If a client sees a smudge on the mirror as they’re undressing to tan, they’ll likely start to wonder how thoroughly their tanning bed was cleaned. If your busy tanning consultant doesn’t take the time to show a new client around the salon, they might start thinking that they won’t be missing much if they start tanning at the gym.

Whether these assumptions are accurate or not is inconsequential. In that moment, perception is reality, and slipping up with cleaning or customer service can unfortunately overshadow all the things you’re doing right.  

As a business owner, you’re focused on the big picture. You have so much on your plate that it’s easy to overlook some of the details that make or break perceptions of your business. So, when it comes to the little things that can make a big difference, you can’t do it alone. You need your staff to be your eyes and ears in the salon.

“I always tell my manager and team to put on their client eyes. Come in the door, and what do you see? You have to turn off your employee eyes and pretend it’s your first time in that space because everything turns in to gray matter,” says this month’s Member of the Month, Rayz Tanning Salon owner Tricia Dejaresco.

Consistent small victories – tackling cleaning projects one day at a time and ensuring your team is presenting the right image with every interaction – are how you preserve your reputation as a professional, high-quality establishment. Alternatively, if you start to let your standards slip, you’ll continually be playing catchup and risking letting your staff, and even yourself, fall into bad habits.

Success in tanning today doesn’t come just from having the right equipment, service options, products and pricing. It’s just as much about the Unfortunately, there’s no cookie-cutter formula for success with the more intangible aspects, and it’s heavily dependent on your staff. As an owner or manager, your goal is to control the narrative by remaining diligent with attention to detail, putting specific protocol in place, providing great training, setting high expectations and demanding accountability.

“It’s not the equipment that keeps them coming back. It’s the customer service and knowledge of my team,” says Island Sun Tanning District Manager Jamey Carey. “You would think people know the basics of customer service, but you can’t take that for granted. They’re representing your company. If you don’t have good customer service, they’re just going to go to that gym next door. What’s setting us apart is our cleanliness and customer service.”

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.