PART 1: Ideas for a Fresh Start!
With 2020 now in the rear-view mirror, let’s start fresh and make some quick and easy changes to move into a sparkling 2021!
I asked PA salon operator, Kristin Smithers of Sunny Shores Tanning on Lake Erie, what changes have helped her salon improve their service. “The one thing we have implemented that really has helped us build our business is offering OPTIONS! We have instilled trust in our customers by allowing them to have the option of walk-ins, appointments and/or curbside check-in for appointments. Our curbside check-in allows customers to check in when they arrive via a mobile link and we text them when their tanning room is ready. This helps us engage more one-on-one with customers when it is their time to tan, as well as gives our guests the peace of mind to safely wait in their cars or outside,” explains this new salon owner.
“I worked at the salon for four years, then bought and renamed it Sunny Shores Tanning,” Smithers continues. Soon after the one-year anniversary of the business, she had to shut down the salon due to COVID. “Now, we are running on ‘new salon’ energy,” she shares. “I asked myself, ‘where can we improve?’ So, when we re-opened, we had a new bed in place, a HEPA filter on our air unit and UVC filters in the salon. We even added mini room-cleaners that plug into the outlets in every room, hoping our efforts would boost our tanners’ confidence in our cleanliness. Just like lots of tanning centers, we added retail hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes.”
