Serving Up Success!

BY HELEN TSOTSOS

The rapid growth of the spa industry has many spa owners taking a good hard look at how to transform their businesses in order to gain a larger market share. More often than not the “competitive advantage” crusade focuses on improving the spas physical environment or increasing the sparkle and sizzle of products and services. Customer service improvement is often a gimmick to get employees to be “nice” and for clients to be “happy”.

However, since so much of what many spas offer, in essence, is so similar, how can your spa beat the competition? The only sure fire way is to meet and exceed the expectations of your clients before the competition does.

So many businesses tend to be focused on management, rather than being client-centered. While management has its sights on the bottom line and the day-to-day activities of running a business, the collective responsibility of customer satisfaction gets buried and may be reduced to: “We hope that you enjoyed your visit, Mrs. Smith”. In creating a client-centered business you can ensure that resources invested and strategies implemented will yield improvements to the bottom line as well as supporting long-term, sustainable growth.

The heart of any business is its customer. Without these dedicated individuals we all know that there wouldn’t be much point in being in business at all. As a spa owner/operator, it is crucial to recognize that service is more than delivering a series of skills. Your customer certainly knows that! A satisfied client will share their experiences as quickly and readily as those who are dissatisfied. Service focuses on the human element. Service is the where your client experiences your commitment to them and where the greatest value is delivered. The concepts of business and service must be interchangeable.

Developing and maintaining relationships are central to customer satisfaction and retention. The key to any relationship is effective communication. Through verbal or written interactions with clients, it can be clearly determined what concerns them. By using simple tools such as surveys or focus groups, you can easily unearth client needs and expectations. Continually exercise creativity and innovation. It not only helps to anticipate the demands and concerns of your clients, it helps to surpass them.

Making a commitment to exceptional service standards and practices is imperative and is every spa employee’s responsibility. However, it is the responsibility of management to ensure these practices are implemented nd upheld. Working with the spa team to improve their skills and effectiveness will not only satisfy clients, it will improve trust and cooperation within your team.

Start by discussing and understanding the impact of beliefs about customers and service. Just a few of these are:

• The customer is always right .
• The response that you get is a measure of the service you provide.
• Whatever your customer says and does is a benefit to your business.
• There is a solution to every problem.

Since it has been established that businesses sell to a customer’s needs and expectations, business goals must cater to these and strategies must be tailored to suit. Goals are derived from knowing the client’s experience starts well before they arrive at your spa.Your offerings of sensory pleasure, peaceful tranquility and overall good feelings will titillate the minds and pocket books of prospective clients. From the initial waft of essential oils and gentle soothing sounds to the attitude and the approach of staff, and finally to the service itself, your client is walking away with a lasting impression. Identifying specific and clear goals will tell you what you will do. Plotting strategies linked to these specific goals will tell you how. The “why” should be obvious—it’s more cost effective to have a client return than it is to entice them to your spa initially.

Then what? It seems as though things have come full circle. Client came. Client went. Client seemed happy. Were they? Reflecting and evaluating the impact of goals and strategies is key to streamlining processes. To know whether your customer service goals were achieved at all, solicit feedback. Any information, suggestions or complaints a client offers are a gift. Refining processes to the ultimate satisfaction of your clients – the heart of your business – will draw them back to your spa time and time again. Efficiency, profitability and growth are just some of the rewards your business will receive as a result of committing to the customer.

Be different! Be better! Exceptional customer service and a focus on client satisfaction will prove that you’re cut from a different cloth. Nothing will help you outshine the competition like making your client feel appreciated, welcomed and wanted. Soon they’ll be telling their friends, who will tell their friends and so on. Your satisfaction will definitely be guaranteed.

Helen Tsotsos is an Adler Certified Professional Coach (ACPC), an entrepreneur, a certified trainer and leader.
She has partnered 20 years of success as a day spa owner with her Business Coaching practice to serve the industry she knows and loves. Helen understands the needs and challenges of spa professionals and uses her practical wisdom, experience and education to motivate and inspire her clients through change and growth. She has worked with business leaders, managers and executives to support and enhance personal and professional success through powerful visioning, creative strategies and effective action plans. For more information on individual and group coaching, customized training programs and workshops, please contact
Helen at (416) 466-1541 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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