Appointments vs Walk-Ins - Page 5 - tanTALK

Eagletan · 07-14-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mannytan

Hmmm I had never considered getting rid of my appointments but I can see the benefits in doing so but my question for everyone is how big of a salon do you have? 12+beds? 8-10 beds? Smaller? If you're a small salon (less than 8 beds) wouldnt you have a long wait during the peak hours? I'm just curious.

I have 8 rooms and i don't do appt. what i offer is call ahead, call no more than an hour before you come in. Thier name goes on a wait list and what i tell them when they call is how many people are ahead of them so they can plan ahead . I have a lot of school kids so when schools out my lobby is packed, some kids upgrade and the others don't mind waiting. My walkins 99% of the time will upgrade. our bigest month was 3500 tans in may its my first season so im not sure if thats average for 8 rooms.

vanrooy55 · 04-15-2012, 12:32 PM

We take both. Only a couple of appointments per 1/2 hour and the rest are for the walk ins. No problems here and keeps most clients happy.

House of Tan · 05-31-2012, 10:09 AM

I do call ahead also; I picked that up from Texas Roadhouse, it works great. We use this in addition to reservations.

mmurra · 10-06-2012, 09:17 PM

Ditto Sun Sally. I dropped appointments 13 years ago and life got simple. We have multiple levels and our policy is to bump the client up to the next level (if available) if the wait is over 2 minutes. During the busy season, I want the salon running at 100% capacity and the lobby at 0% capacity. Customers love being bumped up and many convert into the next higher level. It is intermittent reinforcement in that the customer cannot count on being bumped. This policy has worked well for us.

sunsteph · 10-11-2012, 03:43 PM

We do a combination of both, 3 regualr beds we take appointments for, the other 2 regulars are for walk-ins, our HP are appt or walk-ins.

purpleis4me · 10-17-2012, 03:52 PM

I am totally with you and laughing about this. We now do red light therapy and for the most part, require appointments because we ran a Living Social ad. Nice thing is that they have the 24 hour rule. You miss or try to change your appointment within 24 hours of the appointment, you lose your session. And the selling points you make, you are right - we have sold so many upgrades and products just by people waiting in the lobby.
We also require appointments for custom airbrush tanning but if someone walks in, we will take them because everyone who is on staff is a trained and certified airbrush tech. We do have rules about no custom airbrushing during the 4:30-6pm time slot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunsally

Why no appts:

1. Too much time on the phone taking them, cancelling, changing,..

2. Have to block enough time for everyone to go the whole time, take lots of time dressing, etc. They don't. That time is then wasted and you lose revenue

3. If they can always make an appointment for 'their bed' - less of an opportunity to upgrade them (and make $$). If they can't get "their time", they might just skip - and you lose volume and $$

4. Life is stressful enough without having to rush to make a tanning "appointment". If they are late - the salon schedule goes off, just like a dr's office. This is bad for everyone

The bottom line - salon after salon after salon that switched from taking appointments to walk-ins only (not for custom spraying where you need extra staff - just for tanning) --- made MORE MONEY, saw MORE CUSTOMERS and resulted in LESS WORK for staff. Every single one.

If a customer has to wait a short time because they arrive at the busiest time of your day in the busiest months -- they can upgrade or talk about products. This is a selling and educational opportunity for the salon.

No appointments.

adam.sand · 12-12-2012, 11:33 AM

adam.sand · 12-15-2012, 06:13 AM

spam…

or simple solution to over-complicated problem? ;)

sunrisetan · 12-15-2012, 07:43 AM

we did appointments back in the late 80's and early 90's until i realized too much time was spent on the phone, and appointment book...and also realized i could run more people thru in a days time without having the appointments blocked...
too bad i did'nt do away with "minutes" at the same time...that took a few years longer to get rid of.
when you have a big enough salon....you don't need appointments anyhow. you can always get people in...and at most a few minute wait.

peach · 03-19-2013, 11:04 AM

It would depend upon how your salon is set up. If you have multiple levels of tanning and different types of units, then it
almost impossible to run as a walkin only store. Unless you want your lobby full of customers all the time.

View Poll Results: Walk-Ins or Appointments?
Only Walk-Ins YearRound (No Appts Ever Accepted)	81	54.00%
Walk-Ins & Appts YearRound	60	40.00%
Only Appts YearRound (No Walk-Ins Ever Accepted)	4	2.67%
Other - plese explain	5	3.33%
Voters: 150. You may not vote on this poll

04-15-2012, 12:32 PM	#42 (permalink)
vanrooy55 Join Date: Nov 7 2010 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 9 Rep Power: 0	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins We take both. Only a couple of appointments per 1/2 hour and the rest are for the walk ins. No problems here and keeps most clients happy.

05-31-2012, 10:09 AM	#43 (permalink)
House of Tan Team TanTalk Join Date: Oct 21 2003 Location: The Fort Posts: 672 Rep Power: 10	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins I do call ahead also; I picked that up from Texas Roadhouse, it works great. We use this in addition to reservations. __________________ Startbucks

10-06-2012, 09:17 PM	#44 (permalink)
mmurra Join Date: Nov 11 2008 Location: Adrian, Michigan Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins Ditto Sun Sally. I dropped appointments 13 years ago and life got simple. We have multiple levels and our policy is to bump the client up to the next level (if available) if the wait is over 2 minutes. During the busy season, I want the salon running at 100% capacity and the lobby at 0% capacity. Customers love being bumped up and many convert into the next higher level. It is intermittent reinforcement in that the customer cannot count on being bumped. This policy has worked well for us.

10-11-2012, 03:43 PM	#45 (permalink)
sunsteph Join Date: Jun 8 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 11 Rep Power: 0	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins We do a combination of both, 3 regualr beds we take appointments for, the other 2 regulars are for walk-ins, our HP are appt or walk-ins.

12-12-2012, 11:33 AM	#47 (permalink)
adam.sand Just a Squirrel Join Date: Feb 25 2006 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Age: 29 Posts: 309 Rep Power: 8	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins SPAM __________________ There is STILL Tanning in West Edmonton Mall! http://fromrigstoriches.wordpress.com Mr. Belvedere wishes he had half of my ideas, and 100% of my nerve. (put here by Belvy himself.. not me lol) Last edited by movieking; 12-12-2012 at 01:47 PM.

12-15-2012, 07:43 AM	#49 (permalink)
sunrisetan Join Date: Jan 30 2008 Location: michigan Posts: 394 Rep Power: 0	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins we did appointments back in the late 80's and early 90's until i realized too much time was spent on the phone, and appointment book...and also realized i could run more people thru in a days time without having the appointments blocked... too bad i did'nt do away with "minutes" at the same time...that took a few years longer to get rid of. when you have a big enough salon....you don't need appointments anyhow. you can always get people in...and at most a few minute wait.

03-19-2013, 11:04 AM	#50 (permalink)
peach Join Date: Mar 18 2005 Location: GA Posts: 186 Rep Power: 9	Re: Appointments vs Walk-Ins It would depend upon how your salon is set up. If you have multiple levels of tanning and different types of units, then it almost impossible to run as a walkin only store. Unless you want your lobby full of customers all the time.

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