This spa series is tips for success working in a resort spa but this can apply to any spa environment you choose to apply and work at. Basically the emphasis is how to be a team player. This is your pep talk post on how to be successful with your spa coworkers and things not to do. I’m going to be brutally honest here so be ready. For those of you who haven’t started working in a spa environment and you may be reading this post, read and learn. Yes all the issues I bring up in this blog do and have happened in my work environments.
3 Things Not To Be
Most important tips: Do not be nasty, lazy or selfish. What do I mean by those 3 things?
Nasty is not cleaning up after yourself. Acting like a pre madonna who does not need to clean up their work space. Leaving messes and thinking the magical cleaning fairy will come by the spa and pick up your mess. If you choose to not completely clean up and close up your work space when the shift is finished it will affect all your team members while they work. If you leave spilled product everywhere or fingerprints and gunk on things, your work space will eventually look old and dirty. Your co-workers will know who does and does not clean up properly after themselves. You open the possibility to get a talking to by your manager, supervisor, or team lead.
Lazy is working with the attitude of I come to work, I make money and I leave. Everyone else can do the closing work. Yes, we do not want to work with people that have that attitude. That is considered selfish because if you are blessed to receive bookings, having an attitude of gratitude is what will aid in future bookings and success. Here is a cause and effect example of, if you do not stock the towels in your working space, then whoever uses the room after you will have no towels to perform their services. Why would that be okay if you walked into the work space with enough towels to do your job? You leave someone to have to rush and stock the work space when you could of just done your part.
Selfish is an attitude such as, I believe all the bookings are mine and rotation does not exist for me. Really? Trust me I have worked with many different therapist who have that attitude and will literally get into verbal arguments with their coworkers over whose booking everything should go to. Of course they feel they should get all of them and only give to the ones that can do overflow after they are selfishly booked up. Its not pretty to watch that behavior and it makes the work environment uncomfortable.
Bookings
Almost every spa that you work at has a booking order. If you are new their is sometimes a seniority with others who have worked at the spa longer than you. I always ask in the interview what the booking order is so that you can get an idea of what to expect. Most places depends who will get a 2 services to 1 booking or booked first before you by service or rooms available. Note that now that a lot of spa scheduling is done online and guests can book themselves, things get moved around. You will want to pay attention and stay on top of the bookings but hopefully not feel the urge to fight and argue for incorrect bookings.
Spa Receptionist
Sometimes the reception staff is new or in training and they too are learning the booking order. Just try to keep peace at all times with appointment bookings. Any confrontation just ask in a soft tone and not an accusatory tone. A lot of times it can be a simple mistake and can be moved around or fixed. Remember, nobody wants to work in a relaxing spa environment, provide relaxing services for customers and have an intense accusatory co-worker.
If you are thinking of working or applying for a spa receptionist position. Know that bookings and booking order of appointments is important for the spa service providers. A lot of times how a therapist is booked will affect how they are paid and how much money they are going to make. If your new and learning and a therapist comes up to you angry because of an incorrect booking. Know that the anger stems from their pay being affected in a negative way. Try and learn that early on the importance of proper booking order.
Spa Supervisor
Depending on the size of the spa there is also a spa supervisor position. In this case they can work with the lead therapist or they are the one that is working directly with the employees. Normally the title supervisor is someone who will work closely with the spa manager. They will be the eyes and ears on the spa floor of what is going on. This position will act as a liasion between staff and spa management. In my experience most of my spa supervisors did not have a license or ability to perform spa services. They acted more as management support.
Lead Therapist
In most spas there is always a lead therapist or a head esthetician. Normally this role is necessary because you need someone to assist in making sure all the service providers have all the supplies needed. A lead esthetician for example will check the stock on the skincare products and be more aware if the spa is running low on something. The same applies for a lead massage therapist. The lead therapist will make sure there is enough massage oil and products necessary and stocked for all the therapists to be able to perform their job. Both of these positions require a little more responsibility and the lead will either be compensated more per service or they will be guaranteed bookings before everyone else.
Tips For Success Working In The Spa
- As you start your shift make sure you have an updated booking list. Best if printed out for you but if you need to check the computer for your bookings let that be one of the first things you do.
- Your going to want to set up your work space for your day. If you have no bookings you will still want to get your work space set up for any incoming bookings. You want to be ready to go if there happens to be a walk in booking because in a resort space this can easily happen.
- Check in with the spa reception and make sure they know you are present, available, and ready for bookings
- Make sure you are stocked up for the day with sheets and towels.
- Start your services and enjoy your shift.
If you missed my first 2 post on how to be successful working in a resort spa, you can read part 1 here:
https://elementlufu.com/tips-for-success-working-in-a-resort-spa-part-1/
and part 2 is here:
https://elementlufu.com/tips-for-success-while-working-in-a-resort-spa-part-2/
I emphasize that you need to get to know the laundry department. The most important departments are laundry, front desk, and concierge. The front desk and concierge is your success for yourself to gain bookings. The laundry department is important because you always will need sheets and towels to do your job. Its helpful to know where laundry is located on the property.
Closing Duties & Stocking Work Space
Depending how your spa is set up your going to have a lead therapist to answer too or a spa supervisor or receptions staff. To have success in your spa position the best thing to do is to keep your space clean and pull your weight in closing duties and restocking. Why is it so important to restock properly? You are leaving your coworkers hanging for the next shift if they do not have the proper products and supplies needed to work.
I can tell you how frustrating it is when you are doing a facial and you think you have two cotton rounds or eye covers. All of a sudden your in the middle of the service and there may be only one cotton round stocked and you need two of something to cover the eyes. You had better hope that there is 2×2’s available or a 4×4 that you can quickly make into an eye pad cover.
These are the things to pay attention to when your closing down your work space so that the next shift is fully prepared. You always want to make sure there is enough stock in the sheets and towels for at least two services. (Again why its good to always know where the laundry department is) Best to have everything in stock for a minimum of 2 services. If everyone closes the rooms or work space properly there will be no problems and everyone can do their spa position with flow and ease.
Lets Talk Cleanliness
Its time to talk about cleanliness. At the end of your shift you want to make sure you clean up your room or work space. Its always best to be a team player. Yes you will have co-workers who do not pull their weight. Those co-workers will be talked about and eventually be talked to by management. You do not want that to happen to you. You personally want to make sure to stock and close down your room properly at the end of your shift.
I can give a personal experience here from the first spa I worked at after esthetician school. We had one esthetician who would not close the room properly. The lead esthetician would always complain to me and tell me, “I don’t know how many times I have talked to her about leaving messes and she just doesn’t get it.” I was brand new to the field but I definitely learned from that experience that this is a real issue in the spa environment. It is important to clean up and close the work space properly.
Spa Room Closing List
This section is for supervisors, spa therapist leads, lead estheticians. Are you having someone on your team not quite getting the concept of how to properly clean their spa room and close their work space? Sometimes your employees were not trained properly or they do not know what expectations are of them? Sometimes someone gets hired and trained and then the trainer leaves and expectations change. For that reason I have created the Spa Room Closing List PDF to help guide your spa employees on how to close down the rooms. You can let them know your clear expectations. You can also use this PDF as a buffer to open the conversation and figure out where the cleanliness can be addressed.
I designed this Spa Room Closing List PDF to address each closing category. You can check my Spa Room Closing List PDF here:
https://elementlufu.com/shop/spa-room-closing-list/
This works as a general rule but will help guide you to close the spa room down. This PDF is designed in sections of cleaning up your work space. Each section has two blank lines that are available to write or type in anything that would apply to your working space that you may need to add. You can also print and laminate once you have all your lines filled in for your spa and hang in a cupboard or cabinet where employees can find.
Hopefully you learned some things about what to expect working in a resort spa and some tips for success. Cleanliness is a real thing in the spa environment. Sometimes depending on where you first work you will not understand the expectations and closing duties. It is always important to learn what is expected so that you will be considered a team player. I hope you learned something from this post and stay clean in your spa space.