Hunting and Gathering

by Charity Plata

Nothing is ever easy, until you try. At one time or another, it is an adage everyone has heard and been warned to heed. However, when it comes to computerizing a salon, perhaps, it may be more fitting to say nothing ever is easy, until you have all the facts.

Hunting and Gathering

Tanning salons may be one of the final frontiers where computerization has not fully been embraced. Some salon owners have convinced themselves, and perhaps even their clients, that they can provide efficient and well-rounded service by keeping tanning history, packages and purchase information logged on client cards.

And while this method has proved itself over time, client card access is not the most expedient way to provide customers with information. Factor in a long line of traffic at a salon during the peak tanning season and manual record keeping can add up to customer frustration.

"Cards are fine when you have a few customers, even up to 1,000, but it very quickly becomes unwieldy and slow," says Joseph Smith, manager of software business services for QDM Co., Inc., manufacturers of Breeze tanning salon software. "It becomes a hindrance in checking in clients quickly and keeping good records of their balances. The computer system can speed up the process significantly and doesn't put a limitation on how many customers it can serve."

Smith adds that computers allow salon owners to be more sophisticated in the types of packages and promotions they can offer.

Both salon management software providers and salon owners who utilize computer systems overwhelmingly agree that the most advantageous way for a salon operator to get the best computer for his or her investment is to gather as much information as possible about the systems he or she is interested in.

"Research different sources to ensure you are getting accurate information from vendors," says Keith E. Ray, director of sales and marketing for Interactive Designs, Inc., creators of SunTouch salon management software. "If you are consulting a hardware company for a purchase, make sure to utilize the sales representative's knowledge, as well as the software vendor's expertise."

Before investing in computer technology, salon owners should conduct more of an information gathering process rather than listening to various sales pitches, he adds.

For the novice computer user, a visit to the local Best Buy or Circuit City can provide sufficient background information on computers in both PC and Macintosh platforms. However, before initiating the laborious task of piecing together their own systems, salon owners should be aware that many companies specializing in salon management software also offer packages that provide all of the pieces to the computerization puzzle.

According to Guy Silagi, marketing director for Helios Technologies, salon specialty software companies are a good place to start the information hunt.

"Definitely investigate software," he says. "Salon owners can get demos of the software and try it. However, they will want to purchase a complete computer system that would entail the central computer, software, cash drawer, receipt printer, an external printer, monitor and Windows '95."

Ed Chaney, owner of SUNCHAIN tanning salons, headquartered in Phoenix, opened his first facility in 1986 when computers were not exactly a must-have item for a salon. Upon expanding to his fourth salon, the option of computerizing was both feasible and logical.

"There are two important reasons why I chose to computerize over using manual cards," he explains. "One was customer manageability, and the other was cash control. Cash manageability is all about accountability. The computer system keeps track of employees, customer transactions and ensures everything runs as if I were behind every salon's counter. For client manageability, it is wonderful to walk into a salon and through the computerized system be able to get a snapshot of both the client base and their transactions at any time."

Considering he still picks out his own computer hardware to incorporate into his salons, Chaney is an anomaly in the field. For years, he has built his hardware systems and utilized Helios' software to run SUNCHAIN salons.

"I would recommend to someone who doesn't have a lot of education about hardware to buy a complete hardware and software package," he suggests. "Irecommend this because most salon management programs released lately are Windows-based and user-friendly. The only real difficulty comes in choosing and matching the hardware together. I also would advise other salon owners to stay with the highest level of technology available to start."

Because hardware systems are notoriously shifty, many salon owners drag their heels in regard to purchasing a computer. They often feel as if they are investing in an enterprise that quickly must be discarded when the "next big thing" in technology is released.

"Obsolescence is a relative term," says Interactive's Ray. "It really depends on the applications you are using the computer for. The reason why software and operating systems frequently change is to benefit the end user.

"Every three years or so, salon owners should look at updating their operating systems," he advises. "They may want to set aside a budget for all of these upgrades."

Upgrading hardware allows users to benefit from increased memory and a faster processor due to the expanded hard drive space in most systems. It also can provide salon owners with an advantage through heightened productivity, such as the ability to process their clients with quickness and ease.

A Secured Investment

Some of the basic features included on salon management software programs include client tracking with the option to input tanning histories and personal package purchases; tanning bed timer control; a feature for sales and client reports; and, employee and business record keeping.

Moreover, one of the most beneficial aspects of computerizing a business is the amount of control it affords a manager or owner. In salons, management and ownership often go hand in hand; thus, in many instances, owners, especially those with multiple stores, must rely on the integrity of store managers and other employees in regard to keeping shop.

Some statistics have shown that nearly 80 percent of theft at the retail level occurs from employees who take advantage of the system. Stories abound in the tanning industry about salon owners who made the transition from client cards to computers only to discover the extent of their yearly losses from employee pilfering, either through stealing actual merchandise or allowing friends and family to tan for free.

Most tanning software providers agree, salon owners who still utilize a client card system create an added risk because they strictly rely on their employees to record cash transactions and not to misappropriate use of the salon's tanning equipment or supplies on a daily basis.

"With a computer system, it is not meant to make a dishonest employee honest--that will never happen," says Michael Blore, co-owner of California Sun Centers tanning salons and owner of California Sun Systems, the providers of Sun Tech software. "What it is meant to do is allow someone who may be thinking of being dishonest to give it a second thought."

With any good software system, salon owners should have the ability to prohibit employees from tanning people for free. Most software also tracks inventory, so, at their fingertips, owners can find out if anything is missing.

"Users also should be able to run nightly reports to determine who tanned for free," Blore adds. "Did anyone get discounts? Was anything given away? Bottom line, computers help salon owners be more profitable."

Betsy Facendini, owner of the Go West Tan salon in Santa Rosa, Calif., agrees that computerization makes for an easier method to fast track clients and adds: "When I have employees here, it is easy for me to go back and look to see if anything was mishandled while I was gone. When I have to question anything, I know what times to question, the prices or if there were discounts I didn't authorize and it's all in the computer so it is easy to pick up on."

Even with a computer system that controls the timers on tanning beds, records cash transactions and tracks inventory, some salon owners undermine the whole purpose of having such technologies by putting too much faith in their employees.

"It is tremendously tempting for employees to be put in control of an operation," QDM's Smith adds. "However, one of the biggest mistakes people make when they buy software for salons is not taking the security process seriously enough. All software systems have security built into them, but if owners give away the keys to that security to employees by allowing them to share passwords or giving them access to levels of the program they shouldn't have, they basically have thrown out the security.

"Salon owners have made it easier to spot a security breach, but they also have given a less than honest employee a big opportunity to take advantage of the system," he concludes. "Security only is as good as the owner's willingness to adhere to whatever its requirements are."

As more salon owners achieve success with their businesses and decide on expansion or franchises, eventually a trusting relationship must evolve between owners and those who manage the stores. The point of effective computerization is to create an atmosphere that caters to all parties and protects the overall investment made in the tanning facility.

"Inevitably salon owners have to trust somebody," Blore points out. "Somebody has to be a manager to help run multiple stores. Owners should have a level of security to give to that individual, and software programs allows people to do that.

"Computerization also should be your manager," he concludes. "It should help you manage what you are trying to protect. People spend tens of thousands of dollars to build a beautiful salon and won't spend an extra $1,000 to protect it. If you spend all that money to do something, why not pay a little more to protect it?"

Securing that the day-to-day operations data is another important aspect of computerization that salon owners cannot afford to overlook. Backing up and storing data should be viewed as essential as ensuring the lamps in tanning beds are operational.

According to Interactive's Ray, many salon owners, even those who have long used computers, are unaware that without a secured back-up mechanism, they jeopardize losing the bulk of their business should their computer hardware be damaged.

"I can't emphasize the point strongly enough, all of a salon's information is in the computer, and owners need to protect that data," Ray asserts. "Your data is the livelihood for your entire business. You must have an accurate mechanism so if something were to happen to the computer--it goes down, blows up or gets stolen--you can have the data quickly accessible so you can restore it on another system or once the computer is fixed. I recommend a tape back up or a zip drive that automatically backs up data."

He further notes that backing up on disk often is cumbersome, and if a disk were to have an error, it could result in a loss of important data. Still, disk back up is a more suitable alternative than nothing at all. Often, a top quality zip drive or tape back up is available for $150 to $200.

"Once a salon has an accurate back-up system in place, it also is a good idea to test the restoration just to make sure you are recording good information," Ray adds.

For SUNCHAIN's Chaney, backing up data became much more simple after the company elected to go on-line with its own Internet site.

"With a software program, the whole system can go away," he says. "You always can replace it; with data files, you cannot. To lose a month of transactions, you may as well waive the white flag and surrender because your customers will have a heyday with you. We have a Web site, and now we are backing up our information on the Internet daily. It is a very simple tool, and we don't ever expect the Internet to go down."

Software Solutions

Almost every software supplier in the tanning industry offers a system that allows users to optimize the efficiency and quality of business within their salons. Because of the unique nature of the business, many software companies have forged relationships with their clients which, according to California Sun Systems' Blore, who himself benefits from the on-going support of Tan America Co., is an extremely appropriate role.

"As a salon owner, I have been in the shoes of the customer, and I don't want to forget what it is like to be scared with computerizing your first salon," he says. "That is why we offer Sun Tech with a full money-back guarantee. Only when a customer feels comfortable with their purchase have they made the right decision.

"The software is going to be running your salon; the provider becomes 'co-owners,'" he continues. "A salon owner may view that as a negative and a reason why he or she is not going to buy it. However, that is just the reason they should buy software--because most people who develop software are very familiar with this industry and can help somebody far more than they can ever hurt."

For Keith Lipman, owner of Energy Tanning salons, headquartered in Phoenix, a bad initial experience with a software provider did not sour his efforts to create a top-of-the-line salon. Energy Tanning stores now run with FST Co.'s Sun Ease software and allow Lipman's salons to maintain the high-quality image his clients expect.

"Computers provide a little professionalism," he says. "They show we are not just a 'mom-and-pop' store with cards that we scribble things on. We run Energy as a big business, and I think that is the difference between us and other salons. We have a professional, responsible image."

For Lipman, the accessibility of both the software and FST's tech support makes all the difference in his day-to-day operations.

"The main reason why we chose Sun Ease was because we have three stores, and we wanted our customers to be able to use each one," he adds. "The software is able to link each store, so every night they download to the host and deliver the updates back to each store."

Seven years ago, Tim Mende, software developer for FST, invented the Sun Ease program to provide salon owners with consistent interface and the option of utilizing several different central processing units, including Windows, DOS, Windows '95, Windows MCE or OS-2.

"When I first came up with the program, I created the basic design for it, and now, seven years later, everything that it does is something that a salon owner has asked me to make the program do," he says. "Yet, it still maintains the simple interface that allows users to find a client and work with a couple of options. They can tan, if the customers wants to tan; sales, if you make a sale; and, users can modify client addresses or look at their tanning histories. It is a simple program that has worked all this time."

As tanning evolves into what Blore has termed more of a "Blockbuster Industry," with multibed, no-appointment necessary salons edging out the more 'mom-and-pop' enterprises, experts agree that establishing both local- and wide-area networks will be the next wave in salon technology.

Today, most software provides the capability for salons to utilize a local-area, or multiple PCs in a single store. Typically, it requires Windows as an operating system, a network card in each PC, coaxial cable plug-ins and a network version of the actual salon software. As far as the wide-area networks that will connect several different salons together, most companies still are perfecting software to accommodate the necessary access. Experts also recommend that salons seeking to establish a network carefully discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such an enterprise.

Another bonus for stores that move from a client card system to computers is the ability to capitalize on such business boosters as auto debit systems. According to Blore, whose own salons utilize debit systems, making tanning more affordable and convenient ensures a consistent client base, thereby boosting overall sales.

"Unfortunately, I think salons that are not heading in the debit direction will not be able to compete," he explains. "Debit systems allow customers to set up a tanning package where salon owners send credit-card information to a debit processing company. The system processes the numbers, informs you if the card is active or inactive and allows you to put a customer on hold if you choose.

"The key to the auto debit system is making it so affordable that customers don't give it a second thought when they see it on their bills," Blore continues. "Clients want to keep coming back to the same salons. People are creatures of habit. But, as owners, what are we doing to give them a good reason to do so? With auto debit, I try to give my customers a reason never to shop around since they know they already have found the best price."

With Helios' salon software, salons can utilize the SmartMail feature that allows users to choose the demographics or information about clients in the database and modem or mail a disk of the list directly to the company. Helios then "cleanses" the information to remove all the inaccurate addresses and generates a four-color postcard promotion that is mailed first-class to a salon's clients.

"Salons always will make more money from their existing client base than from new ones," says Helios' Silagi. "Salon owners usually do not have the time or manpower to lick stamps, run labels or design a four-color card, which is cost and time prohibitive. Helios will do all the work for them. Thus, being able to use the SmartMail feature available through the software system is a huge factor in time savings and a tremendous money generator for salon owners."

One of the most important things that salons owners who are interested in becoming computerized cannot afford to overlook is the need to evaluate how accessible a software company is when tech support is needed.

Most experts agree that before settling on a particular provider, salon owners should ask as many questions necessary to acquaint themselves with the software and/or hardware that is being provided. They also should view as many demonstration disks as possible and try calling the tech support hotlines for the various companies at random times to determine their accessibility.

"If you can't get a working disk to test out a program and see if you like it, don't go with it," advises Energy's Lipman. "If someone is not going to give you a sample of something to try before you buy it, I never would bother with that company."

Helpful Hints For Better Computing

Along with many of the aforementioned suggestions, taking the time to become acquainted with the actual hardware and software as well as ways to preserve it is extremely helpful in getting the optimum use out of the technology.

For those who never have approached a computer, it often is helpful to take a few classes, even one on operating Windows '95, just to get a better angle on how the systems work.

Interactive Design's Ray further suggests that just as with buying a car, salon owners should become aware of the maintenance issues that can help extend the life of the system.

"Learn a few simple preventative maintenance tips to help maintain the integrity of the computer system," he adds. "Once you know how to navigate around the computer, the next step is to know what maintenance steps in your software to perform."

Salon owners also should be fearless in how they approach their technical equipment suppliers, especially since they ultimately play such an important role in the overall growth of a facility.

QDM's Smith suggests that owners learn as much as possible about a system to ensure that what is available today will satisfy their future business needs. They also should formalize a computing protocol so employees understand exactly what needs inputting for clients and business record keeping to help minimize the potential for later errors or miscues.

"If owners are looking to buy computers and software, they should ask for references," Smith adds. "Get references from people who have been in the business for a while and have proven success. Ask the hard questions and don't be bashful to ask the easy ones."

Overall, software experts and salon owners who utilize computers alike agree that fear never should be the thing that stops a new store owner from acquiring a computerized system. The motivating factors for becoming computerized should be how it can heighten security ensuring profits are not sneaking out the door, how it eliminates a lot of management and record-keeping time and saves salon owners from having to hire an outside accountant or business manager as well as how it removes the limitations on growing their business.

Manual client cards can only progress so far before salons must hire more employees to keep up the pace, and paper and pencil book and record keeping means that owners must rely on instinct to know how much expansion is enough or if the business is as sound as it should be.

Tanning salon owners take pride in the fact that their equipment, lotions and safety supplies are top-of-the-line. They spend top dollars to advertise it, and often hang the reputation of the salon on it. However, as Sun Tech's Blore notes, without embracing the best technology possible to run a salon, what kind of message does that send to your existing and potential clients?

"When we first got into the industry, the tanning beds intimidated many of us," he says. "Once we understood how the beds work, how to replace lamps and how to change acrylics, it became second nature. It is no different with software or computerization. If salon owners are in an industry where they expect people to believe they are state-of-the-art, they need to prove it. The only way the industry can improve is by becoming what we say we are. If we are going to be a state-of-the-art industry, we need to work at accomplishing that goal."