A few weeks back Chrystal treated herself to a pregnancy massage with another “expecting” friend at Burke Williams Spa in San Jose, CA. The day spa offers a pregnancy package with a lavish milk bath, which Chrystal and Christy thoroughly enjoyed. Chrystal loved it and was definitely more relaxed afterwards. But upon her return from the spa she said that although the guests were becoming more relaxed the staff seemed harried.
When she checked in she did not fill out any paperwork simply signed in and was presented with a key and keychain for her locker. Her schedule was in the computer and on a printout. Throughout her three hour visit she had spa employees pop into the public areas (like the quiet room, sauna or hot tub) and ask, “Do you have an appointment and 2:00 PM?" or "Are you so and so.” If the person was there they informed them of their next appointment time and location. Chrystal had two problems with these very common operations. First, keeping track of a key at a day spa is an inconvenience. At one point Chrystal accidentally grabbed Christy's robe and then could not get in her locker, as her key was in her robe. Second, consistently having employees ask me if I'm someone I'm not does not equate to the experience associated with a high-end spa.
I know Chrystal would go back to Burke Williams Spa if given the opportunity, but the prices may not be in line with the “experience”. We have a place in Santa Barbara where she can get the same massage treatments for 1/3 the price (maybe less) and many spas where she can get exactly the same treatments for the same price. At core a spa must be measured on the value and quality of the services it offers. But if those services are equal to competing spas then what incentive does a customer have to return?
Answer: A unique experience.
What if Chrystal's experience instead went like this. After making her spa reservation she had the option to complete the majority of the information online (some HIPPA stuff may be only allowed on a form) and was
able to note any preferences, allergies, etc. When arriving at the spa, the information she provided online is complete on the form and she is asked to take a quick profile picture and then sign the form (waiver and legal stuff). She is presented with her schedule of services and a small Breast Cancer Awareness wrist band outfitted with an RFID tag. She is assigned a locker number that can be opened with her wrist band. After relaxingly loosing track of time in the sauna a staff member pops in to let her know it is time for her milk bath. The staff member speaks directly to her and knows her by name, though has never seen her before. This happens throughout her day and both her and the staff are relaxed and enjoying her time.
With the growing number of guests willing to spend money for a unique experience, this story brings customers back. It is not only possible but simple to make a reality. Just about every spa already has a loyalty program and most of them accept a small profile picture to associate with the guest, so that part is done. Implementing location services using RFID is becoming more mainstream with vendors like Motorola, PDC, and Microsoft leading the way. Guest information is linked to the RFID wrist band, which is small, inexpensive, completely waterproof, and even stylish if so desired. The entire staff has access to the guest's picture and knows where each guest is at all time because of RFID scanners at each door. An added benefit is the spa gets automated guest preferances by reporting each room that a guest goes into and the amount of time they spend in it (this has to free up at least one administrative job). This information is also golden when it comes to personalized marketing with solid Business Intelligence data.
If your spa has a restaurant there is an added option to interface Point of Sale (POS) with Loyalty and allow guests to buy food and other items available for sale with their wrist band. LifeTime Fitness, a specialist in the “health and fitness experience” uses photo recognition at the POS as an added security measure. It also means the customer doesn't have to carry anything with them.
Implementing location services with RFID obviously is not free. But balance it against the decreased cost of manual system entry and paying staff to herd customers, and the revenue opportunity of very effective personalized marketing campaigns and I believe you'll find the numbers make sense.
You can call any of the vendors above if you want to look at implementing location services. Or, if you want someone to help you create a memorable guest experience give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to help!
For more information about kevin sturm Consulting please visit my website.
Posts
