Ideas, Do's, and Don'ts for Spa or Massage Therapy Establishment Virtual Online Operations

Before the COVID and especially now post-pandemic, it's more important than ever to use online tools for day-to-day business operations. Online operations allow spas and massage therapy establishments to reach a greater population and streamline business operations too.

ONLINE SCHEDULING

Customer convenience may improve if/when online scheduling is offered, especially for spa or massage establishments that do not have a large admin staff to  expediently answer every inquiry.  The keyword here is “easy”.  Online scheduling should be clear, have minimal steps with essential information, including prices of available services with cancellation or business policies clearly defined prior to payment.  

Ensure Online Scheduling is Secured and Functional

Even at the most prestigious spa establishments in the world, including the spas at George V in Paris and Claridge’s in London, I found security site errors when trying to use their online services.  In fact Claridge’s REQUIRED online reservation deposits to secure an appointment; however, I received a secure/connection error when trying to pay it.  It can be offputing, annoying or even concerning to receive the following error messages in the screenshots below while providing personal details and credit card information online.  When setting up your online scheduling and payment options at your spa or massage establishment, try to find compliant software that’s properly programmed and up-to-date to avoid customers encountering these types of errors:

Online Scheduling is A Great Time to Offer Add-ons

When programming online scheduling for your spa or massage therapy establishment, we recommend offering add-on services too.  Add-on services can:

• Enhance the appointment and make a greater or more enjoyable experience for the client

• Add income to the establishment and practitioners

• Diversify the practitioner’s work to help avoid burnout

• Turn over supplies to help keep them from expiring on your shelves

• Maximize of fill your calendar space/time that might not fit a longer or regular service time

Add-on services make great business, and should always be offered whenever available.  Here are some screenshots of add-on services that I was brilliantly offered for spa and massage appointments in London and Paris:

Improve Your Customer’s Experience with Virtual Outreach

Requesting client preferences during virtual online scheduling or the customer intake process is a brilliant approach to enhance their experience.  Here are some examples of appropriate questions to ask your client online during these processes for better business practices, which includes scents and music choices:

Please make sure that the information sought to enhance your client’s visit is appropriate for their appointment; otherwise, this could lead to disappointment.  Those are questions that were asked of me for a manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) appointment; however, MLD is applied dry, without oils, so asking which scent of oil I would prefer is irrelevant, and could create a customer expectation that can sorely lead to disappointment when they learn that they will not receive any aromatherapy during their MLD.  Offering choices or enhancements that cannot be provided is bad operations that could be avoided with appropriate choices/disclaimers or better online programming.

Failure to Accommodate with Online Appointment Scheduling

I tried visiting this Tibetan spa in Paris (pictured below) on FOUR separate dates.  It semed whenever I arrived they were closed, including one Sunday there were gates over windows. Due to language barriers, I only tried for a walk-in appointment given it was only 15 minutes from my hotel, and across the street from Notre Dame and the Seine river which is always a nice walk.  On my FORTH attempt to visit, I went during normal daytime/weekday business hours only to find their door locked, again!   The business didn’t have its metal cage over the windows so I knew they were open for business versus how I had seen the business closed during other nonoperational times, so I rang the doorbell twice and waited about 10 minutes at the door, but no one answered.  Then I saw the option to book appointments online, and I thought, if this spa is so busy that they can operate in such a prime location for such minimal hours, then I MUST see and experience their services!  So I tried to use their QR code to schedule an appointment online rather than attempt to schedule with walk-in service, and would you believe that in the heart of Paris I received an error message that said it could not accommodate customers from my area (I was using a cell phone from the United States).  

Paris has an estimated population of about 2 million people with an estimated annual tourist population of 30 million.  So when working in such a highly touristed area, wouldn’t it be wise to use an online app or software that accommodates your largest market which in this case would be out of country tourists?  If you’re in a similar, highly touristed area such as LA, New York, Boston, Miami, etc., where you have a lot of international tourists or even students for customers, you should use online software that not only accommodates international customers, but it should also translate into various languages as well.

In the images immediately below, you will see this Tibetan establishment’s app failure where I repeatedly visited without success. Needless to say, I did not go back and they lost a potential customer and services payment too.

Better Business Practices

Treatment contraindications should be discovered BEFORE your client reaches your establishment.  Learning the client is contraindicated for their scheduled service after the client has arrived is a waste of both your and the customer’s time.  You’re also probably not going to be paid when you cannot provide a service due to an unknown contraindication that prevents you from working.  Screening for contraindications prior to the client arriving is essential to good business for both you and your client. Screening for contraindications and precautions can also be achieved online, but make sure you have secure online practices to do so to avoid a HIPAA violation. 

Another recommendation would be to provide clear policies and business requirements to patronize the establishment, BEFORE the client pays for service.  Many spas, especially those that include massage therapy are including no harassment policies as part of their business practices.  I was required to agree to this no-harassment policy to receive my MLD appointment at George V in Paris:

There are many other recommendations that can be made for online operations for both spa and massage therapy businesses.  These are just a few.  If you haven’t already implemented some of these practices, please think about how or if they would work for you.