When Spas Reopen Will Your Elephant Be First In?
In the past month, many articles have been written about how to prepare your spa for reopening from scheduling to sanitation. But let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
You know, the one that was there before COVID-19.
Let’s talk about your under-performing therapists.
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided spas with an unexpected opportunity to take the time needed for a reevaluation. Spas have a chance to reinvent themselves for the betterment of their staff and guests. But because there is comfort in familiarity, this may be easier said than done.
In the article Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Re-opening Your Spa Sonal Uberoi states –
“As lock-down restrictions slowly lift, we are already seeing many businesses jumping on the hope to slip back to ‘business as usual’ pre-pandemic, the only ‘change’ being the implementation of the necessary safety measures.”
Therein lies the problem. Ask yourself if you can personally guarantee the performance of each staff member? Would you recommend them to your closest family member? Customers, many of whom have had their lives irreparably altered by this God-awful pandemic are putting their total trust in you.
Do you want anyone walking through the doors of your spa to receive a less than stellar experience? Your high performers don’t. In today’s environment, your therapists have one opportunity to make a good impression. If they can’t engender trust with their performance, why should a guest believe that their sanitation is above board? Would you? That’s why now is the time to implement quality standards that will be strictly adhered to and used for future evaluations.
Successful therapists create a positive connection with every guest. They listen well, respect the guest’s needs, analyze, problem-solve, and offer solutions. This is most clearly evidenced by customer retention and retail product sales.
Add these five steps to your pre-opening agenda;
With your management team, review each therapist’s performance for customer retention rate and retail sales performance.
1. Create a template to address their issues. Keep the conversation customer based not personal.
2. Review each therapist’s challenges with them face to face. Get their feedback on their perceived performance. Be prepared to explain why you are now implementing more stringent performance standards.
3. Create a training checklist listing the most important touchpoints for outstanding service.
4. Set at least two days aside for pre-opening training. It might consist of having therapists perform a full treatment from consultation to product recommendation.
5. Keep an evaluation sheet for each therapist as a baseline for future reviews.
Need more information? Connect with me at Linda@MoontideConsulting
Linda Harding-Bond
