We spoke to Kirsten Ferguson, Manager at Spa Intercontinental, for the secrets to her salon's success and for top
training tips.
Do you have a
particular concept behind/philosophy for your salon?
The unique concept at
the heart of the Spa InterContinental guest experience is Time to Spa - whether
guests have only moments to spare, or hours to indulge, a specially
tailored treatment menu will suit any schedule or lifestyle.
What do you think makes you stand
out above other salons and training providers?
We have an in-house spa school so we can continue to develop our team and enhance their skills, giving them room to grow.
We follow FISH, DISC and perform continual treatment refresher training. We also employ a mystery shop service using a quality assurance checklist and we have an in-house trainer. We try to make sure that training is presented through audio, visual and kinaesthetic means to make it exciting and relevant to each spa member.
What advice would you give learners looking to pursue a career as a beauty therapist?Always start in a busy high street salon as it gives
you the tools, training and exposure to
be the best. You cannot beat that experience! You work quickly and progress rapidly, mastering nail and waxing treatments swiftly which to me are the hardest
treatments to perfect and be confident
with.
I also think that ship experience is invaluable as you learn to work hard, have a great life experience and engage with people from all over the world.
Has the current economic climate affected the way you run your business? What advice would you give to learners wanting to set up a business of their own?It has changed the way we look at the business and promotions. We have to survey very closely what our market needs from us and adapt accordingly to meet and exceed those expectations. I think in all businesses we are now carefully monitoring our cost of sales and yield management to get the best out of everything without compromising our five-star service.