3 Tips to Increase Your Retention Rate

I was in Hackensack, NJ last week helping Dr. Michael Gross and Lisamarie Volino open up a brand new facility called The Active Center for Health & Wellness.  It was a very busy week, we worked long hours with hardly any breaks. So one night we decided to go have some spa treatments. They recommended a spa located in a very high end mall. The spa was supposedly rated as one of the best spas in NJ.  So I was very excited and was looking forward to a great experience to help me relax and recharge.

The spa was very large. We were greeted by the receptionist and led down a wide hallway to be handed our robes and slippers. Then, we were told which direction to go to change.  So far so good, not a “wow” but nice enough.  We changed and went into the relaxation lounge. Not very cozy and the lighting was very bright. We sat there until they called us.

I met my therapist and she escorted me to the treatment room. This is when I was shocked!

The bed! Oh my…  Have you ever checked into a fancy hotel and the bed was so fresh and fluffy that you just wanted to stay in it all day? Well, this was . . . NOT!

The sheets were all wrinkled, barely hung over the sides the bed, no table skirt, the blanket looked like it had been there for a while. The room was plain and cold in appearance.  Needless to say, my initial reaction was, “Am I going to lay on THIS?”

I don’t mean to sound like a snob, but when I am your target market and I am feeling this way, so are you clients!  What do your treatment rooms look like?  Have you walked in and looked at them with fresh eyes.  Here is a picture of how we set up treatments rooms.

This is The Active Center’s room.  Would you rather receive your treatment in a bed like this or the one that is wrinkled, cold and non-inviting?  Would you go back?

Not only was the treatment room bad, but the experience was vanilla also.

No rituals, no beginning and no end, she just started massaging me.  At the end, as usual with most massage therapists, no recommendations. Even though I told her my back was killing me (so were my shoulders and feet!), she did not attempt to help me beyond the massage. One thing she should have said was “for your back and your feet, I highly recommend using this….. Apply it every night and your will feel a lot better.”

I get so aggravated when I go to the spa sometimes. Instead of relaxing, I leave upset and disappointed because not many people are fulfilling their professional obligations.  Come on you guys, what is up??  We are paying clients who need help. Unfortunately, we frequently leave empty handed!  What a shame!

So many people wonder why guests do not return. You just read about three common reasons:

1. Lousy room appearance and ambiance.

2. Bad spa treatment experience – no connection with the client.

3. No recommendations to help the client at home beyond the $100 massage.

It does not take a lot of money to get your beds looking good.

It is not rocket science to come up with some rituals to make the experience more memorable.

And stop cheating your guests out of a professional recommendation.  Teach the team to make recommendations.

Implement these three tips and watch your retention rate go up.

Send in a secret shopper to visit your spa and see what they say about you!

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