From service to experience

By Vivienne O’Keeffe A.A.D., P.E.A., C.I.B.T.A.

The spa industry in North America is relatively new, inspired by the traditional European model and originating in the established salon and fitness industries, which began to multiply during the late seventies and early eighties. It is best perceived as a burgeoning leisure industry and as such has surpassed the world ski industry in fiscal sales. The spa consumer pays to spend time enjoying a menu of relaxing and affirming services, provided by the spa in the form of treatments, therapies, wellness care and an assuring professional ambience. These events by their very nature, must engage the customer in a very personal experience. Through greater general affluence in today’s society, with its larger amounts of disposable income, consumer interest and need has gradually evolved to the point where the principle motivation in an activity being sought out is the participative experiencing of it. It is this desire for personal experience, as distinct from personal service, that can drive consumer interest and curiosity in spa activities.

It should be noted however that this fundamental operating principle has yet to filter completely throughout the industry, with some spa operations regarding the business they are in as being part of the service industry. Catering to the desire in the market for the essence of the treatment, and not merely its therapeutic benefit, can be a major step forward in your business to gaining customer satisfaction and repeat business.

All good leisure industries create experiences: memorable moments that live with the individual, instilling the desire and creating the inclination for the next occasion when they will participate. For example, everything about the themed hotels of Las Vegas is a carefully designed experience. In this sense, where the actual service being supplied can become secondary to the experience surrounding it, the spa industry differs very little from other leisure industries. Destination resorts know it is in their best interests to cater well to their customers, even though those customers may be from a different country, because it increases the likelihood of their returning the following year. This philosophy and tactic has been developed through trial and error and over decades of providing to the consumer, these leisure industries have found that the easiest way to promote themselves is through supplying exactly what is promised in their informational materials and consequently maintaining and generating long term occupancy. The spa industry has yet to completely embrace these tactics and very often what is promised - “pampering”- is lip service in comparison to the experience actually delivered. Benefiting from the distinction between the service industries and the experience industries is one way in which the Canadian spa industry can honestly promote and grow itself. Standardizing the quality of spas throughout the country is another means that can ensure the health of the industry, by implementing and publicizing a protocol that must be adhered to, in the best interests of the consumer.

The spa industry is a medium which can transform people’s lives on many levels, providing deeply personal services to the customer and restoring inner balance and self-awareness. Bearing this in mind, it is important to differentiate between the nature of the service being provided to the customer in a spa environment from, say, that of a fine dining experience. The degrees of personalization and trust involved are on entirely different levels. Each spa experience derives from an interaction between the spa program or environment and the individual’s prior state of mind and being. The customer who participates in an individualised spa treatment program should have an experience to savour and remember and the consequent customer satisfaction, trust and renewal experience can generate greater long-term rewards for the business.

Opportunity exists in the spa industry for unique and relatively rare experiences to be created and retained, by allowing time and conditions for the significance of the experiences to linger in the memory of the individual who participates in them. This experience is progressed from the moment a potential guest interfaces with your business, via your web site, brochure or in person. The sights, smells, textures, ambience, welcome and proposed intention plant the seed of the experience which will be revealed over the duration of the encounter. Not least among the worthwhile experiences for clients is the quality of the dedicated professional spa personnel / client relationship within the context of the general surroundings. Hopefully the overall experience will be a positive and deeply memorable one in which the clients are enriched with the value of the interaction.

In order to effectively service the client and benefit from this unique aspect of the business a spa must plan, train, educate and communicate its experience philosophy to its staff, guests and media. Begin staging compelling experiences and guiding fundamental transformations in your customers.