Right now most countries in the Western Hemisphere have not reached the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. We have no idea of what’s to come. What we do know is that directly or indirectly most areas of business will be impacted. Nothing will be as it was before. Smart companies will look ahead and talk about a future that includes diversification, introducing new products and discovering new markets. Read More
“Introspection is always retrospection.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
In the past several weeks the world has been hit with a pandemic, the magnitude of which has not been experienced before in our lifetime. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing financial strife across most industries and currently, there is no end in sight.
Particularly hard hit has been the global spa and hospitality industry. According to Chip Rodgers, President at the American Hotel and Lodging Association, “The coronavirus will have a more severe economic impact on the hotel industry than 9/11 and the 2008 recession combined”.Read More
Coronavirus or ‘Rona as many of us now call her, has knocked most of us for a loop. In the wake of the pandemic, hospitality will change the way it does business. And so will the spa industry. It has to. Read More
With coronavirus forcing many of us to work from home, it’s easy to become distracted. Here are my suggestions to keep you on track and at your most productive. Read More
In the past month, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a pandemic resulting in a reduced face to face commerce. The hospitality industry across the board has experienced a drop in occupancy and bookings. Read More
My husband Norm and I did something that was very romantic but kind of dumb in hindsight; we got married on Valentine’s Day. To be honest, I never thought about the future difficulty of scheduling an anniversary dinner at a candlelit restaurant, a getaway weekend or even a couple’s spa treatment during premium time. I never realized the additional cost or pre-planning it entailed.
But if you happen to be a same sex couple married on the same day as us, early scheduling may be the least of your concerns.
You may wonder if the establishment you’ve selected will be wholly accepting and willing to provide a quality experience for you and your loved one.
Spas may unconsciously be overlooking one of the most robust markets that exists today; same sex couples. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, everyone may not necessarily buy into it. Therefore it’s important to go the extra mile and show potential customers that you are accepting and ready to offer a quality experience at your spa.
It kind of reminds me of the stories my parents shared with us years ago. They explained that despite the fact that Civil Rights laws for equality were passed, some business still resisted serving African-Americans. Therefore it became incumbent upon the establishment to proactively reach out and let us know we were welcome there.
Some companies like Lush Cosmetics “got it” a few years ago with their viral ad for the Women’s March.
It’s a smart marketing move and from a business perspective very savvy. In 2019 the total buying power of the U.S. lesbian, gay, transgender, bi-sexual and queer population was projected to be 917 billion dollars!
So what can you do to market to your LGBTQ customers besides slapping a rainbow flag on your reception desk? First, keep in mind that LGBT folks are a subset of other demographic groups that you are currently serving, so relax.
Put yourself in their place as a same sex couple. Consider the behavior and personality of each spa staff member. Discuss the issue with your team and be aware of their responses. You (hopefully) wouldn’t accept discriminatory behavior if your customer was a person of color. Treat this with the same sensitivity. Address potentially uncomfortable situations.
Advertise your services in main-stream media. Use accurate depictions of same-sex pairings in everyday situations, such as at home, driving, shopping or eating.
Advertise in LGBTQ media and not just during Pride week.
Retail training costs money but there is probably no better investment for a spa to make. Still, convincing senior management and the financial department to fork over the amount needed to bring your staff up to speed can be tough. So one would assume that once the funds are secured proper preparation would be done to ensure a positive outcome.
But amazingly, that doesn’t always happen. It’s almost as though the training itself is anti-climatic. Read More
Sometimes spa managers are reluctant to beat the drum of customer engagement and the importance of home care. They want to be liked, and therapists can strike fear in their hearts. Change can be difficult and resistance, high.
Change can be difficult to implement at a spa. New procedures are particularly hard because people are used to operating in a certain way.
I always begin my retail classes by asking therapists why they chose to work in the spa industry. It helps me to understand their motivation or lack thereof. Some say money, others say they like to make people feel good. Some come from a family of therapists and others don’t have a reason. It just seemed the best thing to do at the time.
Knowing your “why” is important because it can make decisions simple in the long run.
I recently spoke with a spa manager whose group I trained. It seems that two therapists are resistant to doing anything different. They are using “family problems” as their excuse for not executing what they were taught in class. They say the new protocol of customer engagement combined with their personal stress is too much to deal with. Bottom line, they are not interacting or making home care recommendations so guests are walking out with no retail products.
When I was a therapist at Rescue Spa, there was a brief period when my father was in the hospital. So I certainly understand that SOP’s are not top of mind when focused on a sick family member. I informed my spa owner what was happening and took time off. I was not receiving salary, only commission, so for the time my income stopped.
But my “why” for becoming a therapist was to ensure that my multi-cultural clientele received the of quality service that I wanted to receive. So knowing that I couldn’t give 100% I chose not to go in.
I am quite honestly perplexed as to why that wouldn’t be the first suggestion from the spa manager. When a therapist is under-performing, it is the customer who suffers. Most of us have seen the backlash that poor service can bring in today’s consumer focused environment. Is it really worth it? What am I missing?
Recently I was sitting in the lobby of a neighborhood spa in Bangkok. I was the first person there and the therapists were still prepping their rooms so I had a chance observe front desk operations. It was nightmarish. Read More
