The Spa Life

Well, actually not, the roof only leaks. But a service provider did manage to set a client on fire once. And an uppity client at that. I remember this client well because she came up to front desk to pay for a brow wax and while checking out, starting crying because she though her eyebrows weren't even. (If you don't yet know how I feel about clients who cry, see the entry entitled Please, don't cry). So, when she scheduled an appointment for a facial with the same service provider who 'messed up' her eyebrows, we were all shocked. Towards the end time of the service, the service provider comes running up to the front desk in a panic. She tells us that the heated mitts used for the hand treatment during the facial got overheated and caught the blanket the customer was under on fire. She had the charred blanket with her, it looked pretty ugly. The spa owner overheard this and came rushing over (it's amazing how things usually go more horribly wrong than normal when she's there). Obviously she was worried about getting sued, and she very well could have been. For being so bent out of shape about her eyebrows, however, she seemed relatively clam about the whole fire thing (go figure!). The owner gave her some free product, and she went on her merry way. So what’s the point of this story? There are people out there who care more about uneven eyebrows than bodily harm.

Have you ever seen a grown woman cry? Let me assure you, it's not pleasant. A woman and her mother came into the spa for facial treatments, massages, and haircuts. The both left and a few hours later, the woman returned to the spa, just bawling. Apparently, her haircut was uneven and she wanted to get the haircut redone. All I could do was gawk at her. Honestly, what type of 40-something year old woman starts bawling like a 3-year old because her hair is a little uneven? Plus, doing the redo wouldn't be a problem. The spa's policy is that a client can return to the spa within 10 days if they're unhappy with the cut to receive a free redo. The problem was that the woman wanted the haircut right away and no one was available for about another half hour. I explained to her that we would redo the cut for free and she started to calm down. Then I told her we would have an available stylist in about 30min. but apparently this time didn't work for her so she asked if something was available the next day. It was Sunday and the next day would have been Monday, the only day of the week we are closed. So I told her we could get her in on Tuesday, the first appointment of the day, however she started getting upset again claiming 'she couldn't go around looking like this the 2 whole days'. So she left the spa, not seeming as upset when she came in, but definitely not happy. But, I'd done my best. I'd offered her the next available haircut and the earliest we could do it after Sunday.

Then, not 10 minutes later. She comes back in sniffling with her 6'5'' large, bald, and angry looking husband. He immediately come up to me and asks to speak with a manager. All I could think was, thank god he didn't want to speak with me. Lucky, the owner was there (she's really the only manager, although sometimes the receptionists will pretend to be a manager. I never pretend though, she doesn't pay us enough to act as a manager because she's too thrifty to hire one). So, she comes out and explains the situation to the woman's husband (by this time the woman is crying again and all I can do is look at her with disgust).

Now, the spa owner tries to make the situation better, but it just seems to get worse. The conversation they had was heated and confusing, but the basic premise was that the owner said she would accommodate his wife, just not at that exact moment, while he was demanding immediate service for his wife, claiming that if the spa was going to accommodate his wife, it should be when it was convenient for her, not for the spa. The whole tone of the conversation was threatening, and this guy was huge and scary, so I prepared myself to call 911 at the slightest indication he would get physical. While he made plenty of verbal threats about telling everyone how crappy the spa was, no 911 call was needed. Once during the conversation, the spa owner tried to address his wife, asking her if she thought it would be fair to stop another client's service, and have that person wait, while she got a new haircut, and how she would feel if that happened to her. Get this! She said she would be fine if that happed to her! What a bunch of BS! By now, I had such disrespect for this women, I was hopping the owner would just ask then to leave. What type of woman not only cries about a haircut but can't stand up for herself and has to go get her husband to intimidate a manager. I noticed that she never indicated to me while we were talking that she'd like to see a manager.

However, much to my disappointment, and probably due to the man's threats about trashing the name of the spa, the owner decided she would redo the woman's haircut herself. I was a bit worried about this because, although the owner is a licensed hairstylist, she hasn't cut hair for a while. Luckily, I didn't have to worry to long because a stylist the owner just hired came in to speak with her and the owner convinced her to do the cut. All I have to say is that I hope I never have to see that woman or her husband ever again!

I've been a fan of eBay for a very long time. I've bought stuff and I've sold stuff. Mostly textbooks, but I've also gotten energy drinks, CDs, and stuff for my motorcycle. I've also considered selling some of the products I can buy at the spa because we get a very generous discount on the products (but even with the discount the owner is making money). However, the spa owner beat me too it. She's now selling both products and gift certificates on eBay for a discounted price. I really wish I would have known sooner too, because the first few gift certificates she put online were a ridiculously low price (e.g. a $100 facial for $30). Funny thing is that she didn't let any of the receptionists know that she was doing it.

So of course, I get a call from one of the winners of her auction trying to make an appointment and have no clue what she is talking about. When we book spa appointments, we either have to have a CC# or gift certificate on file so we can charge them if they fail to show up for the appointment and their service provider can be paid. So, this lady calls and says she got a gift certificate online. This didn't surprise me because we do sell GCs online for regular prices, but then got worried because we didn't have any information about the gift certificate. For all GCs brought online, we receive a fax with information and then mail out the certificate. But we hadn't received an order from the lady on the phone. The she explained that she purchased it on eBay. So I figured someone got a gift they didn't want and decided to sell it. I told her to contact the seller to get the name on the gift certificate or the GC# listed on the back of the GC. Then she told me that the gift certificate should be under her name! If this was someone else selling their GC, that couldn't be possible. So, this lady gets really pissed off because both of us are thinking that she just got ripped off, because we don't have any information about her or her GC in our computer system. So I make her appointment, and get a CC# from her and hope everything works out for the best.

About two weeks later, the spa owner finally mentions that she's selling GCs on eBay. The problem is that no one has been registering the GCs in our computer system. Another problem is that the amounts on the GCs don’t cover the cost of the service received, because they are at a discounted price. So while the customers are getting a good deal, the service providers are pissed at having to perform services at a 80% discount without being consulted and the receptionists are going to spend months trying to figure out the GC registration problems and have to deal with very angry service providers. Great times!

So, every time I go to work, I usually get a few interesting phone calls. Sometimes they're about hair mishaps, sometimes about relationship go awry, but this one was new. A man called into the spa asking about our different packages because he wanted to get a gift for his wife for Christmas. I told him about the various options and he indicated he'd like to get a gift certificate for one of our more luxurious packages, before I could seal the deal, he asked me if we could provide limo service to get his wife to and from the spa! While I've called cabs for little old ladies whose special transit bus seemed to forget about them, this was definitely not something the spa provides. I told him we didn't offer any limo service to and from the spa, but that he could contact a limo service on his own and arrange for that once his wife scheduled her appointment. He seemed mystified that we didn't work with a limo service. I don't know where he cam from, but I can't think of any spa that offers that type of service, unless it's a spa that caters to celebrities and has $10,000 treatments. Because my dad works for a limo company, I gave him that number. But then, he kept asking me questions about limo stuff! He wanted to pay in advance, so I explained to him that limo companies have different payments options, none of which include asking people to pay once their dropped off. Finally I convinced him that the limo company could answer his question much better than myself. Overall, a rather strange, but sweet phone call.

I recently added comments to my blog. So if you're reading, please comment. Thanks!

So, the spa has a no cell phone policy in place. For the most part, enforcement is lax and we let people talk quietly on their phone in the lobby area. There have been occasions where we've asked people talking loudly in the spa area to turn off the phone or go talk in the reception are. Sometimes they act all insulted, but I assure you that if they were the ones in the middle of a massage and could hear someone talking on their cell phone through the door, they'd be demanding a free service! Other people are cool and simply say, "Sorry I didn't know." Except there are like several signs throughout the spa all asking clients not to use cellphones, but I guess I don't always pay attention to things, so I guess it's okay for clients to not pay attention too. Whatever their reaction, cell phones and spas are a recipe for disaster. For instance, take a relaxed peaceful environment and add the infamous walkie-talkie cell phone. Today, a woman came into the spa talking on her cellphone. We asked her to finish her conversation before we took her back to the spa. (Interestingly, when we ask people to do this we have to remind them to make it quick too. Once a lady took almost 30min, 1/2 of her hour long appointment time, to finish her phone conversation and was angry when her service provider could not provide the complete service even though her service provider came multiple times to try and start the service, go figure) Anyway, she finishes and I take her to the back, once we get back there I hear this hissing/beeping noise. The lady is back on her cellphone, but this time is using the phone's walkie talkies function. So not only is she talking loudly, but you can hear the other person, and the annoying beeping noise that walkie talkies makes. Anyway, I have to ask her to turn it off and she completely ignores me and the person on the other end of the phone hears me and says something akin to, "You're paying enough to be at the spa, you should be able to do as you please." I wondered if I'd get fired for dropping a clients cellphone down the toilet. By this point I figure it will be easier to deal with clients upset about the noise than to fight both the women and her phone companion so I don't push it. But seriously, how hard is it to spend some time away from the cell phone and respect the relaxation time of others?

I don't know much about business, but I do know that it's bad to have clients complaining about your business to the Better Business Bureau. Our owner recently received a complaint form from the BBB. Now I'm not too sure exactly how the BBB works, but apparently you can fill out and file a complaint form against a business and it lowers it’s rating with the BBB. But, the business owner is allowed to defend the company against client complaints by writing a response to the claim. Now, my boss isn't actually at the spa very often, so she didn't know anything about the complaint/incident so she had all the receptionists read the complaint to see if we remembered what happened. The client complained that she did not receive a full service and that the manager of the spa was rude to her. She was demanding a full refund for her and her friend’s service. They both were coming in for a pedicure. Funny thing, I completely remembered these two women and was working the day they came is, so I told my boss and she had me write a letter to the BBB explaining the situation.

Here was the situation: I was working with the head receptionist. She received a phone call from the women, asking if they could cancel their appointments for pedicures, apparently they were stuck in traffic on I-25. However, they were told they could not cancel their appointments. Our spa has a 3-day notice of cancellation policy for all package and multiple person appointments. They were explained the policy when the appointments were books and we got a CC# to hold their appointments. Then told the head receptionist that they would try to get there because they didn't want to pay for a service they didn't receive (duh! that's the whole point of the policy). They called again, at the time their appointment was supposed to begin and spoke with me. They again tried to cancel their appointment and I repeated what the head receptionist already told them. They again said they were caught in traffic, however, this time they indicated that they were at a spot on I-25 that was father away from the spa than before! Eventually, they arrived 30 min. late for an hour-long appointment. Even though most spas would have turned them away, their service providers gave them mini pedicures. After the service, they began arguing with the head receptionist about having to pay full price. They were so irate, that the head receptionist asked them to step outside (this is why I remember the incident so well, it's not to often you have to ask a woman to take it outside!). Anyway, the left and then we get this letter from the BBB. A few weeks after I sent the BBB my letter, they sent a response to the owner stating the complaint was 'dropped' because it was clear that the women were at fault and that the spa accommodated them to the best of our abilities.

Thus, the moral of the story is, don't be late, and if you're going to be late, be happy with what you get. Complaining only serves to highlight your own inability to manage your time.

So, we're going to start selling another new and interesting item at the spa. It's called lip venom and it's used to help achieve fuller, poutier lips. The only problem is that the product is super painful to use. Although I have not yet tried it, almost everyone at the spa who's used it puts it one, and spends the next hour complaining about the pain. And honestly, I don't think it really made anyone's lip any fuller. But they still use it! Sometimes I just don't get people. Why would anyone endure any sort of pain for no noticeable differences? Maybe they see a difference, but I sure don't. And I don't really enjoy hanging out with people who do nothing but complain how much their lips burn, when they did it to themselves! So in conclusion, don't use lip venom. Why? You don't get fuller lips, only pain. Plus, you'll lose friends because your complaining and stupidity will annoy them. And now that I think about it, you'll probably lose you boyfriend to. Image kissing a guy and his lips start to burn! Hmmmm.....might be interesting to try.

There are quite a few little old ladies who come to the salon weekly to get their hair done. Some are sweet and grandma-like, while others are just crazy and make me fear the whole ageing process. Take for instance the one little old lady who, every time she comes, asks if the price of her service increased. She's been paying the same price for the last 8 years, yet every time, without fail, she thinks we're overcharging her. Then, there is the crazy old lady from yesterday. She had previously visited the salon and did nothing but complain and gripe about the service and about the price we charges (enough so that we made a note of it in her client file). She then came in again, and while there was no complaining this time (she was quoted a price, twice) she was.......how shall I say......a little off. Apparently, while her service provider was doing her hair, she discussed how much she hates Coloradoans and how people in Boulder are all unsophisticated. This from an 80-year-old woman wearing red leather. At least she was amusing.

First it was facial peels, then it was microdermabrasion, and now the newest fad in getting rid of wrinkles and fine lines has appeared. Strivectin is basically a moisturizer that was created for use on unsightly stretch marks that apparently some people started to put on there faces (why they would do this, I have no idea, seems kind of stupid to me) and discovered themselves to look 10 years younger and wrinkle-free. That's a totally believable story right? So now we sell it at the spa, for like $200 dollars for a tiny 6oz. tube as an ant-wrinkle treatment and people actually buy it like crazy! And it's funny too. There always seem to be 2 types of people who are worried about wrinkles and buy this stuff. One type is the I don't have any wrinkles, but I'm worried about getting them so I'm going to buy and use all this anti-wrinkle crap type. The other is the, I don't have wrinkles, they're more like craters type who buys the stuff hoping their wrinkles will go away type. Neither are going to see the results they want, but whatever, their wasted $200 a month helps pay my pay check.