This may be a real dumb question but..... - Page 3

tropicgirl · 01-08-2005, 07:51 AM

Amen OTM! A few free visits is the worst of my worries! I've had employees steal money, lotion, drinks and jewelry!

TheBeachStop · 01-10-2005, 07:51 PM

For what it is worth. In all business solutions, one must find the application that best fits the business model. In this case you wish to keep track of tans and monies generated by such. I researched this and decided upon SunTouch with a T-Max pro manager unit and individual room timers. The expense was a bit, around $2800 for software, plus timers, computer, etc. SunTouch has a fundamental POS (point of sale) system that works well. I use another POS as the salon also does major swimwear and lingerie. At any rate, the software will track tanning history, times, usage, etc. Just about everything you could want or not. Cross that with your daily sales and you are 100% in synch. Plus, the beds are all computer controlled, not user controlled.

Based on what friends and collegues have stated about their salons and the number of *free* tans being taken, we are at about zero, seriously (knock on acrylic). However, ask yourself what you think is being given away vs. the cost of all this stuff. With cash box, software, computer and maybe a bar code scanner, you are up to at least $2k easy, even if it is not SunTouch, but somehthing comparable. That is a lot of tans to recover. Just say at $5 a tan, that is about 400 tans. Also consider on-going fees for software, breakage, etc.

The cost to replace bulbs sooner is also a factor of *free* tanning.

Hope this helps some. Good luck.

DWhite6872 · 01-10-2005, 08:02 PM

we had a employee who would take a clients money and then tan them on someones package....we watch them online and luckily my manager knows who are customers are..and spotted the phony customers...but we figure he got away with over 1k....but as they get more confident they mess up.....

phlash58 · 01-12-2005, 10:44 PM

They can always unplug the computer from the T-Max and enter them manually. Guess we all have to live with a little bit of shrinkage.

MJ · 01-13-2005, 03:39 AM

Quote:
On 2005-01-12 22:44:00, phlash58 wrote:
They can always unplug the computer from the T-Max and enter them manually. Guess we all have to live with a little bit of shrinkage.

Nope...No can do.
They have to have the code...or they will not be able to operate the timer manager...
If you gave it to any of your staff change it NOW.No matter how trustworthy you may think they are.
Live and learn...that is an expensive T-shirt to earn my friend.

Well said...Beachstop! You nailed it.
Initial costs is more than well spent ching.... when all things are considered.
JMHO

Dwhite..staff using other peoples packages can be avoided...the simplist method is to set the securties to only allow yourself to override the tan wait time (24 hours). Like Sherin said...
So if they use another clients name and say Mary Jones comes in...They cannot allow her to use her own package.

Some have it set for 48 hours...I have mine set at 24.

When I am alerted this is happening or I hire new person...
Now recently I started doing this:

For ALL one month unlimiteds, employee packages and my eft clients. Basically all clients that are not getting visit subtracted from their package...

I reset their packages to charge the walk-in rate( plus any upgrade fee that apply to that package) when they come in....
Now the staff member will have to keep track of the clients names, amount they are short and bed they went in... and such...

Yes.... it is a punsihment ALL GET PUNISHED when one kc*fs up.
Until I decide otherwise.

Or trust the new staff member...is deemed trustworthy. At the very least, the new staff member knows I watch closely if they are going to steal thay have to be more creative. When this methods is blocked, most theives will quit...with excuses of a better paying job....if that was their intention in the first place.
~ Glad to see them go. and things get back to normal.

Then you simply reset the packages back to normal..and evryody is happy and behaves. and quickly will narc out anyone not behaving becasue it's a pain the *** when I do that.
Even for me.. I have adjust the daily sales as to not mess up my accounting. one week is enough to teach a lesson. Well worth it in my opinion.
MJ
[ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-13 04:14 ]

MJ · 01-13-2005, 03:59 AM

OHH PS the Theif gets fired...of course. But that does not mean they all do not suffer...for a while.
Most will remember when you guys were were younger.....everyone knew who the theif was at all your jobs. Staff talk..you may not have known exactly how.. they were doing it. But you heard thru the grapevine it was being done... so simply apply self preservation and peer pressure to prevent it from happening or at the very least catch it early enough to save you lots of money.

This could also be a another strong arguement for sign in sheets...I forgot to mention they have to get the client to sign in too.

Which is not reqiured in my state.. but I do as a habit..just to be safe.

The clients never know why they are signing in they are used to it. So it does not look bad for the salon.

The staff are not allowed to speak of salon issues with them. So it does not cause a problem with clients. They pay much closer attention to this when "The packages are on lock down" too.

And they have to drop the "sign in" sheet with their shift sheet.
Hope this helps

_________________
Jane... You Ignorant Sl*t!!![ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-13 04:07 ]

Sherin · 01-13-2005, 09:24 AM

Great Post MJ!
Another great reason to impliment a sign-up sheet.
The package changing seems to be a huge pain in the @$$ but it reminds me of a similar saying regarding gardening: "the best fertilizer is the owner's footprints ...

TaninMI · 01-14-2005, 03:11 PM

Well, here is what I thought of doing and started it yesterday in hopes of controlling anything that may happen......I have a sign up sheet for my clients that has their name, their number, minutes they want to tan, bed they tanned in and whether or not they purchased a lotion.....we work on a card system so they also have to have their card marked that they were there and also have to initial it....I think that if I audit it once a week I can keep good tabs on it.

What do ya'll think.....

MJ · 01-15-2005, 01:32 AM

If your clients do not mind...then great!! Let us know if it works.
Most of my Clients would probably be bothered by the questionaire.

Since SOME of them..always seem to be rushing somewhere...as if it is my fault they are running late...they do on occasion get testy about signing the sign in sheet.

I think those clients inparticular would look at me like I have three heads if I asked them to fill that out every visit. I would be careful and watch closely how many cleints reup their packages...some clients never complain..they just find another salon after their package is up. JMHO

ZABAZU · 01-16-2005, 12:15 AM

We have their card and We fill out the date, girl who tans them initials, minutes they tan, Lotion they buy, room number they tan in , what they bought (single session, 5 min up etc.) and price they paid.

The customer signs their card each time they tan on the same line next to all this info.

That way the customer is only signing their name once. Customers always look at minutes tanned, date, price paid etc so there is a double check going on at all times along with the computer system that must be used to tan the client.

Not to mention the printouts nightly that show all moves made on the computer along with all tans printed out as well.

Not fool proof, but not too bad. Video Cameras and taping it all don't hurt either.

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01-08-2005, 07:51 AM	#21 (permalink)
tropicgirl I love Derf!! Join Date: Jul 13 2003 Location: middle america Posts: 1,015 Rep Power: 8	Amen OTM! A few free visits is the worst of my worries! I've had employees steal money, lotion, drinks and jewelry!

01-10-2005, 07:51 PM	#22 (permalink)
TheBeachStop Join Date: Nov 6 2004 Posts: 247 Rep Power: 4	For what it is worth. In all business solutions, one must find the application that best fits the business model. In this case you wish to keep track of tans and monies generated by such. I researched this and decided upon SunTouch with a T-Max pro manager unit and individual room timers. The expense was a bit, around $2800 for software, plus timers, computer, etc. SunTouch has a fundamental POS (point of sale) system that works well. I use another POS as the salon also does major swimwear and lingerie. At any rate, the software will track tanning history, times, usage, etc. Just about everything you could want or not. Cross that with your daily sales and you are 100% in synch. Plus, the beds are all computer controlled, not user controlled. Based on what friends and collegues have stated about their salons and the number of free tans being taken, we are at about zero, seriously (knock on acrylic). However, ask yourself what you think is being given away vs. the cost of all this stuff. With cash box, software, computer and maybe a bar code scanner, you are up to at least $2k easy, even if it is not SunTouch, but somehthing comparable. That is a lot of tans to recover. Just say at $5 a tan, that is about 400 tans. Also consider on-going fees for software, breakage, etc. The cost to replace bulbs sooner is also a factor of free tanning. Hope this helps some. Good luck.

01-10-2005, 08:02 PM	#23 (permalink)
DWhite6872 Waiting Confirmation Join Date: Apr 22 2004 Posts: 5,189 Rep Power: 0	we had a employee who would take a clients money and then tan them on someones package....we watch them online and luckily my manager knows who are customers are..and spotted the phony customers...but we figure he got away with over 1k....but as they get more confident they mess up.....

01-12-2005, 10:44 PM	#24 (permalink)
phlash58 Join Date: Feb 22 2004 Posts: 76 Rep Power: 0	They can always unplug the computer from the T-Max and enter them manually. Guess we all have to live with a little bit of shrinkage.

01-13-2005, 03:39 AM	#25 (permalink)
MJ Join Date: Jan 21 2002 Posts: 3,060 Rep Power: 8	Quote: On 2005-01-12 22:44:00, phlash58 wrote: They can always unplug the computer from the T-Max and enter them manually. Guess we all have to live with a little bit of shrinkage. Nope...No can do. They have to have the code...or they will not be able to operate the timer manager... If you gave it to any of your staff change it NOW.No matter how trustworthy you may think they are. Live and learn...that is an expensive T-shirt to earn my friend. Well said...Beachstop! You nailed it. Initial costs is more than well spent ching.... when all things are considered. JMHO Dwhite..staff using other peoples packages can be avoided...the simplist method is to set the securties to only allow yourself to override the tan wait time (24 hours). Like Sherin said... So if they use another clients name and say Mary Jones comes in...They cannot allow her to use her own package. Some have it set for 48 hours...I have mine set at 24. When I am alerted this is happening or I hire new person... Now recently I started doing this: For ALL one month unlimiteds, employee packages and my eft clients. Basically all clients that are not getting visit subtracted from their package... I reset their packages to charge the walk-in rate( plus any upgrade fee that apply to that package) when they come in.... Now the staff member will have to keep track of the clients names, amount they are short and bed they went in... and such... Yes.... it is a punsihment ALL GET PUNISHED when one kcfs up. Until I decide otherwise. Or trust the new staff member...is deemed trustworthy. At the very least, the new staff member knows I watch closely if they are going to steal thay have to be more creative. When this methods is blocked, most theives will quit...with excuses of a better paying job....if that was their intention in the first place. ~ Glad to see them go. and things get back to normal. Then you simply reset the packages back to normal..and evryody is happy and behaves. and quickly will narc out anyone not behaving becasue it's a pain the ** when I do that. Even for me.. I have adjust the daily sales as to not mess up my accounting. one week is enough to teach a lesson. Well worth it in my opinion. MJ [ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-13 04:14 ]

01-13-2005, 03:59 AM	#26 (permalink)
MJ Join Date: Jan 21 2002 Posts: 3,060 Rep Power: 8	OHH PS the Theif gets fired...of course. But that does not mean they all do not suffer...for a while. Most will remember when you guys were were younger.....everyone knew who the theif was at all your jobs. Staff talk..you may not have known exactly how.. they were doing it. But you heard thru the grapevine it was being done... so simply apply self preservation and peer pressure to prevent it from happening or at the very least catch it early enough to save you lots of money. This could also be a another strong arguement for sign in sheets...I forgot to mention they have to get the client to sign in too. Which is not reqiured in my state.. but I do as a habit..just to be safe. The clients never know why they are signing in they are used to it. So it does not look bad for the salon. The staff are not allowed to speak of salon issues with them. So it does not cause a problem with clients. They pay much closer attention to this when "The packages are on lock down" too. And they have to drop the "sign in" sheet with their shift sheet. Hope this helps _________________ Jane... You Ignorant Sl*t!!![ This Message was edited by: MJ on 2005-01-13 04:07 ]

01-13-2005, 09:24 AM	#27 (permalink)
Sherin I love Derf!! Join Date: Aug 10 2004 Location: Puget Sound Posts: 4,765 Rep Power: 10	Great Post MJ! Another great reason to impliment a sign-up sheet. The package changing seems to be a huge pain in the @$$ but it reminds me of a similar saying regarding gardening: "the best fertilizer is the owner's footprints ...

01-14-2005, 03:11 PM	#28 (permalink)
TaninMI Join Date: Nov 30 2004 Posts: 81 Rep Power: 0	Well, here is what I thought of doing and started it yesterday in hopes of controlling anything that may happen......I have a sign up sheet for my clients that has their name, their number, minutes they want to tan, bed they tanned in and whether or not they purchased a lotion.....we work on a card system so they also have to have their card marked that they were there and also have to initial it....I think that if I audit it once a week I can keep good tabs on it. What do ya'll think.....

01-15-2005, 01:32 AM	#29 (permalink)
MJ Join Date: Jan 21 2002 Posts: 3,060 Rep Power: 8	If your clients do not mind...then great!! Let us know if it works. Most of my Clients would probably be bothered by the questionaire. Since SOME of them..always seem to be rushing somewhere...as if it is my fault they are running late...they do on occasion get testy about signing the sign in sheet. I think those clients inparticular would look at me like I have three heads if I asked them to fill that out every visit. I would be careful and watch closely how many cleints reup their packages...some clients never complain..they just find another salon after their package is up. JMHO

01-16-2005, 12:15 AM	#30 (permalink)
ZABAZU Join Date: Apr 14 2003 Posts: 719 Rep Power: 6	We have their card and We fill out the date, girl who tans them initials, minutes they tan, Lotion they buy, room number they tan in , what they bought (single session, 5 min up etc.) and price they paid. The customer signs their card each time they tan on the same line next to all this info. That way the customer is only signing their name once. Customers always look at minutes tanned, date, price paid etc so there is a double check going on at all times along with the computer system that must be used to tan the client. Not to mention the printouts nightly that show all moves made on the computer along with all tans printed out as well. Not fool proof, but not too bad. Video Cameras and taping it all don't hurt either.

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