— ROBERT VANCE conversation that we train our teams on how to speak with the guests and how to deal with the complaints .”

Jennifer Holzworth shared that her company ’ s California spas implemented a shift prior to SB478 ’ s effective date . “ We made the switch from service charge to discretionary / gratuity at all of our California locations as we wanted it to be effective in the payroll that crossed over the July 1 date ,” she said , further noting , “ We put in the suggested amounts , starting at 20 , 22 , 25 percent . As I ’ ve been auditing the last few days , our providers are now coming out better as most of our guests are leaving 22 percent and some 25 percent . It ’ s been a positive impact so far . It ’ s important to be clear and transparent with our teams .”

Updating menus , websites , signage to comply with the new law “ As we look at our menus and tickets , we have to call it staff charge and it needs to be broken out by staff charge and house charge ,” said Holbrook . “ The staff charge will be listed on the menus and state that the charge will be included in the price of the service .”

“ We have to have as much transparency as possible — the reason for the pricing and what ’ s included ,” said Vance . “ In our online website and menu , you ’ ll see the price and an asterisk , and at the bottom of every page it ’ ll say the price of service and service charge , and brief description of how the service charge is distributed .” He continued , “ Our marketing team has been amazing to work with legal and ensure wording is right and will roll out to all of our locations .”

Tracking how SB478 will affect your spa ’ s bottom line “ It ’ s going to be a challenge initially , more manual work on the backend ,” noted Vance . “ We ’ re going to have to look week to week for a while and be nimble about how we ’ re tracking information , ensuring gratuity and pricing isn ’ t impacted . We ’ ll continue to track the same data — just week to week instead of month to month .”

We ’ re asking our team to log all comments on the phone and in person with clients ,” said Lara Davidson . “ We just launched online booking , so only about 10 percent of our bookings are online , so we talk to our guests quite a bit . I think the sticker shock in the price will be a topic of conversation .”

“ It ’ s hard to quantify ,” said Holbrook . “ We can ’ t quantify how many guests we lose , and there ’ s no way for us to track it . We ’ re really going to have to listen to the customer . My concern is how much business we ’ ll lose that we don ’ t know that we ’ re losing . How do we figure out a way to track that ?”

Advice to California spas on how to comply with SB478 Holbrook urged members , “ Always keep connected with ISPA , they are the source and the direction our industry is taking .” She noted , “ We ’ re a much bigger industry than we used to be . It ’ s important to surround yourself with people you work with , people in your industry and [ be aware of ] what other spas are doing . Stay on top of it .”

“ Connection is very important along with collaborating ,” agreed Vance . “ Be nimble , continue to look at your data , listen to your guests and be ready to pivot if necessary . Plan and plan , but don ’ t be too erratic .”

Holzworth reminded California spa leaders , “ It ’ s very important that you ’ re staying connected with your legal counsel and following recommendations that work best for you and your company .”

“ The key is communication ,” said Davidson . “ Communication with your staff , your guests — and the more you can communicate the information and changes you ’ re making , the more successful you ’ ll be . The point of this law is to be transparent and have our guests know what to expect , and the more we can communicate that , the more successful we ’ ll be .” n

TO SPONSOR AN UPCOMING TOWN HALL , please contact Sydney Doctor at sydney . doctor @ ispastaff . com

SEPTEMBER 2024 n PULSE 15