Guest blog: how to be an award-winning spa
There is only one week left to enter your spa or salon into the Professional Beauty Regional Awards. To give you a bit of inspiration, Jose Baker, spa director of C Bay Spa at Carbis Bay Hotel in Cornwall, which won Professional Beauty’s Spa of the Year: South West 2016 Regional Award, explains how you can give your guests a first-class service
Customer service is paramount for any successful spa, so you have to get it right. The key is ensuring guests feel as comfortable as possible from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.
I believe the recipe for customer service is exceptional standards teamed with knowledgeable, motivated and professional staff who have an unbridled passion for perfection.
At C Bay Spa, we make every effort to ensure customers experience a positive journey from beginning to end. So, from making the environment feel welcoming and relaxing to tailoring treatments to clients’ needs, every aspect of the journey is thought about in great detail.
1. Tailor your approach
Ensure clients have a full consultation prior to every treatment, completing pre-treatment questionnaires highlighting any allergies or medical conditions. This not only shows you care for details but allows the team to make any necessary adjustments. It’s also important to include verbal consultations before the treatment begins.
For example, before a facial determine the client’s skin type and product preferences – what smells and textures they like. This ensures that the client receives a completely tailored experience and gets maximum benefit from the treatment.
Image: Treatment room at C Bay Spa
2. Create a home away from home
Another way to maximise customer service is to ensure the environment is welcoming, not only through a high standard of facilities but through a warm, welcome and caring demeanour from staff. There can be a preconception about spas that they’re for a younger or more affluent audience, however, this is absolutely not true.
Spa can be beneficial for clients of all ages and backgrounds. It’s important that anyone can walk into your space and feel at ease in order for the journey of wellbeing to begin. My staff are trained to have a friendly and welcoming attitude. For example, they introduce themselves by name and talk candidly to ensure guests never feel intimidated.
Image: Group shot of the spa team
3. Listen to your guests
Implementing a feedback scheme, either through a guest questionnaire and review sites like Trip Advisor, or both, will also make your customer service stand out. However, it’s important to monitor feedback regularly and respond to all of it – whether it’s good or bad. Clients need to feel their opinion counts and that you are willing to engage with them.
Image: The outdoor pool area
To enter your own spa or salon in the Professional Beauty Regional Awards 2017, simply complete the online registration form for free at professionalbeautyregionalawards.co.uk by May 11.
Need more inspiration about the benefits of winning? Check out our top 10 reasons to enter the awards.
All images: ©C Bay Spa
