ETS Tanning Bed Blog

One aspect of business that's almost as important as customer service is vendor relations. While the customer is vital in buying the product, the product must first be acquired and maintained in order to supply the demand. For tanning salons and owners, having a great vendor relationship is crucial, because you'll be known by the products you use, sell, and promote.

Naturally, it’s the tanning salons that are out there front and center, promoting the industry, selling services and offering up their tanning beds for customers. But there are a few key behind-the scenes players that I think are the industry’s best and most often overlooked secret.

They are Wolff System, one of the largest and oldest lamp providers in the industry; the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA), a great professional association and advocacy group; and the lending groups that we work with to help tanning salon owners obtain the financing they need to start or grow their business.

And guess what? ETS Tan partners with all of them.

This post is for all the tanning industry business owners out there who may be hesitant or reluctant to try a new marketing strategy or product offering. It’s about a book that’s drastically affected the way I look at and approach both my business and my life – Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson.

It’s a short story, but it’s a powerful one. So powerful that the book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for five years after it was first published.

The story is a parable about two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry” and two little people, “Hem” and “Haw.” These characters live in a maze where cheese is set out for them. Well, one day that cheese is moved. The complacent “Hem” and “Haw” keep going back to the same place, looking for the cheese. Meanwhile, “Sniff” and “Scurry” decide to venture out, finding new cheese.

Stop Employees From Sabotaging Your Business

Last week, I walked into a client’s tanning salon. There was a customer looking at lotions without any sales help and no sales clerk in sight. I poked my head down the hall, didn’t see anyone, waited a bit and then finally shouted “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Eventually, a begrudged saleswoman emerged from the back with an apron on, rubber gloves and a spray bottle of cleaning solution in her hand. She snapped off the gloves and huffed “Sorry, I was just trying to get some work done. What can I help you with?”

Hire Slow and Fire Fast

“Hire slow and fire fast” is an old saying that’s so applicable in a customer service industry like tanning salons. Yes, you may be short-staffed. Yes, you may have to work the counter yourself to cover that shift until a new clerk is hired and yes, it can be painful. But, finding the right staff member is worth it.

And, we all know how poisonous a bad hire can be. One wrong hire and your whole team could lose their momentum and their motivation while you lose customers. So…

Good People Make a Major Difference

The tanning salon business is highly competitive and to retain and grow your customer base, you have to provide exceptional customer service. Being the cheapest or fastest beds in town isn’t going to get you customers, but having a well-trained staff providing excellent customer service will.

One of the fastest ways to improve your profits is to improve the quality of your customer service. To do that, you need to increase your staff’s motivation and ability. So, how do you do that?

It may sound cold, but you must evaluate every employee in your tanning business as a profit center.

Look at it this way, if you hire an employee to work 40 hours a week and you give them a basic salary of $8 per hour, then you’re paying out $320 a week, not including the additional expense of taxes, insurance and paperwork.

In turn, you should be asking yourself “how much profit does this employee bring in?” The cold, hard truth of the matter is that when it comes down to it, every employee should be evaluated by how much profit and how much revenue they’re bringing in.