Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: AmICrazy on December 09, 2004, 04:37:46 pm
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Since I am possibly opening a new store- yet to be built what's some advice for design- what are some absolute things I should be considering that I might miss. I have all options available since the place doesn't exist yet. Info- 3500-4000 sq ft primarily hot tubs, chemicals and possibly billards and aboveground pools- very limited display cuz I think you can lose the " high class" image I want to kinda go for. I'm thinking people will think - this is like a "day spa"- smells good - looks good idea.
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I love the look of a nice western red cedar gazebo. Very classy, and eye catching.
Oh yeah, and a Beachcomber inside it. ;D
Joe
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A nice water testing station is a must!
Try to get the place wired so that you can have as many wet tubs as possible, keeping in mind you need to have dry ones of the same models. I like the idea of one wire being long enough to reach 3-4 tubs nearby. This way when you have a potential wet tester you can wire up that dry tub and pump water from one to another.
As Joe said, a gazebo or two looks great, with or without a Beachcomber ;)
Gotta run add more later if I can
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Since I am possibly opening a new store- yet to be built what's some advice for design- what are some absolute things I should be considering that I might miss. I have all options available since the place doesn't exist yet. Info- 3500-4000 sq ft primarily hot tubs, chemicals and possibly billards and aboveground pools- very limited display cuz I think you can lose the " high class" image I want to kinda go for. I'm thinking people will think - this is like a "day spa"- smells good - looks good idea.
Check out Mendencino's store at http://www.indulgeyourselfspas.com/ The best advice I can possibly give you is to not start without a POS system, it's way to hard to set it up later. I know we are going through it now!
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Check out Mendencino's store at http://www.indulgeyourselfspas.com/ The best advice I can possibly give you is to not start without a POS system, it's way to hard to set it up later. I know we are going through it now!
POS=must have. Running a store without it is chas, I mean chaos.
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chas, I mean chaos.
Same differance at times..... ;)
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I agree with Chas and Stuart on the POS system...........we're installing one, oye vey, major PITA!!!! Definitly want to have a nice inviting front counter area, plus open, yet private desks for closing deals. When i was in Ca last Feb for a Caldera training seminar at the watkins plant in Vista we went to a show room in lake san marcos. They had an AWESOME wet test area, where they could close it off to give the customers more privacy...........very classy, and we could definilty see where if a customer tested a spa there, they were buying it. A good space for a water analysis station to serve your A/G pool and Spa customers needs. I know there are "quick & EasY" water labs such as the dip and read ones.............but we've always preferred the "OLD WAY" with a good reagent and tittration lab setup. Not only is this the most accurate, but also most companies out there today no longer use them so it will definilty set you apart from them. This should not be underestimated. Attention to details like this gain customers confidence and keep them coming back.
Another piece of advice, and this may sound stupid, but make a "path" in the store the customer has to follow. Put your sales counter, water analysis counter, and care products and accessories towards the back of the store. This forces customers to wander through the spas and billiards tables. Grocery stores employ the same concept in that they have the bread and milk at the back of the store. One of our stores is setup like that.
Jason,
Store Manager for a D-1 & Caldera Dealer
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I agree with Chas and Stuart on the POS system...........
Chas? Where?
They had an AWESOME wet test area, where they could close it off to give the customers more privacy...........
Yes, excellent suggestion. Slipped my mind.
"OLD WAY" with a good reagent and tittration lab setup. Not only is this the most accurate, but also most companies out there today no longer use them so it will definilty set you apart from them. This should not be underestimated. Attention to details like this gain customers confidence and keep them coming back.
This sort of lab really seems to garner more respect. Many are in awe of the testing procedure that is a routine I could do in my sleep. Children seem to love the colour show too!
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Chas? Where?
Relax now, if he wants to give me credit for something I didn't say - as long as it's a good thing - it's ok with me.
;)
Spa.
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Chas? Where?
There he is.... oop, gone again... no, wait! here he comes!
Chas
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Maybe I'm thinking too detailed here but here's a couple of thoughts;
- Have a business plan...great businesses can easily fail without a well thought out plan
- Carefully explore the company you choose to do business with
- Remember location, location, location
- Consider the fact that the manufacturer will have certain branding suggestions. Paint, POS, Signage, suggested flooring and sales and marketing tools. Your rep should be able to get you set up and operational quite easily once at that point.
- Get approved for financing your floor such as Textron or Transamerica
- Design a professional water testing area with a sink
- Consider proper flooring to accommodate as much product as possible without being cluttered.
- Have financing for your customers available for "do not pay for 3/6/ or 12 months as well as monthly financing at a competitive rate.
- Establish a quality POS system with a data base that can track leads, control inventory, control checks incoming and outgoing, track existing customers as well as your water care customers.
- Get a water care program from your supplier
- GET GOOD STAFF! This is the key to a successful business.
- Develope an advertising champaigne for the year with pre-determined sales events.
- There's a great deal more and each one of these mentioned can be detailed extensively.
If you're in Western Canada and want Hydropool as your spa line, I'll personally come out and help you do all this! FOR FREE!!! ;D
Steve
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sorry......good point HTM. My bad, sometimes i just get typing away and i get confused at times.
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Hwo about a broad band internet connection so on slow days you can catch up with Chas.
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Hwo about a broad band internet connection so on slow days you can catch up with Chas.
I do have that - which has it's merits aside from when I get bored. For example, I can walk a customer over and show them a competing warranty online, show them a wood product, or just do a mapquest of their neighborhood and point out all the other HotSpring owners nearby...
Also don't forget to add a kids area. Keep the little rug rats out of your hair. Put in a DVD combo unit and play something like "Veggie Tales," which are not as common as most other kids' things, and will usually hold the little blighter's attention for more than five seconds...or have some old toys they can destroy. They love that.
Also a DVD player with a monitor. This not only makes the place look more up to date, but it can help when the inevitable happens: you will never have couples come in one at a time. There is some law of the universe that says that two or more couples MUST arrive at the same time - at least when you are solo in the store..
Many spa makers have DVDs with a long commercial now - keep it playing at all times. Or make your own: a rolling PowerPoint of your award-winning installs. If you haven't got any award-winning installs yet, your manufacturer may be able to provide you with some pics, or you may want to put together some sort of commercial about your biz, or your last trip to Secaucus.
Oh, and some cheap swimsuits in a wide variety of sizes. I have kept the same ones around for years - nobody ever takes me up on my offer to use them and then keep them as a gift, but it makes a real point about how serious I am about the value of a wet test.
A wet-test area is a must. My Ventura store had one when we opened, but about a year or two ago we took down the walls to make the floor feel more open. I'm sorry I did. In fact, I'm looking for a larger store so I can have both: a more open floor and a private soaking area.
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I'd love to spend some time on this, but I'm working on a proposal right now so I can't. :-/
One thing: Get the wet test tub temp between 102 and 104. I recently did 3 wet tests with a buddy of mine and 2 were at 98 or 99. The Jacuzzi dealer was at 104 and encouraged him to have a long soak. Guess what tub he bought? His words: "NOW this is MORE like it!"
Drewski
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Many great points... keep them coming.! A lot of these I have already thought about... especially the wet test area and kids zone... need that even for my own who will probably be there more often than they'll wish. THe wet test area design is what I'm stuggling with... Should I just have a gazebo type setting or should I build an entire room that could hold a few tubs and have some sort of sliding door or curtains .. not sure what that could come across and close it off for more privacy. I really want a high class look and feel. I have been looKing at several stores and nothing really has been done right around my local area. I am going to Florida in Feb...I'll be checking out store there for sure. If you know anywhere I could go see let me know! PM me if you wish.
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The mood rooms at 3 of our stores are big enough to hold 5-6 spas so that the customer can try a wide variety in private. We just have a large curtain that separates the showroom from the mood room. This is convenient so that I can monitor the customers (hear if they are having trouble working the spa, etc.) and not hover over them while they are enjoying their test soak.
Oh, the things I hear sometimes! :o :o :o
Chris O.
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I'd love to spend some time on this, but I'm working on a proposal right now so I can't. :-/
One thing: Get the wet test tub temp between 102 and 104. I recently did 3 wet tests with a buddy of mine and 2 were at 98 or 99. The Jacuzzi dealer was at 104 and encouraged him to have a long soak. Guess what tub he bought? His words: "NOW this is MORE like it!"
Drewski
Or maybe, even better, ask your customer what temp they would prefer it to be.
I found that one of the dealers advanced me this courtesy, which was great, because when I wet tested at 104, I couldn't have a long soak (my first wet test of the Vanguard). I asked that the water be set at 100-101, which is the perfect temp to me, and what I keep my tub set at all year!
This also gave me a sense that the LA spa dealer was really trying to make the wet test more comfortable for me. In fact, I was the first customer one of her sales force had ever seen wet test!!!
Just a couple of thoughts from someone who doesn't sell tubs!!!
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STORE DESIGN DREAM LIST IF I COULD?
Well if I could have anything I wanted on the floor of my new floor is would be the following items;
Chris H.
Poolboy
HotTubMan
Mendencino101
Salsdvl
spahappy
Steve
Chas
Lori
And many more of the Salespeople that post on this board! How about a spa sales "Dream Team” like that! 8)
(naw couldn't happen.....we’d kill each other!) ;)
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STORE DESIGN DREAM LIST IF I COULD?
Well if I could have anything I wanted on the floor of my new floor is would be the following items;
Lori
And many more of the Salespeople that post on this board! How about a spa sales "Dream Team” like that! 8)
(naw couldn't happen.....we’d kill each other!) ;)
Boy, talking about jumping up and down in her cheerleader uniform just got her a new job!
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I'm with Lori 100% on this one. It's the first thing I thought of when I read Drewski's post on water temps. Though I agree that 98 or 99 might be too cool for some, taking into account that these people are testing a spa inside raises concerns of the water being too hot for some.
Many families test the spas also and small children get too hot too quick at 103+ degrees as well as many adults. Lori's suggestion of asking is a good one, though I would imagine that not too many people know the difference between 101 and 104 if they haven't ever owned a spa before.
I always kept our test spa at about 100 or 101. I found that most found it comfortable and could test the spa longer without overheating.
For the record, Lori could be on my dream team anytime! :-*
I say we all quit our jobs and form a new HOT TUB SUPERSTORE encompasing the top 6 brands under one roof! We might be onto something here... ??? ;D
Steve
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Who would've thunk it?
;D
I thought you guys didn't notice little old me! ;)
Just teasing! ;D
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:-*
Thanks Steve!
I feel privileged to be included in the list of Stuart's, too!
I disagree with one thing, I don't think we would kill each other (well...there are those of you we would have to moderate) but I think we would have waaaaaay too much fun!!!
I can see us all on the floor laughing!
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I say we all quit our jobs and form a new HOT TUB SUPERSTORE encompasing the top 6 brands under one roof! We might be onto something here...
All joking aside, that aint a bad idea! How do you think companies like Watsons came about?
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I' m open to taking resumes. I have a great location available. Any one willing to move to beautiful Ontario... that's in Canada not California.
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I' m open to taking resumes. I have a great location available. Any one willing to move to beautiful Ontario... that's in Canada not California.
Chas just got chills and had to put on a jacket reading somthing like that! ;) ;D
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STORE DESIGN DREAM LIST IF I COULD?
Well if I could have anything I wanted on the floor of my new floor is would be the following items;
Chris H.
Poolboy
HotTubMan
Mendencino101
Salsdvl
spahappy
Steve
Chas
Lori
And many more of the Salespeople that post on this board! How about a spa sales "Dream Team” like that! 8)
(naw couldn't happen.....we’d kill each other!) ;)
I highly doubt we'd kill each other. We're all self motivated people. Thanks for the compliment. It'd be great to see all of your stores in person, and get to chat with everyone. I definilty feel that I'd learn quite a bit.
Jason,
Store Manager for a D-1 & Caldera Dealer
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I say we all quit our jobs and form a new HOT TUB SUPERSTORE encompasing the top 6 brands under one roof! We might be onto something here... ??? ;D
Steve
I disagree Poolboy, we would kill eachother compiling our list of the "top 6 brands" We would all agree on 3-5 of them, it would be that final 1-3 that would tear us apart!
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Chas just got chills and had to put on a jacket reading somthing like that! ;) ;D
True !!
But I'm printing this thread out - I happen to be in the planning stage on three stores right now !!
We're going to try the warehouse building first in Ventura. Lots of space, no windows, should be interesting.
HotSpring has a company who will come and design the space for me, and I plan on taking advantage of that, but I will want to have a 'wish list" handy before they come.
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I say we all quit our jobs and form a new HOT TUB SUPERSTORE encompasing the top 6 brands under one roof! We might be onto something here... ??? ;D
Steve
Maybe we should just set up in someplace like Pheonix and just reselll someone elses' spa, put our name on it and sell it on the internet? we'd need a gimickl though.
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Maybe we could get them from JA. The gimick would be the only place selling re re branded spas.
Brewman
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Maybe we should just set up in someplace like Pheonix and just reselll someone elses' spa, put our name on it and sell it on the internet? we'd need a gimickl though.
How about the name "WTB Spas"? Gimmick could be a free membership to this site.....
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Or we could do two stores:
One in Hot Springs, Arkansas,
The other in
Phoenix Arizona.
Call one, "Hot Springs HotSpring." The other, " Phoenix Phoenix."
Hmm - never mind.
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Or we could do two stores:
One in Hot Springs, Arkansas,
The other in
Phoenix Arizona.
Call one, "Hot Springs HotSpring." The other, " Phoenix Phoenix."
Hmm - never mind.
I like this idea, Chas!! That is pretty clever!