum has been even more ham-fisted in its handling of the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. A company that makes billions in profit should be able to afford better PR coaching and crisis management.
But I have to admit, I feel exactly the way any embattled business leader does when I read a snarky Yelp review. (Thank goodness I don’t have to do that live, on a web cam.) The urge to prove that you’re right (or at least, not wrong) is overpowering. This is when we count to three hundred and try to remember Habit #5 of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
I remember Steven Covey describing this behavior as “being willing to have your mind changed.” Instead of promoting your point of view, or waiting your turn to speak, you actually listen. And those of us who have customers know, you apologize. In this litigious world, it’s hard for businesspeople to forget about liability and the potential legal consequences of saying, “You know what? You’re absolutely right. We screwed up. And we’re sorry.” But you have to.
The simple fact is, if the customer thinks you screwed up, you did. Perception is reality. The question becomes not how you’re going to convince them otherwise, but how you’re going to rescue the relationship. Doing the Right Thing when you’re pretty sure you didn’t do anything Wrong is hard. Customers are wrong all the time; however, the social contract we entered into when we opened the doors to our spa clearly states that they’re Always Right.
(Admit it, when you’re the customer, you’re always right. Aren’t you?)
The customer who complains is the canary in your coal mine–only 10% of customers actually do. So the next time a mishap tempts you to even explain (explaining is an insidious form of not-agreeing, i.e. arguing) listen to what the customer is saying. Chances are very good you’ll learn something valuable.
Lisa and I had a wonderful time in Las Vegas with our spa community from all over North America. Thank you to all who attended our sessions during the conference. We’re posting our PowerPoint presentations here; you’re welcome to download any or all that interest you.
The Wynne Business community has been growing by leaps and bounds in the last year, doubtless because of the recession–and our reputation for “telling the truth” about the spa industry. Lisa and I may not always tell you what you want to hear, but we promise to tell you what you need to hear.
We’d love your comments on these presentations if you get a moment to send along some feedback–and if you have any questions, fire away!
Back in the Black: Recovering Before the Recovery (Advanced Business Workshop)
Peggy Wynne Borgman
Advanced Business Workshop
Current Trends in Compensation
Lisa M. Starr
Spa Business Management Track
The Four Cornerstones of Spa Business Success
Lisa M. Starr
Advanced Business Workshop
Reading the Tea Leaves: A Field Report on Spa Industry Recovery
Peggy Wynne Borgman
Spa Business Management Track
Revenue or Profit
Lisa Starr
Medical Spa Business Track
In an increasingly virtual world, the “high touch” spas are one place consumers go for good old fashioned, live, hands on (literally) customer care. When our clients finally tear themselves away from their keyboards, PDAs and iPads, they’re ready to have their socks knocked off–by your employees.
Are they up to the challenge?
As we all know by now, the new generation of spa goer is the quintessential “tough room.” Millenials currently have a hair-trigger sensitivity about perceptions of slight and a penchant for ignoring their (grandmother’s) admonition, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say it at all.” Actually, they don’t say it. They go online.
Of course, all these dark thoughts used to stay trapped in a “thinks” bubble over the heads of your clients. Now their concerns, quirks and criticisms are out there, for all the world to see. And as you’ve heard me argue before, that’s good. We can learn from our mistakes faster, albeit in a public forum.
Embarrassing, yes? Efficient? You betcha. (Did you ever do the dumb thing again after the teacher called you to the front of the room?)
So, Ms. Spa Director, you’ve made some lofty promises about your team. And you’ve done some training. (“We had that training,” is one of my favorite phrases. Alas, training doesn’t work like a measles vaccine.)
Here’s one of the first challenges…have your staff members ever patronized a spa like yours (or better yet, yours)? How can you expect an employee who hasn’t actually been a guest of a five star resort to know what they’re supposed to be creating? How can a receptionist in a renowned medical spa know what your patients are expecting? Would you trust a pastry chef to bake a fabulous chocolate torte if they’d never tasted chocolate? Begin your training program for any employee by having them start as a guest. (The prospective employees that research your spa by visiting as a guest first move to the front of the selection process!)
One of the core values of world class service is empathy, a trait common to people attracted to the spa industry. Individuals who are highly endowed with this trait will have an enormous leg up in creating a great service experience for your guests. Yet the road to lousy service is paved with good intentions. World class service requires, not just a good heart, but a lot of structure. A good head.
The best kind of structure is like training wheels: initially, you ask that a new employee follow protocols to a T. You ask that they get a manager’s approval for anything remotely “out of the box.” Then, as you watch them in action, observe their instincts, their judgement, you can gradually give them more latitude. Some people flunk out at this point. If an employee lacks horse sense, all the niceness in the world will not compensate.
Five star, world class service is not nearly as regimented as you might think. Several years ago, Ritz Carlton hit a ceiling of service with their heavy reliance on scripting. The evolving “world class service consumer” doesn’t want a rigid formula. They want an artistic service experience. The CEO of Auberge Resorts believes that “at the five star level, guests don’t want scripting.”
At a certain point, after your employees have reproduced excellent service standards with consistency, it’s time to let them improvise. At that level, service truly becomes art.
The recipe for world class service is simple, but it’s not easy (thanks to Holly Stiel for that distinction.)
1. Hire people with outstanding core values, including empathy, mutual respect, personal integrity and healthy self esteem
2. Train them: formally, informally, by example, repeatedly, and by having them train others
3. Give them the opportunity to express their individuality and elevate their performance to art
Let’s look at #2: Training. We all agree it’s important. But in the “tyranny of the immediate” that rules busy spa operations, there’s often more lip service than action. Pulling everyone together for a group training (still the most effective way to train) can be next to impossible. But letting a staff member attend a webinar during “downtime” is something any spa can pull off, and sooner rather than later.
Ambitious initiatives can be expensive and have a short half-life. This leads to the very wrong conclusion that training doesn’t deliver adequate ROI. “World class” status can actually be achieved more easily by taking consistent, small and common-sense training steps. The key is measuring. “What gets measured, gets done,” as the saying goes. If you know that a front line employee needs to complete three specific training sessions before he or she completes the New Employee Period, that’s simple. Enabling them to determine when and where those sessions take place, within a time period, makes it more likely that they’ll succeed.
The spa industry, following the lead of retail stores, is bifurcating into luxury and economy sectors. The middle has already begun to atrophy. Neither path is easy; one is a red ocean of endless discounting, the other a challenging world of ever-higher expectations. World class service, to paraphrase, is not a destination, but a journey.
Is social media now just about bargain-hunting–sharing discounts, steals and deals with your friends? We know from past studies that discounts do not lead to loyalty. They lead to the expectation of more discounts. Which means, that shiny new customer will linger only if you can undersell your competition. Where’s the so-called wisdom of crowds? It appears to be circling the discount drain.
When it comes to saving money, the wisdom of crowds looks more like the mojo of mobs. To those of us who have enjoyed being “value add” artistes, creating differentiated experiences for discerning guests, the whole thing just looks like a hideous tag sale. High overhead businesses are being thrown onto the bus alongside their bargain basement counterparts, heading down the road to dusty, hardscrabble Camp Discount. The only activity at this camp is a pitiless game called “How Low Will You Go.”
Pitiless, because the companies who are inflicting this torment on us bricks-and-mortar fatties are internet marketing creatures. They have sweaty crushes on their “users” but throw spitballs at the very businesses that are providing the value that endears the users to them. They also have an unfortunate tendency to tell businesses what’s good for them, as if they actually know. And it’s a word I’ve heard a lot: “Exposure.” As I like to say, you can die of exposure.
“It’s your job to retain them,” discounters tell you. Gosh, your only challenge is to make them happy, and they’ll gratefully morph into a loyal, full-price client. Riiiiiight. And the next month, there’s your competitor on Groupon, with a deeply discounted offer. But, if we’ve done our job right, they’ll stick with us. Riiiiight.
The discountante lives for deals. She doesn’t want to bond with your business. She wants to flit from flower to flower, yelping the entire time. Remember, these are the kids who grew up with the concept of “friends with benefits.” Commitment isn’t in their DNA.
But consumers are not the only group out there with some clout. Small businesses scored a victory this week against a user-worshipping company that’s been easy to hate. That’s right, Yelp was squirming this morning as the hot breath of a lawsuit by businesses tickled its backside. They were accused of manipulating ratings based on whether a business advertised with them or not. Frankly, I don’t think Yelp was misbehaving, but I think it underestimated the venomous hatred they’ve inspired in legions of small business owners.
Yelp announced that we’ll be able to see those positive reviews they deem so un-Yelplike (the one-off rave that your client wrote, just for you, which in the past would disappear after about 90 days.) They’ll just be hidden away in a little basket labeled, more or less, “suspect.” Yelp has been trying to walk a very fine line, torn between appearing to pander to users while attempting to convince businesses to give them advertising revenue.
You’ve probably noticed, Yelp has made more and more of their business services free, a positive step that has helped many businesses make peace with them. If you’re not using these free tools, you’re really missing out. And whether you like them or not, Yelp is boosting your search rankings thanks to their their heavily trafficked site. (I know, I know, you almost picture yourself standing there while you’re being slapped across the face, mumbling, “Thank you sir, may I have another?”)
Fitting right in with the current mania for vampire chic, discounters like Groupon and their ilk are feeding off spas’ desperation to fill their schedules. They’re causing quite a stir, but in this case “stir” may just be another word for “churn.” I’d love to hear from spas who have been able to attract and retain guests using this type of program. Please contact me at pwb@wynnebusiness.com and share your stories.
Our experience with Spa Week at our own spa suggested that the folks who jumped on this promotion were, by and large, geographically unqualified to be regular spa guests. A year later, not one guest who came to us through this promotion was retained. And a couple of the little darlings left us unpleasant souvenirs in the form of snarky Yelp reviews. (Cheap and ungrateful–a winning combination.)
Compared to our normal retention rate of over 30%, this was a glaring example of the destructive nature of D-bombing. Aggressive promotions can create volume, but that volume may simply be churn: money-losing “volume” that saps your customer service resources and puts your regular guests in the back seat.
The jury is still out on Spa Finder Deal Days, until we see the 90 day retention statistics. Even Spa Finder feels compelled to embrace the discount mindset, but they promised a more retention-oriented promotion. I’m not sure how they engineered this, but time will tell if they hit the sweet spot. Participating in the heavily-discounted Deal Days while not accepting Spa Finder gift cards for the promotion, alas, created some pretty awkward moments with customers for many of us. We’re not sure how Spa Finder could rectify this in the future. We had much lower turnout than with Spa Week, but hopefully they were higher quality guests. Time will tell.
I haven’t written off Groupon yet, but I can tell you after two-plus decades in business, I’m dubious about their claims. They’ve graciously offered to put me in touch with some spas that have been happy with their results. I look forward to seeing the retention numbers and reporting back to you!
Virtually every spa has cut back on meetings and education during the downturn. There’s good news, though. Training your team is less expensive, and more convenient, than it’s ever been, thanks to–yes–the miracle of modern technology.
We’re talking about webinars. These are almost-as-good-as-being-there presentations that will engage and inform you and your team.
We suspect, if you’re reading this blog (behavior that denotes a high degree of intelligence), that you’d be willing to spend $15-$25 per person to get your front desk team world-class training in the following subjects:
• Mastering the Spa Reservations Call
• Mastering Complaint Resolution and Service Recovery
• Checkout that Maximizes Retail Sales and Rescheduling
Each of these Wynne Business Training Library webinars includes a highly original Powerpoint presentation and audio lecture, full of fresh, use-it-tomorrow content. They’re just $99 apiece, and once downloaded, they’re in your training library forever.
Custom training programs, with your company’s branding, processes and signature scripting, can be created quickly and affordably.
To review the webinars in our Training Library, visit http://wynnebusiness.webex.com, and click on “Recorded Sessions” in the left hand menu. You’ll see complete descriptions and agendas for each webinar.
On Tuesday, April 27th, Lisa Starr and I will present our next live webinar, “Mastering the Mindset of World Class Service,” designed for all spa employees.
Spas are working harder than ever to be innovative in their designs, but there’s one convention that just won’t seem to die: the monolithic front desk. Once upon a time, we had big fat computer monitors and hulking CPUs to hide in those enormous desks. So why, in this age of flat screens and cloud computing, are we still confronted with these intimidating beasts when we enter a “state of the art” spa?
Front desks create a barrier between guest and client. In restauranteur Danny Meyer’s parlance, it’s hard to convince a guest you’re “on their side” when you literally are not. Check-in, a simple enough transaction, can be accomplished with about two keystrokes–and for that matter, on a handheld. Why use up valuable square footage that you could use for retail merchandising? Because architects and interior designers think we want these things.
Instead, guests could be welcomed by a friendly host who is visible from head to toe, whose full-frontal greeting will feel much more sincere. He or she checks guests in with his or her handheld, or at a simple podium. (Seeing staff engulfed by giant desks reminds me of those little old ladies you see piloting massive cars.) Perhaps we could even stop calling our spa concierges “front desk staff.” (It’s a bit like calling massage therapists “massage table staff,” isn’t it?)
In the new spas Wynne Business designs, we include a comfortable “checkout lounge” that encourages lingering, with tables where home care recommendations can be reviewed over a cup of tea and some conversation with a Home Care Advisor. This salesflow strategy separates the departing spa-mellowed guest from the frantic incoming one, who often induces the departing guest to unconsciously “giddyup.” Not good for retail or rescheduling. Even when there isn’t room for a checkout lounge, we include in the design a “checkout bar” with stools. “If you perch, you purchase,” we like to say.
The front desk is one part of the spa business that has never undergone a serious rethink, which is very strange. Yes, we store things in those massive desks, we conceal trash cans and we hide our Starbucks cups (heaven forbid.) But our front desks carry tremendous symbolism. They are the physical manifestation of the intimidation that so many guests still feel when they enter a spa. I have no idea why they are so often front and center, like some sort of altar. Talk about scary.
They also function as a sort of fort, from which your staff defends the spa from the clients. Visit a new spa and try to get a spa concierge out from behind their desk. It’s like prying off a barnacle. Behind a desk, it’s easy to look busy as long as you’re not leaning on it, chin in hands. Imagine what happens when there is no longer a desk to hide behind. Shelves get dusted, products are straightened, guests are interacted with, refreshments proffered, doors are opened.
So why not do away with them altogether? Handhelds make it possible for the “point of sale” to be anywhere the client is–another way to encourage more natural interaction with staff, better customer care, more spontaneity, and oh yes, larger purchases.
As we look for new ways to draw the ellusive Millenials into our spas, rethinking the front desk may be a very good place to start.
