How do you deal with the annoying cell phone user in your spa?
1. Do you have a basket at the door for all visitors to your spa allowing them to dump their cell in there waiting for their exit before they can get their sticky paws on them again?
2. Or, do you have nicely plastered images all over your spa warning people to silence their cell when entering the spa?
3. Do you have an invisible beam across the door way that zaps their shins when they pass the area with a cell phone that is not silenced?
I am sure most of you follow number 2 and have not entered into the world of zapping clients and hopefully you never will. But, as I travel around looking for great spa’s and meeting new wonderful people in this industry, we all seem to come across the same problem “the cell phone” and how to deal with the frustrating client that just doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem!
Many a time I have sat in the ‘quiet’ room and I will say it again the ‘quiet’ room when in walks Mr or Mrs big gob and decides to discuss in full detail on their cell their latest drama or (get this…I once overheard even though it was difficult to not hear as her voice was not exactly ‘hushed’ her discussion about her bladder infection!)
I have employees tell me they try to do facials whilst the client is gassing away verbally on her cell, or the client who insists on chatting on her phone whilst the poor manicurist is trying to do her job, or the massage therapist whose energy just diminishes as he realizes the client is gaining nothing from his hard efforts, so decides to just not put the effort in!
Is it so wrong for an employee of the spa, regardless of their position to very politely and quietly inform the client that this is a no cell phone spa? Unless you are a doctor who might need to vanish very quickly during a service then it needs to be switched OFF. Some employees tell me, that they feel it is the job of the manager to do this.
What if the manager is not there?
What if they are out at lunch?
I feel it is everybody’s duty for the love of the other clients to be able to politely tell them through gritted teeth, to please put away their cell.
If their reasoning for visiting a spa is due to stress then maybe their first point of call is the thing glued to their ear and this might be a good place as ever to start with the de-stressing process!
I do wish for the days to come back with the phone booth! If you are over 30 you will know what I am talking about. You used to stand in the phone booth, shut the door behind you and if a person (god forbid) was waiting outside the booth, you hushed your voice so they couldn’t over hear what you had to say. Or maybe it was just a British thing and we only hushed our voices back then…who knows? All, I know is I wish people would leave their cell phones away from the spa…it makes the employees life more difficult! We would love to hear any stories if you have any!
