With 27 years in the tanning industry, I see things over and over that ruin the professionalism of a salon. You may have great equipment and a great location, but if your beds have lotion goo on sides where someone swung their legs to get out of the bed and left lotion leg prints (and hand prints on the top acrylic and lid), I’m grossed out and not tanning with you---you clearly don’t have a clean salon! How many other items do you or your staff overlook?
As I approach your front door, I hate weeds and cigarette butts and dirty sidewalks. If your landlord isn’t cleaning it up, make sure YOU are. Does your front door have fingerprints on it and old, peeling credit card stickers? Yuck! Along with homemade signs stuck with scotch tape on the door and counter, it assures me you don’t run a clean salon and don’t run a professional salon. It feels more like a gas station and not a place I am comfortable laying down naked.
If the person behind the counter is on a personal call, dressed poorly or uninterested, I’m uninterested. One of the industry leaders, Mike Blore, owner of California Sun salons, feels female staff should wear makeup and not have a “gym” hairstyle, to set a spa-like tone. As part of this look, I’m not a fan of the staff smelling like burnt skin or the salon smelling of burnt skin. You may no longer smell it, so have a friend “shop” you. It’s a real turn off, and we all know certain lotions have a yucky after-tan smell and many don’t. Choose wisely.
Probably my biggest turn off is when your staff isn’t tanned. If you offer tanning beds, there needs to be a good portion of your staff that tan in beds and have a very nice tan…that’s their uniform! I understand about pregnant staff or Type 1 redheads having a sunless spray tan, but most of your staff—and you—need to use the primary product you are selling.
I’m potentially more sensitive to being asked for eyewear than most, but its very smart to ask every time. I recommend you ask, “May I please see your lotion and eyewear today?” It’s a double ask, it is polite, and they can only show you. If you ask, “Do you have your eyewear today?”, we all know tanners will answer, “Yes” and they will not have their eyewear. I recommend you ask every time, so the customers have their lotion and eyewear ready for you to see, to determine if they have a bogus empty bottle of lotion or some SPF from Walmart. You’ll see if they have re-worn their disposable eyewear a few times or if their goggles are broken or missing lenses. Or if their goggles need a good cleaning with anti-bacterial soap!
When I get in your room, I don’t want to feel a sticky lotion floor. I want enough hooks and chairs to hang my clothes properly. I want to see an empty trash can and not someone else’s trash. I don’t want to lay for 12 minutes and see fingerprints or a lamp out above me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told the salon staff, “There were 2 lamps out in Bed 3,” and the staff member responds, “You’ll still get a good tan.” I do not feel I got my money’s worth or the salon is properly run if lamps are blinking or no longer working!
If I use your sunless facilities, I don’t want a sticky floor and I DO want the paper ‘sticky feet’ to protect me from floor junk. I DO want you to have a tray that includes clear disposable eyewear, a disposable thong, nose plugs and one time use lip balm, as well as barrier cream and a hair cover. I believe it’s the professional thing to do and for your staff to explain why a customer may want to use these protective items to protect their mucous membranes from absorbing DHA.
Online, I asked some salon owners what they look for when they secret shop:
Sandi Mueller, of Branson Perfect Tan, in Branson, MO, hates sloppy sweeping (where dirt is pushed into the corners) and lotion spills not wiped up off the floor and walls.
Leif Vasstrom, president of Supra Lamps in California, is disappointed if the counter staff doesn’t engage him in a conversation about his skin, tanning lotions, and different tanning bed options,. “I’m always shocked if I don’t receive a salon tour and if I’m not asked if I have any friends that might like to tan also. What missed opportunities to upgrade me and snag an extra customer”.
Leanna Thomson reminds us that dirty “Bed has been sanitized” signs are ironic and give a really dirty message!
Mike Lipsky, of Sunburst Tan in Satellite Beach, Florida, hates when tanning staff refer to tanning as “safe”. The FDA does not allow indoor tanning to be referred to as “safe”. Don’t say “safe” for sunless tanning either.
How did your salon survive our ‘secret shop’? Hope you “cleaned up!”
