Spa Reservation and Reception Experience

Through examination of the spa menu that is available on the website, there are some factors that we have identified which are not quite substantial and does not provide sufficient information for the customers:

Factors:
Reservation	Although the website has indicated that appointment will only be held for fifteen minutes, but there was no indication on how appointment should be made.
Bookings	The menu did not include the maximum number of days that a public/member could book an appointment in advance.
Type of body massage available	No further elaboration was given other than the words “body massage”
Mode of Payment	No indication on how payment should be made
Refund/ Cancellation Policy	No indication on whether penalties will be incurred for last minute cancellation

We had decided to call the spa to clarify our doubts after reviewing the spa menu. Upon picking up the call, the staff had displayed basic telephone etiquette such as greeting and started asking us how she can assist us in English. This gave us the impression that she was able to converse in English, which we felt was a better head start as compared to other spa companies that we had called before.

However, our happiness was short-lived. As the conversation continues, we felt that she was unable to comprehend what we were trying to say. For example, when we inquire on the type of essential oils that were available, she was unable to understand and give us a proper answer.

As mentioned above, the spa menu had just stated body massage which was too vague and therefore, we decided to ask if the spa offer specific types of body massages such as “Swedish massage”, “Aromatherapy  massage” or any other options that we can choose from. However, she still could not understand what we are trying to say, which was frustrating from a customer’s point-of-view. 

We also decided to test their service by requesting for a male therapist to work on one of our members at his request. She ended up insisting that they do not have anyone call “therapist” despite our efforts to explain that “therapist” is not a staff’s name. Hence, this left us with no choice but to give her an option to communicate in another language instead. We felt that the staff should have been more proactive in asking us if we can speak in another language if she cannot understand our queries.

Through the phone, the receptionist was unable to provide us much information regarding the essential oils available as well as recommendation of treatment. Despite translating into Chinese for us, we were lost at some of the jargons she used. Hence, we were told that the choices of essential oils can be recommended and chosen upon arrival. We made the necessary arrangements to book a slot for all members to come and do treatment, before ending the call.

The day of our spa treatment has come!

Upon arrival, the counter staff provided us a form to sign in. It was commendable for her to make the effort of remembering that we requested essential oils through the phone. There, she started explaining the various essential oils to us. (in Chinese, of course) Through this conservation, we were able to see that the staff had a stable product knowledge as she was able to provide clear explanation and recommendation based on our needs on-site compared to the information given on the phone. 

This could be due to the visual aids given which assist us in better understanding the essential oils.

For example, the staff had displayed care and concern such as recommending Lavender essential oil to our one of our group’s member who is having menstruation. Hence, we can see that rather than just mere explaining, the staff also took the extra efforts to recommend based on the customer’s needs. She also recommend the use of the ginger juice in the body massage for those who are feeling windy as it aids in the digestive system.

After the explanation of essential oils, she made arrangement with therapists on the essential oil we had requested. The whole process from upon confirmation of treatments to making of payment to entering the massage room took her less than five minutes. Hence, we can see that the staff is efficient in coordinating the various treatments requested by us.

One area of improvement will be to improve on delivering promises that had been made. During our initial phone conversation, we had made an appointment with the staff for a full body massage for five people on a Thursday. She informed us that their only male therapist will be not be working on that day, but she will be able to help us make the necessary arrangements to accommodate our request. This liven up our spirits as we felt that the spa goes the extra mile to meet our needs. However, thirty minutes later, she called back to inform us that she was unable to do the arrangement and suggested whether we wish to change to an alternative date instead. Thus, we felt that the staff should not have over promised in the first place but instead she should had checked with the boss and staff before getting back to us.

Another area of improvement will be to train the staff to understand Basic English Language. This is extremely important so that she can communicate with people from different races. This is because during the telephone conservation, one of our group members struggled to communicate as English was the only language that he knew. Moreover, basic spa terms such as “therapist” and “masseurs” should be taught as well to provide more effective conversation. Furthermore, it is evident that the staff has a commendable product knowledge, therefore it is a waste if she is not able to communicate this strength to English-speaking customers

The last area of improvement will be to have a physical consultation form given to us, which what is expected of CaseTrust Accredited Spa. However, we did not receive any consultation form at all, where we noticed that the staff carried out a group verbal consultation instead.

The verbal consultation did cover some of the general questions but was not comprehensive enough. A physical consultation form is important as some of us have different needs. Hence, by having a standard operating procedures such as consultation form given upon arrival, it provides better details and understanding for the therapists before carrying out the massage.