It’s been 8 years since Valentina Chistova opened her own spa in New Jersey. After a 7 year stint as a spa manager and over 20 years dedicated to the art of healthy skin care, Chistova felt confident enough in her skills and her English (Russian is her first language) to start her own business, something clients had been asking of her for years.  Her passion and professionalism has made her a success with employees, clients and Spa industry editors.  Recently, Skin Inc magazine featured Valentina in a one-on-one interview they appropriately titled, “A Passionate Professional”. 

Now the proud owner of Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch, NJ, Chistova credits much of her esthetic inspiration to her grandmother who always emphasized the nature of life and business to change constantly.  In the interview with Abby Penning, Chistova comments,“My grandmother always said ‘You learn all your life and you die foolish.’ ”

Chistova credits this life lesson to the driving force behind her success.  Chistova is constantly renewing herself, her business, her services, her ideas, everything around her.  As a Russian immigrant, Chistova struggled to perfect her English and understand the changing dynamics of the US spa industry.  Her biggest marketing weapon is the Internet.  Chistova enlisted the help of a friend and Internet Marketing professional, Stacey Berlin, to help her with her online marketing strategy.  She even taught herself HTML coding and updates her own websites with specials and blogs each week.

Although Chistova grew up surrounded by esthetic inspiration, she says it wasn’t her intention to get into the skin care business.  According to the interview, ”She took up studying history and opera in college, as well as medicine as part of her military education requirement. This medical education marked one of Chistova’s first steps back toward esthetics, becoming a nurse through Kharkov State University.”

Now a successful spa owner, Chistova is offering her wisdom and advice to other spa owners.  She has set up a Spa Marketing firm where she and a successful Internet Marketing consultant help spas understand the power of the Internet and how to launch their successful online marketing strategy.

To read the full Skin Inc. Magazine interview, please visit http://www.skininc.com/spabusiness/leaders/people/46742097.html?page=1

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Valentina Chistova, owner of Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch, NJ shares her thoughts on the day spa industry’s struggle to hire professional help for the front desk.

Chistova starts off by saying, “In Russia we say: At the theater, the experience starts at the coat check.  At the spa, it starts with front desk.  Many salons and spas across the country continue to struggle with their front desk. Finding good, qualified front desk support is not as easy as it may seem.”

The Salon and Spa industry is a very unique business.  It’s an extremely personal industry, one that heavily relies on person to person interaction, body language, voice, tone and even inflection.  Sensitivity weighs heavily on guests visiting a salon or spa for personal services.

There are many different types of spa clients.  One is the client who is insecure, and is coming to a salon or spa to help improve his or her looks.  Another on the other hand, is extremely confident with their appearance and enjoys the attention and pampering of being ‘beautified’.  Each client is exceptionally opposite in feelings and comfort, and therefore, front desk representatives must draw on their inner abilities to be in sync with each client’s energy.   It’s difficult to find individuals with such professionalism, and such keen awareness, especially because the front desk position is not typically the highest paid position.  This creates a struggle for the spa owner who needs to satisfy their client’s needs and while being mindful of their own salary limitations. 

Chistova says of her own experience, “When I analyze how the spa functions, I found that for myself, front desk is the most important position.  Everything starts and ends with the front desk.  When I ask people how their experience was or even when I read reviews about other spas, the most common complaints are not about the actual service, but are about the way they were treated by the front desk.”

Chistova says that most consumers who complain about the front desk said they didn’t feel comfortable interacting with the front desk, or that the people were not sincere and did not pay attention to them. 

“The front desk employees need to have the ability to immediately re-tune themselves to whatever client is walking through the door.  If you don’t, you will be contrasting with them.  You need people who can ‘mirror and match’.  I try to be at the front desk as much as I can. I see a lot of things up there that upsets me. For example, the employee at the front desk will say in front of the client, ‘Valentina, your wax is here’.  Or ‘ Dan, your massage is here’, referring to our clients as ‘appointments’ not as people with names.  How the front desk speaks to people, or even how they speak about people in front of others makes a big difference.”

Chistova also believes that the problem is not necessarily how much you pay or don’t pay your front desk employees, rather, she feels that the initial training and outlining of expectations is what defines how that employee will serve your business. 

“Some people you can train and some people you cannot.  You can hire someone for $20 an hour because they were a former manager in a successful corporate business, and they still may fail behind the desk of a salon or spa. It’s a unique industry, the position requires employees who are well trained in hospitality.”  Chistova says having new hires practice addressing clients with a mirror in front of their face is good practice.  “Let them see how their facial expressions can change the tone of their voice, without them even knowing it.  It’s all about tone, more so than words.”

Chistova also recommends having an ‘always hiring’ mindset, saying that anyone who walks through the door with a resume should be hired.  “You never know what you are missing out on if you don’t at least sit down for 5 minutes with someone who is interested in working for your business.  Anyone who walks through your door could be your golden ticket to front desk fame!”

There are many companies that offer voice and speech training.  For salons and spas, businesses that rely so heavily on good front desk help, this is an excellent investment.   A money-saving idea is to have one to three of your top front desk employees be trained in the art of voice and speech.  Then, these leaders become the trainers for all new hires that follow.  Rewarding your leaders with higher compensation is a great way to ensure their loyalty to your business and its success. 

If you would like to be interviewed for a feature article with TCR Marketing, email Stacey@TCR-Marketing.com

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