MEDICAL SPAS REVIEW by Medical Spas Review

EDITORIAL & ADVISORY BOARD

medical spas business review the medicine environment of the future –TODAY

ROBERT M. GOLDMAN, MD, PhD, DO, FAASP World Chairman-International Medical Commission Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board-A4M Founder & Chairman-International Sports Hall of Fame Co-Founder & Chairman-World Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine President Emeritus-National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) DR. RONALD KLATZ, MD, DO, is the physician founder and President of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. In 1984, Dr. Klatz was a pioneer in the clinical specialty of preventative medicine: as a principal founder of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and researcher into elite human performance and physiology. Dr. Klatz is a best-selling author, and is columnist or Senior Medical Editor to several international medical journals. He is the inventor, developer, or administrator of 100-plus scientific patents, including those for technologies for brain resuscitation, trauma and emergency medicine, organ transplant and blood preservation. DAVID B. MANDELL, JD, MBA, is a former attorney and author of ten books for clients, including For Doctors Only: A Guide to Working Less & Building More, as well a number of state books. He is a principal of the financial consulting firm OJM Group He has co-authored the Category I CME Monograph Risk Management for the Practicing Physician which has gone through 5 editions since 1998 & is certified for 5-hour business of medicine CME MANON PILON, Speaker, International Educator, SPA & Medical SPA Specialist – Mrs. Manon Pilon’s background spans over twenty-seven years of professional experience in SPA and MEDICAL SPA operation and management, marketing strategies, Medical Spa concept and development, and motivation methods. She is holding senior management positions in companies such as Europe Cosmétiques, CurAge Med, CurAge Spa, and Europelab. Founder of a private Aesthetics Professional School in Montreal, Canada.

ANNE BOLDUC Group Publisher & President EDITOR IN CHIEF Guy J. Jonkman SENIOR EDITOR Bernard Burt SEND EDITORIAL INFORMATION info@MedicalSpasReview.com or P.O. Box 2699 Champlain NY 12919-2699

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MONTE ZWANG is a principal of Wellness Capital Management, providing cash flow and financial strategies to businesses in the cannabis &wellness industry. Monte has been a consultant for more than 25 years, teaching entrepreneurs and company leaders in health care, real estate, food and beverage, day spa, resorts and hotels, and retail dispensary industries the strategies of cash flow management. Monte is driven to the wellness industry because of a personal passion for healthy lifestyle choices, and a professional passion to work with cannabis wellness entrepreneurs as they achieve their business goals by helping people live a healthy lifestyle.

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BRENT A. BAUER, M.D. as director of the Mayo Clinic Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program, Brent A. Bauer, M.D., has broad and varied research interests. Dr. Bauer's personal goal is to ensure that research conducted under the auspices of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program is always held to the same high standards as all other research at Mayo Clinic. He brought real, evidence-based knowledge to patients and physicians trying to incorporate the best of conventional and complementary medicine practices.

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ALEX R. THIERSCH Founder and director of the American Med Spa Association (AmSpa), an organization created for the express purpose of providing comprehensive, relevant and timely legal and business resources for the medical aesthetic industry throughout the United States.

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CHERYL WHITMAN, is a published author, a popular speaker and a beauty-industry consultant with more than 30 years experience, including 15 years as the owner of Face Fantasie Day Spa in Fort Lee, New Jersey. As founder and CEO of Beautiful Forever, Cheryl spearheads a successful team of medical spa consultants and business professionals. In addition, Cheryl developed the Medical Spa Success System, a revolutionary program that provides a turnkey educational success system and consulting services package to help clients jumpstart brilliantly successful medical spa businesses.

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E C O B I O LO G Y D E D I C AT E D T O A E S T H E T I C S

Cover Story

MEDI CAL SPAS

VITAL ENERGY IS CHI IN CHINA – KI IN JAPAN – PRANA IN INDIA

Spa Treatments

CHI

at your Medical Spa COULD YOUR MEDICAL SPA USE VITAL ENERGY? By Jon Canas, President and CEO, Phytobiodermie

BECAUSE THE BODY IS NOT ONLY SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS! All “energy medicines”, of which traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a great exemplar, have a common fundamental philosophy, namely the belief that the body is not, as we are taught in Western schools, made only of matter (solids and fluids) but also of energy. We are not talking about the constant energy releases caused by the multitude of chemical activities taking place within the body. Vital-energy, as it is called In Western countries, is a very subtle form of energy essential to all life forms and critical to their functioning. It is called “Chi” in China. In Japan it is referred to as “Ki” and in India, as all Yoga practitioners know, it is “Prana”. The traditional Chinese medical view of body parts and functions is very holistic: Everything, within the body, is interrelated and forms what you could call an ecological system. That is opposite to the views that have traditionally prevailed in Western medicine whereby the body is treated somewhat like a machine where a bad part can be repaired or replaced without too much concern for the effect that action might have on the rest of the body. Inherent to that difference between the two systems is the idea of vital-energy. Since it has a constant flow covering the entire body and linking all the functions, nothing can be isolated or eliminated without deeply affecting the rest of the system. www.medicalspasreview.com

That is because of the inter-connection caused by energy flowing not only from head to toes and right hand to left hand, but also from the inner parts to the outer parts, and vice-versa. Nothing within the body is isolated from vital-energy. Energy medicine is not exclusive to Asia. Hippocrates, the great Greek philosopher and father of Western medicine, instructed physicians to find the blocking influences both within a patient and between them and the cosmos in order to restore health and life. Nature is the source of healing, he believed, not the doctor – a fundamental truth that was lost along the way. When ancestral energy medicine was broadly popular in China, there was an astute practice that would insure that doctors would be focused on the health of their patients, as opposed to reacting to sickness and diseases as it is the case today in most modern countries. It is said that the family physician was fully paid so long as all the family members were in good health. When someone became ill, the physician’s pay was reduced or suspended until everyone in the family was well again! Whether historically true or not, this anecdote illustrates the importance of preventative health care in traditional Chinese medicine.

• MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW

AUTHOR Jon Canas is president of Phytobiodermie a Swiss-based holistic skin care company. Its unique method is entirely based on Traditional Chinese Medicine principles. The Phytobiodermie method combines concepts of energy with European herbal pharmacopoeia. It offers a complete range of naturally energetic products for face, body and scalp divided into five lines, PHYTO 5, for each of the five groups of skin conditions. It also has optional proprietary equipment (Lymph drainage, Light-therapy and Bio-stimulation). Its award-winning Chroma-Lift facial is a comprehensive, non-invasive lifting facial that uses colored clay masks, lymphatic stimulation and light-therapy.

MEDI CAL SPAS

Spa Treatments

THE CHINESE MEDICAL VIEW OF BODY IS VERY HOLISTIC INTERNAL ENERGETIC FLOW AND BALANCE.

The traditional Chinese medical view of body parts and functions is very holistic: Everything, within the body, is interrelated and forms what you could call an ecological system. That is opposite to the views that have traditionally prevailed in Western medicine whereby the body is treated somewhat like a machine where a bad part can be repaired or replaced without too much concern for the effect that action might have on the rest of the body.

Illness, in TCM, is always viewed as a disruption, an imbalance in, or a blockage of, the natural energetic flow. Therefore, a health-oriented regimentation aims to maintain or restore the internal energetic balance. A treatment can be strictly preventive or it might be to address an existing problem. The focus of a TCM treatment is not the symptoms as much as the root cause of the illness. In both cases the field of attention is the energy flow, its quality and freedom of movements according to very specific pathways called the meridians of acupuncture. Treatments might involve ingesting certain herbs and other natural ingredients with specific energetic properties, or they might be at skin-level where the energy flow can be accessed, in particular when acupuncture is involved. TCM has very ancient roots and evolved during an era when the metaphysical beliefs of Taoism prevailed in China and therefore it was influenced by those beliefs and related cultural implications. Taoists believed that, to live harmoniously, man needs to be in accord with the energetic laws of nature. They saw a strong parallel between the cycles of nature (such as the seasons) and the life cycle of man. They also believed that man functions as a small individual ecosystem within a larger cosmic ecosystem. The Taoism symbol is the well-known and over abused Yin and Yang figures forming a circle, symbol of eternal perfection.

France and Great Britain, particularly, became well informed of TCM principles as a result of their colonial excursions during this period. Yet, it was not until the early 1970s, after President Nixon opened diplomatic and cultural relations with communist China, that the U.S. medical community became thoroughly exposed to TCM. In the meantime, well aware of the benefits of energy medicines, Europeans were getting reimbursed by their social security and health insurance for such treatments. Far Eastern concepts of vital energy are now getting broader recognition in North America, as reflected by the popularity of Ayurvedic treatments in spas, acupuncture, herbal medicines, therapeutic exercise (tai chi), and yoga. The spa industry’s continued exploration of new therapies for wellness and skincare, creates renewed possibilities for TCM to flourish in esthetics and wellness. It should, because of its significant potential. YIN AND YANG

The goal of all energy medicines is the promotion and/or restoration of balance in the body’s vital energy. The complementary Yin and Yang forces regulate this delicate balance. Yin corresponds to principles such as inner, dense, cold, feminine, while Yang offers the opposite – outer, light, warm and masculine. Each Yin and Yang energy contains the seed of the other; therefore, changes (such as those in the body and in nature) are seen as the result of one energy growing while the other contracts to make As TCM evolved, it came to include acupuncture, room for its partner, and vice versa. When either the reflexology, herbal prescriptions, dietary principles, Yin or Yang becomes disrupted and overbears its massage and tai chi. Traders, missionaries and energetic partner, the balance is destroyed and trouble diplomats who visited Asia in the 17th and 18th arises. The dynamic interaction of these two forces is centuries returned home with reports of these classical reflected in the cycles of the seasons, the human life practices. During the 19th century wave of cycle, and other natural phenomena. immigration in the United States and Europe, Chinese immigrants brought these traditions to their new countries, and Westerners began to take note of its positive results.

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MEDI CAL SPAS

IN AS MUCH AS EVERYTHING IN CHINESE MEDICINE IS INTERRELATED THE FIVE ELEMENTS

THE FIVE PAIRS OF ORGANS

The ancient Chinese saw how the cycles of the seasons profoundly impact everything from weather to plants and crops, animals and even human mental well being. They surmised that to each season corresponds a specific energy influencing all life forms. They concluded that in addition to the cyclical movement of Yin and Yang, there must also be the energies of the seasons. They subdivided Yin and Yang into five, often called Phases or Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. But, why five rather than four to correlate with the four seasons? The answer is symptomatic of the Chinese thinking: How could there be an energy say the energy of the Spring, named Wood – suddenly becoming Fire, the energy of the next season? Would that huge change take place in the one minute before midnight on the last day of Spring? That could not be as it is contrary to the Yin/Yang principle. It led them to surmise that there must necessarily be a period of transition between all seasons, when the energy of the season wanes and becomes transformed into the energy of the next season. This transition period must be repeated four times a year and became known as the Earth “season”. A little arithmetic made it clear that each energetic season would be about 72 days and that the Earth would occur for 18 days four times a year. Each Phase/Season/Energy/Element has its specific characteristics whether they are expressed as Yin or Yang, as energy or matter. They affect all things, including our body and all skin conditions. The workings of the 5 Elements became the subject of a very detailed 5 Element Law, with specific application to every domains. In the Western world that Law is more skeptically referred to as the 5 Element (or 5 Phase)Theory.

For cultural reasons, traditional Chinese physicians did not engage as deeply as the European Renaissance doctors did, with dissection of cadavers. As a result, Western doctors developed great knowledge of the anatomy of the dead body (absent energy) while the Chinese focused on learning more about the functions of the human body alive. They conceptualized the workings of the human body based on its functions rather than the details of its anatomy. A system of five pairs of organs resulted, with each pair corresponding to the energy of an Element driving a Yin organ in tandem with a Yang organ. A balance within each pair is required for optimum health. Further, a balance within the 5 pairs must also prevail, according to the 5 Element Law.

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COLORS AND LIGHT Whether it is in matter (pigmentation) bouncing off light, or pure energy (light), colors are associated to specific energies defined by frequencies and wavelengths. Light, the purest form of energy, divides naturally in seven component colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Those seven colors correspond to seven major energetic centers (chakras) in Ayurvedic medicine. Five of those colors also correspond to the five elements of TCM. Each of the five colors is in energetic harmony with the pair of organs corresponding to each of the five elements and their specific energetic function. As a result, colors, both as matter but most potently as energy, become tools of energetic medicines. Many Naturopathic doctors practice light-therapy. Their result will depend on their knowledge, of course, but also on the energetic quality of the light color they use. Since each color does not come in one or a few frequencies, but as a wide range of frequencies, the therapeutic quality of a light color is strictly a matter of the quality of the light and the frequency range it carries for the colors used. • MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW

Spa Treatments

Energy medicine is not exclusive to Asia. Hippocrates, the great Greek philosopher and father of Western medicine, instructed physicians to find the blocking influences both within a patient and between them and the cosmos in order to restore health and life. Nature is the source of healing, he believed, not the doctor – a fundamental truth that was lost along the way.

MEDI CAL SPAS

Spa Treatments

Manual massages, baths and the use of additional tools such as stimulation of selected acupuncture points and light therapy, in conjunction with the application of energetic products, will further help correct the esthetic manifestations as well as the inner cause. All of this is achievable by the use of a coherent method based on the 5 Elements.

THE SPA INDUSTRY EXPLORATION OF ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES From an energetic point of view, the therapeutic value of light depends on the fullness of the frequency range corresponding to that color. For example, the 1st chakra holds the red light energy. It means that it needs and uses the full range of frequencies corresponding to red. An LED type of light is designed to carry only a few frequencies and cannot, by definition, carry the necessary range of required frequencies for good energetic work. Likewise, working on an acupuncture point, such as a “stomach point” on the face, the esthetician needs the full spectrum of frequencies that constitute yellow light, not simply the targeted frequency produced by an LED that would be yellow, without being all the yellow that nature provides! THE BODY AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS The following is a brief description of the Five Elements and their relevant components: • Wood: Energy of the “energetic” Spring and of the color green. The season of bursting Yang energy, resulting in a Yin contraction. The weather warms-up, the rate of reproduction in the plant and animal kingdoms rise, and so does the energy levels in most people. Green symbolizes the sprouting of new life during springtime. The corresponding organs are: liver (Yin) and gallbladder (Yang). • Fire: Energy of the Summer and of red. This season is marked by Yang reaching its fullest while Yin is at its lowest point. The weather is hot (symbolized by the color red). The pair of Fire organs is: heart (Yin) and small intestine (Yang). • Earth: Transitional season when the energy is said to return back to Earth, four times a year for 18 days inbetween each season, to transform into the energy of the next season. It is in harmony with the color yellow. The corresponding organs are: spleen (Yin) and stomach (Yang). • Metal: Energy of the Fall. Its colors are white and/or blue. During Fall, Yin expands and Yang winds down. Cooler weather returns and both animals and plants prepare for the slow down during the next season. The organs are: lungs (Yin) and large intestine (Yang). MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW •

• Water: Energy of Winter. The colors are black and/or violet. It is the peak of Yin and the lowest point of Yang. The weather is at its coldest, nights are longer and plant and animal activity decreases. The organs are: kidney (Yin) and bladder (Yang). IS YOUR SKIN WOOD OR EARTH? Given this short overview of TCM, how can this be applied to esthetics? In energy-medicines, all esthetic conditions are deemed to result from an internal energy balance or imbalance. The Five Elements classify all possible skin conditions in five groups and help anticipate the likely direction of the aging process. The skin condition as well as the body shape can also tell when and where there is an energetic lack or excess affecting any of the five organic energies. The following is an overview of the five groups of skin conditions: • Wood: A Wood energetic imbalance often causes excessive oil production in the skin. Wood skin conditions also include blackheads and hyperpigmentation. • Fire: A Fire imbalance can be seen as excessive perspiration, red, sensitive and blotchy skin. It also includes couperose. • Earth: An Earth imbalance results in toxin buildup. This toxicity appears on the skin as blemishes. It also includes acne and/or large pores. • Metal: A Metal imbalance often means a skin lacking oxygenation and deficient in minerals, which causes poor water retention. Metal conditions include dull, lifeless skin. • Water: A Water imbalance usually produces water dehydration that results in fine lines, wrinkles and lack of skin tone. Additionally, puffiness and/or dark circles under the eyes points to a Water energetic imbalance.

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MEDI CAL SPAS

IN SKINCARE CREATES NEW POSSIBILITIES IN ESTHETIC TREATMENTS PUT “ENERGY” IN YOUR SPA The skin, as a reflective organ, provides useful indicators of our internal “chi.” Esthetic conditions such as excessive oiliness, blemishes, dryness, fine lines, are signs pointing to energetic imbalance(s). So, how can equilibrium be restored? How can the root cause of the symptom(s) be addressed? According to TCM, the energetic qualities of particular herbs, essential oils and other natural products, including clays and trace elements, can help re-balance “chi” when applied topically. Manual massages, baths and the use of additional tools such as stimulation of selected acupuncture points and light therapy, in conjunction with the application of energetic products, will further help correct the esthetic manifestations as well as the inner cause. All of this is achievable by the use of a coherent method based on the 5 Elements.

Affordable Light machines, using full-spectrum colors from cold light and limited to the visible spectrum of frequencies, are a very potent tool that lends itself to practicing energy work without heating the skin, without infra-red or ultra-violet and without any pulsated or laser frequencies. Consequently, no special license is or should be required. This offers great potential for spas in need to become differentiated from the growing competition, if they are not keen to become a medical spa to survive. This matter will be further explored in a subsequent article. In Conclusion

In TCM, the goal is to address not only the manifestation but also the cause of the problem. Skin conditions, especially recurring ones, can be very If you’re thinking of integrating TCM in your helpful in understanding the state of wellness of an treatment menu, make sure the product line goes individual. American consumers have shown a beyond good marketing talk and that the method is growing interest towards non-invasive, resultsreflected by the products. Very few companies offer the oriented modalities, particularly when they also products, rich in natural ingredients with high-grade contribute to harmonize the flow of vital energy, a blends of essential oils that have the propensity to precondition to good health. Who doesn’t want work with the Five Element Theory. The mere presence glowing skin and feel great at the same time? As the of essential oils in a product is not enough to assume it spa industry becomes more competitive and more will work under TCM principles. Of course, “active” regulated, the benefits of TCM will become clearer. n ingredients must be natural (synthetic oils have no energetic value) and present in certain concentrations, blended with other ingredients to achieve a potent synergy that reacts energetically. LIGHT-THERAPY AND TCM Other treatment methods that are consistent with TCM include well selected, quality herbal supplements and lymphatic stimulation. Lymphatic “drainage,” as a type of massage, helps remove energy blockages and promotes the flow of “chi” throughout the body. Lighttherapy, a relatively new comer to the quiver of spa technicians, has great promises. www.medicalspasreview.com

• MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW

Spa Treatments

Far Eastern concepts of vital energy are now getting broader recognition in North America, as reflected by the popularity of Ayurvedic treatments in spas, acupuncture, herbal medicines, therapeutic exercise (tai chi), and yoga. The spa industry’s continued exploration of new therapies for wellness and skincare, creates renewed possibilities for TCM to flourish in esthetics and wellness. It should, because of its significant potential.

MEDI CAL SPAS

Complaints

VIVIENNE O’KEEFFE, AAD, PEA, CIBTAC, is President of Spa Profits Consulting Inc., and an

TRANSFORM A COMPLAINT INTO A TOOL TO HELP YOU RECOVER

Customer complaints – curse or blessing?

expert in designing successful spa concepts. She is also an

Depending on how you handle them,

international consultant in developing product lines, treatment plans and training programs, a member of ISPA and Spa

your Medical Spa business can dive or thrive.

Industry Association of Canada (for which she

By Vivienne O’Keeffe, A.A.D., P.E.A., C.I.B.T.A.

won an Outstanding Service Award in 2012), and a member of International Management Consultants Inc.

www.spaprofits.com

hen it was launched in the last decade, The Cluetrain Manifesto correctly trumpeted the end of business as usual and the dawn of a new age of consumer power engendered by the internet. Rather than listening to ads or corporate spin, said authors Weinberger, Levine, Locke and Searls, consumers could now readily converse with each other about any topic they chose, from product quality to service, cost – or a bad experience.

MEDI CAL SPAS Review•

From my many years in customer service, I am convinced that today’s unprecedented vulnerability of your spa business to negative customer reactions is not necessarily a bad thing. Like the storied judo master who turns the superior strength of his opponent into a tactical advantage, you can transform a complaint or misperception about your business into a tool to help you recover from that conflict and prevent similar ones. How you and your team manage conflict and negative feedback is a key determinant of your sustained success. www.medicalspasreview.com

MEDI CAL SPAS

CONFLICT IS A KEY DETERMINANT OF YOUR SUCCESS

Of course, there may be businesses that receive no complaints at all, but is it realistic to strive to become one? l think not – not as long as there are humans and technology with their attendant shortcomings and breakdowns, and consequent customer expectations that won’t be met. The key is to reduce customer complaints and to deal properly with the complaints you do receive.

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Remember, running a spa is a complex operation, and the more sophisticated the operation, the greater the room for error. It’s also important to note that your response to complaints will govern how many you receive. Failing to resolve them at all, ironically, may result in no complaints – or feedback – once word gets out that customer gripes are falling on deaf ears. And no communication at all is worse than negative communication. • MEDI CAL SPAS Review

Complaints

MEDI CAL SPAS

Complaints

DEVELOP AN ATTITUDE OF TRUST Start by developing an attitude of trust. Handling a complaint with a begrudging attitude and the desire to make the customer feel wrong is a slow road to suicide. Your customers should feel free to express concerns in an environment of mutual respect, knowing they will be listened to.

To successfully walk the line and deliver a wellness or spa experience providing product satisfaction and genuine value, it is essential that management and therapist have a clear concept of your objectives.

Why not regard customer complaints as a valuable early warning system – a safety valve indicating problems with your service delivery? Remember, the complaints you receive will be only a fraction of the true number. The vast majority of complaints will be from disgruntled customers to other current or potential customers. You’ll have no shortage of competitors eager to entertain a concern you ignore and start a new customer relationship. It doesn’t take much for today’s savvy spa-goer to be turned off for good. With new facilities mushrooming all over the country, the spa business is far from mature. Survival of the fittest rules, and the spas that retain and build on their customer bases will come out on top. Properly addressing a customer complaint can result in your business deepening the intangible relationship that exists between the two sides – resulting in stronger, more loyal ties to your business. My suggestion? Create a protocol for handling complaints, with the goal of eliminating their causes. Nine times out of 10, satisfying a customer by resolving her complaint will ensure her repeat business. Remember, it doesn’t matter if they are right or wrong! If you make them wrong, they will never forgive you. With that, here are some tools for handling customer complaints.

MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW •

1) Swallow your pride! Without accepting liability or responsibility, express regret that they are upset. 2) Believe the customer! True to the cliché, they are, in fact, always right. If they’re returning a product purchased at your spa, don’t challenge them. And don’t pass the buck by blaming the manufacturer or distributor. You are responsible for what you sell, and product quality is a separate issue between you and the manufacturer. The vast majority of customers will have (to them at least) a legitimate reason for coming to you. Only a tiny number will try to take advantage of your complaints procedure. And it is possible to build in safeguards without creating a confrontational atmosphere. 3) Ensure customers only have to complain once, to one person. Don’t try their patience; your handling procedure should be cut and dried. Having to spout off to several people will only fuel their ire and delay the solution. Of course some complaints will take longer to address. But always let customers know how sorry you are for their trouble, and that you will personally resolve the matter – before they leave the spa. 4) Be positive and thank the customer for bringing the matter to your attention. And your expression should be genuine; you should be grateful they came to you first. 5) Log all complaints for future reference. Make it clear to your staff that doing so is not a reflection of staff inadequacy, but an important opportunity to nurture and expand customer relations while being on the lookout for trends. Despite my belief that complaints can be good, there are some simple steps you can take to reduce them. Listening to your customers – directly or through staff – will tell you more about your operations than any financial review. www.medicalspasreview.com

MEDI CAL SPAS

BUILD ON YOUR CUSTOMER BASES TO COME OUT ON TOP Concentrate on what it is you want to achieve with the business. Staff should be alerted to your desire to handle criticisms of treatment policy or mechanics in a positive, progressive way, and should not be shy about passing negative comments along. After all, if you don’t hear about a situation because your staff fears reprisal, you’ll hardly be able to fix it. Exponential growth within the spa industry has created staff with a broad spectrum of qualifications, experience and treatment methodologies. Train all your staff well, from front desk to aestheticians, to meet client expectations. Your growth potential is proportionate to your attention to customer service. Ever wonder why a client who left the spa after a seemingly pleasant experience phones or e-mails you three days later to complain? Reactions to disappointing experiences can often be mysteriously delayed. Open, assertive interpersonal communication with client and staff is key. And that doesn’t include formulaic niceties like “Was everything all right?” or “Did you enjoy your treatment today?” Questions phrased to elicit simplistic positive responses don’t help (apart from confirming what you are doing right). But digging a bit to discover little annoyances or mild dissatisfaction, then fixing them, can do wonders for customer loyalty. To successfully walk the line and deliver a wellness or spa experience providing product satisfaction and genuine value, it is essential that management and therapist have a clear concept of your objectives. A transparent menu of the facility’s treatments to deliver these services is easily available to customers. Staff should have clearly defined guidelines to follow for in-treatment protocols. Practices which go beyond accepted decorum and propriety have no place in the system.

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Ultimately it is your (management’s) responsibility to ensure that your staff know your policies and procedures for client handling and seeing themselves as part of the team. Invest vision and inspiration to instill a professional attitude, and you will be on your way to building the client base you’ve always dreamed of having in this wonderful industry of ours. Clients have expectations developed through exposure to your communication and marketing tools, staff and your business – whether it’s their first or 41st visit to your spa. Don’t waste time and energy trying to exceed clients’ expectations when you’re not set up to do so. Far more realistic is to meet customers’ expectations and to do so consistently. Services should be consistently delivered, with little or no variation between aestheticians’ styles or techniques. To balance the energy it takes to bring people into your facility and cater to their requirements, you need congruent policies. Companies that measure their performance by the number of complaints they don’t receive may be ignoring problems they actually have. If you reduce the number of complaints without reducing the number of problems, then effectively what you are doing is reducing the number of your customers. Ultimately it is your (management’s) responsibility to ensure that your staff know your policies and procedures for client handling and seeing themselves as part of the team. Invest vision and inspiration to instill a professional attitude, and you will be on your way to building the client base you’ve always dreamed of having in this wonderful industry of ours. n

• MEDI CAL SPAS REVIEW

Complaints

INTRODUCING A NEW, NON-OPIOID PAIN SOLUTION: TM

RAPIDCBD

By Larry Banegas, Kumeyaay.com

The report “World Analgesics Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2015-2022” projects that the world analgesics market would reach $26.4 billion by 20221. Pain sufferers have long regarded plant botanicals as a source of healing; there are more than 100 plants known to have pain relieving properties2. Consumers have sought retail brands of topical pain relief with menthol as an active ingredient3. There is a “new” botanical that consumers need to be aware of for pain relief: cannabidiol. In a study published by the National Institutes of Health4, it is stated that, “The nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), has great potential for the treatment of chronic and 'breakthrough’ pain.” The study also states, “Chronic pain relief can be best achieved through the transdermal route.” Today, the United States faces a health epidemic: prescription opioid addiction. To address this problem, manufacturers are producing a new topical combination of CBD with menthol. These non-habit forming ingredients are a welcome solution for consumers who do not wish to pursue prescription opioid pain medications or are looking for an alternative to prescription pain medicine. The irony is that CBD is anything but “new”. CBD is a naturally occurring component of the hemp plant. Hemp is from the cannabis genus and cannabis for medicinal use dates back to the ancient Chinese emperor, Shen-Nung (c.2700 B.C.). Having compiled the medical encyclopedia called, Pen Ts'ao,5 Shen-Nung is regarded as the Father of Chinese Medicine. Cannabis or “Ma”was used by the Chinese to treat weaknesses (menstruation), gout, rheumatism, malaria, beri-beri, constipation, and absentmindedness. During the second century A.D., the Chinese surgeon, Hua T'o, began to use cannabis as an anesthesia. CBD is activated in the body through CB2 receptors located in the skin. CB2 receptors play a role in antinociception, or the relief of pain.6 Menthol is a known active ingredient with cooling properties. Working similar to ice, menthol binds with temperature-sensitive receptors in the skin and is thought to modulate pain signals within the body’s natural pain relieving systems. CBD, known to be hydrophobic and lipophilic, does not dissolve or emulsify readily in water, but will dissolve in fat. Bioavailability of CBD depends on the way that the cannabinoid is delivered into the human body. Today, science has enabled CBD to be water soluble as well as time-release. The new topical pain cream, RapidCBD™, delivers a powerful combination of micro-encapsulated time-released CBD called Cebidiol™. In Cebidiol™, consumers will benefit from menthol plus eight additional homeopathic ingredients including lavender and rosemary essential oils to relieve pain. The RapidCBD™ Cooling Pain Cream is ideal after strenuous activity and has been proven to be as effective and work as fast as an FDA approved OTC topical pain relief solution. The immediate availability of RapidCBD™ is welcome news for consumers who are seeking a non-opioid solution for muscle aches, strains and joint pain. 1 -http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/analgesics-market-is-expected-to-reach-264-billion-globally-by-2022-575688921.html 2 -http://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/the-best-herbs-for-pain-relief.aspx 3 -http://health.usnews.com/health-products/top-rec-topical-analgesics-arthritis-joint-pain-135 4 -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20545522 5 -https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201105/history-cannabis-in-ancient-china 6 -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor

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Micro-encapsulated, time released. Temporarily resolves muscle and joint pain associated with back pain, neck pain, arthritis, muscle strain, bruises and sprains.

DESCRIPTION Enjoy an instant and continual cooling, soothing and pain relief experience with RapidCBD™ Cooling Pain Cream. We combine micro-encapsulated, time-released Cebidiol™ with stimulating menthol and 8 homeopathic ingredients, along with lavender and rosemary essential oil to relieve aches and pains. This gel cream is ideal for use after strenuous activity and has been proven to be effective and work fast as a topical pain relief solution.

Doctor Approved "RapidCBD has really helped my patients to overcome discomfort and greatly improved their quality of life."

Goodbye Pain

Hello Relief. For more info call: 1(855)-979-6751

Isodiol S.A. Rue du Mole 1 c / o Athemis Gestion SA 2000 Neuchatel / Switzerland www.isodiol.com • 1(855) 979-6751

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