Busy season – if it hasn’t hit your town yet, it will soon. This is the time of year we all wait for – hoping and gearing up for a bigger and better year.
Of course, every salon should have their “regulars.” No matter what the season, they come in a couple of times a week. But now you should be getting some new clients checking out the salon as they need to get tan before they put on their first pair of shorts or swimsuits for the year. There are many changes that happen at the salon during these months. Here in Phoenix, this happens much faster than in other parts of the country, but your states will be there soon. Spring is just around the corner.
Busy season is a wonderful time of year for our industry. During it you are probably employing more people, bringing in higher revenue and working more hours (but at least those hours fly by). If you are just opening a new salon right before busy season, you really need to have your employees trained and ready. And if this is your 23rd year of experiencing busy season, well you know what you need to do!
From an insurance perspective, here are some risk-management techniques to keep in mind throughout the next couple of months:
•Additional (seasonal) employees are typically hired for this busy time. When hiring employees, look for someone that seems to be honest and committed to your business model. If they say they want the job just for free tanning, that might be a good sign they aren’t the right employee for your salon. Hiring unqualified staff can lead to unhappy clients, theft, misevaluating tanning time, and many other headaches. Employee handbooks are great tools that should be updated on a regular basis. They should have the do’s and don’ts of your business and a job description for each employee’s exact position. Remember to include payroll for all employees on your Worker’s Compensation policy.
•An essential part of your training program for new and existing employees should be to get all staff industry certified. An industry-specific certified training course will help you and your employees gain a better knowledge of the indoor tanning industry. Industry-specific education is always vital to running a well-operated business, and it could save you money on your business insurance.
•Determine what roles your manager(s) and sales associates will have at the salon. If you have a full-time manager, you may need to change some coverages on your current insurance policy. Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage could give you some protection if your employees routinely use their own vehicles during business hours to run errands for the salon. This coverage might protect your legal entity for example, if your employees gets in a car accident and the person they hit decides to bring legal action against your legal entity. Also review your additional coverages for Employee Dishonesty and Theft of Monies and Securities. No one wants to think that their employees would steal from them, but it happens more often then you might realize. Employee Dishonesty Coverage might provide protection for your entity if an employee steals cash or retail from the salon. Unfortunately, this usually happens with the person you trusted the most. Besides just the financial headache, you also have to deal with the emotional aspect of trusting your manager and them taking advantage of their position. Theft of Monies and Securities Coverage could offer protection from theft of cash inside the salon or while doing a bank deposit. As more people tan, you should be doing more transactions. As the cash drawer starts to fill up, make sure you/your manager is doing bank deposits on a regular basis. Theft has gone up, so be careful. Hopefully, keeping less cash in the drawer will be a deterrent.
•Your inventory should be stocked and ready to go – you need to keep up with the demand of your clients. As you stock up the shelves with more lotions and retail items, you probably need to increase the value of the contents for your property coverage. Also, it’s a good idea to keep more expensive items locked up so that clients can’t just walk out without purchasing the small but expensive bottles of lotion. Again, I can’t stress this enough, theft is on the rise. Alarm systems are a good deterrent for theft and another way to possibly save you some more money on your business insurance.
•As the number of clients goes up, so does your need to keep an eye on equipment maintenance and cleaning procedures. Make sure that your equipment is regularly tested, inspected and cleaned. The manufacturers have recommendations on usage of lamps for a reason. If there is a break in the acrylic, stop the use of that piece of equipment until it is completely repaired. One of the most obvious parts of running your salon, which some salons neglect, is keeping your salon clean! From the floors to the beds, from the bathrooms to the front desk, your business should always be fresh and clean.
These are just some tips to keep in mind, no matter what season your salon is experiencing. Keep in contact with your insurance agent, especially if you are thinking about making changes at the salon. Let’s start 2010 off right!
Jenny Bortman is an account executive for Universal Insurance, which has been serving professionals in the indoor tanning industry since 1993. For a competitive, personalized quote or additional information about Universal’s exclusive Tanning Salon program, call 800.844.2101 or visit www.uitanning.com.
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