nicole4tanning

I'm having mixed feelings on where to display my lotions. Should I keep them behind the counter, or in the lobby? I've seen a lot of salons doing both and wanted to know what seems to work the best.
I know that behind the counter obviously cuts the opportunity for people to steal them. But will they still buy them as often? I know what you are going to say... "If you are talking to each client and selling them a lotion, this will not be a problem". However I know that back when I was simply a tanner, I kept my one bottle of lotion, and only when I went to a salon that had them displayed in the lobby, did I get interested in reading them and eventually buying a new one every couple weeks.
When they are displayed the the lobby, I feel like while people are waiting they will look through the lotions and become interested in buying one (or another one).
Didn't I hear "if they can't steal it, they won't buy it"?
I think that distributers should give away a bottle of empty lotion with every lotion type you buy. Kinda like at the movie store. That way people can look at them, and read the backs, but when they want to buy them I will have them behind the desk. Now, only if they could make the empty bottle smell like the lotion too.......
What do you guys think??

pcstutsman

We keep ours behind our counter and have no problems at all selling lotions. You can take them off the shelves and hand them to clients, which you should anyway so they can smell it and look at the bottle. Personally I think if they have the opportunity to steal something they will. Others will disagree and say that having it out in front of the counter works for them. But I just wouldn't take the chance. Our shelves are behind the counter and we've still had a couple bottles stolen over the past years of people going behind the counter while we're cleaning beds.

movieking

We keep ours to the side of the counter which makes it easy for customers to browse and at the same easy for the employees since they are just a few feet away from the displays.

nicole4tanning

Do you get nervous when you go in the back to clean a bed and they are left alone with the lotion?

lewdyju

Do you have a camera, I am having 1 surveilance camera just directed to the counter, lotions and front door. If it is missing watch the DVR.

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nicole4tanning

I'm kinda apprehensive about the camera thing. I feel like people think they are everywhere. As a client I don't like cameras in the salon, even if the owner assures me it's only in the front area.

movieking

Sure we do to a point but even if you keep your products behind the counter it would only take someone 2 seconds to walk behind the counter and steal something. We use digital camera systems to help deter theft and since my primary business is video stores I've learned to accept some loss as a cost of doing business. You will never lose as much in a tanning salon as we we do in the video stores. It's all built into the prices we charge just like the fees we pay our merchant services company. It's all a part of doing business.

In retail it is a proven fact that sales suffer when a consumer does not have open access to the products they are contemplating purchasing.

mr belvedere

Behind the counter, for sure. If possible, get a glass display case to use as your front counter (like the jewelery areas in dept. stores).

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blondjuls

Locked displays. Only thing they really occasionally snatch from me is packettes off the rack. But I also have security cams and threaten to prosecute. It doesn't happen often enough to worry about.

Marca

Yes glass display is the best for people who just want to take a look and choose in their own time. Our tanning beds are upstairs and we also have a locked glass display with lotions there.

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