Consumer reports style rating of equipment

[JeffinKC]

Linda you are right equipment can be compared but where does it come from? Call Tan America or ETS and ask them if they would be willing to put their equipment up in competition. Unless you are prepared to buy different pieces of equipment every few weeks to compare them It won't happen. That was my point with other industries. Ford may be willing to let someone use one of their cars for a comparison test, free of charge, but not tanning equipment manufacturers

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[BOBER96]

Jeff, good point, but....who better to rate equipment than (us) the people that have paid boat loads of money for it? I paid money to purchase it, I was NOT paid money to use it. I can give you a very honest opinion of MY equipment, just as many of us do here and at suntanning.com all the time! I can tell you which I love, which I would buy again and which ones I wouldn't have again if they gave them to me free of charge. Tut...I think you are on to something.

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[Ed]

Great idea getting the owners of the equipment to do a report, BUT how would you go about getting an un-biased opinion?If I bought it, it must be the best, unless of course some jerk got drunk the previous evening and came to work with a hang-over, therefore screwing up MY best choice and now the manufacturer (who was the best till this happened) suddenly has sunk lower that a snake.We are by nature biased, that's why MY wife was/is the smartest woman in the world.

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[Tut]

Ed, I realize people are going to give their personal opinion but, you gotta start somewhere. If you take all the responses and look at trends maybe we can get better info!Without manufacture support it has to be done somehow! Maybe someone bought a bed and had nothing but problems with it don't you think the y would have something to contribute?

[JeffinKC]

Tut and Linda please understand I think the idea is a great one. Ed though is 100% correct I have 4 Sunstar beds I inherited at one loacation but no matter how terrible I say they are someone allways argues with me. So what I am trying to say is that salon owners can not do an unbiased test. I mean come on Linda if you had researched equipment for months and finally decided on a new shiny $20,000 bed then found out it was junk would you really want to tell everyone that. Consumer Reports is a magazine that gets at least some cooperation from the companies it profiles so why haven't our trade magazines done this? The answer is simple its all about advertising dollars. Actually Don Smith had tried this with Looking Fit magazine He did one article on a Puretan bed. It would be interesting to find out from Don why that was the only article?

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[CHUNN]

Guys,Let us know how we can set this up for you! We could have a forum section just for that maybe called something similar to "Comsumer Reports." I agree that we have to start somewhere. We are happy to participate in any way that we can.Come up with the guidelines and we will begin to set this up and you can implement it.Michael

[CHUNN]

Maybe charge the manufacturer $200 to be listed in the Consumer Reports section. Since the reporting is done by TanTalkers and not me then it would be unbiased. Of course I would throw in my 2 cents if I own the equipment. That would be a way to help pay for the bucks we are spending on this board.Michael

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[BooBop]

what ever it takes i wish this could happen.

[BooBop]

what happen, did we forget about this?

[TB]

i think that is a terrific idea, and something that has been a long time coming. the biggest hurdle to cross would be choosing a "panel" of "judges" to compile this information. tanners, salon owners, distributors, parts technicians, manufacturers...each element of the equipment from beginning to end should be considered. the information should be factual...not just some "i wish i'd never bought that bed because its a piece of crap..." or "i'll never buy BRAND X again because i hate COMPANY Y that i bought it from".

there should be different levels of equipment, because you can't compare a 16 lamp plastic home unit to a 20K+ German-built machine. so the division of "classes" of tanning equipment is a must. come up with your categories, send a form to each manufacturer that is willing to participate...and allow them to decide which class each of their units should be judged in. that way any comparisons made to other equipment would be on somewhat the same "level". for example, if ETS says that the Pro24 is their "entry level"...and Sun Ergoline says that the 424 is their "entry level"...then the comparison is made by the panel and one comes out on top...the manufacturers' should see that as a fair judgement because that is the class that they wanted the unit judged in.

also, each one should be "graded" on several different aspects:

price vs. quality: are you getting what you pay for?

tanning performance: customer's reactions, results, etc.

maintenace problems: how often do you have the unit down for maintenance, repairs? ease of repairs, etc.

customer service: from either the manufacturer or the distributor the unit was purchased from. an explanation of how each manufacturer distributes their equipment should be included in the breakdown.

warranty: how long the warranty is, what it covers, how well the company (whether manufacturer or distributor) handles warranty situations.

style/appearance: how appealing is it to the customer? does seeing it make them want to tan in it? color choices, design elements, etc...this is very important in today's market.

longevity: will this unit last for years? or will you be looking at replacement/trade-in within 2 seasons?

i think you get the point. i think that if this "consumer report" (consumer meaning everyone involved) is handled by the right person with the right idea in mind...this could be a tremendous resource for the industry. it should push manufacturer's to reach for a higher rung on the ladder. after the first report comes out, maybe they will see that they scored low on "maintenance"...then hit their R&D Department up for better ideas. say their is a brand that has a work-horse tanning unit that tans the **** out of people...but just looks like it is in a time warp...they will hit up the graphic design department for a fresh new appeal.

my two cents. for whatever they are worth.

tb

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