Eft

[eTanJim]

I too would love a copy of your contract. I had start up fees, minimum time limits, and a cancellation fee and had a ridiculously hard time selling EFT. Since I removed all that and just have an initiation fee, I'm selling them fairly regular - in fact I sold one on Friday.

[Kathe]

OK - It won't let me add the attachment (too big) and won't let me put it in the body of the post. I just e-mailed it to Alan to see if he could just post it for me. Or send me an e-mail and I will send it to you directly.
Kathe

IA@twmi.rr.com

[Alan @ TanToday]

KMR Enterprises, Inc.
ABSOLUTE TAN

APPLICATION FOR EFT TANNING MEMBERSHIP

Name__________________________________
Client # ________________

MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN AUTHORIZATION
I request that my monthly dues be charged directly to my bank per my:
_____ Visa _____ MasterCard _____ Discover _____ American Express

COLLECTION INFORMATION
CC Account # ______________________________
EFT Start Date _______________________
Credit Card Expiration Date ________________
Monthly Amount ______________________

TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP
Upon acceptance of this application, the undersigned shall receive membership rights and privileges, and agrees to abide by all rules and policies of KMR Enterprises, Inc., which are subject to change and which, in the opinion of the owner of KMR Enterprises, Inc., are deemed necessary and reasonable for the best interest of its members. KMR Enterprises, Inc. may be closed during certain legal holidays, and use of the membership is also subject to interruption for needed repairs and maintenance. I understand that the initiation fee is a onetime only charge and must be included with my first month dues. If I discontinue my membership and wish to rejoin, I will be subject to the initiation fee at that time. The initial payment of membership fees and monthly dues are not refundable unless canceled in writing within three days of purchase. Should I decide to cancel with the three days, any fees for tanning used will be deducted from my refund. I hereby release KMR Enterprises, Inc., and its owners and employees from any and all liability for any damage or injury, which I may receive while utilizing the equipment and facilities, and assume all risk for claims arising from the use of said equipment and facilities.

INFORMATION ON ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (EFT)
Memberships are billed automatically to your Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express Credit Card for the convenience of both our members and ourselves. The procedure is quite simple. A deposit, which covers the initiation fee and first month dues, is collected upon joining. The following monthly dues will be automatically withdrawn from your chosen account. For your understanding, please read the following information:
*The EFT is a continuous membership plan. I understand that this membership will stay in effect indefinitely unless I choose to end it in writing with my signature and date.
*It is my complete understanding that to cancel my membership and to stop the EFT, I must submit, in writing, my request to cancel my EFT.
*It is my understanding that if I decide not to tan during any month that I may freeze my account for $5 per month by filling out the appropriate form.
*It is my understanding that any and all changes, freezes and/or cancellations must be written on the appropriate membership change form and be received by KMR Enterprises, Inc., no later than close of business on the last day of the month prior to the month to be changed. (Ex. All changes for October must be received by close of business on September 30th).
*Should any membership draft not be honored by my credit card company for any reason, I realize that I am still responsible for the payment. In addition, a service charge of $10 may be charged to my account. This is in addition to any service charge that my bank may charge.
*I understand that should I choose to cancel my membership, then decide to rejoin, that I will be responsible for paying the current membership fee again at that time.

I have read and understand the EFT bank draft plan and the terms of membership. By signing below I agree to abide by the terms of this agreement.
_________________________________
Member Signature
_______________
Date
_____________________________
Employee Signature

[Kathe]

Ok, thanks Alan for posting it. As I stated above I have been to court twice on this and it has held up perfectly. The judge basically said that my former clients did not have a case because they had signed a valid contract. I did not have to refund any money. Hope this helps. Kathe

[Alan @ TanToday]

I dont know why people think they can get away with breaking these contracts. Try breaking an EFT program at a gym. They will send the trainers to your house to get you back into compliance.

[Kathe]

Well the one lady told the judge that it was "only a tanning salon". I about dropped my jaw. He laid into her big time - it was a pleasure to watch. He told her flat out a contract is a contract and since she didn't uphold her end of the contract (cancelling in writing) that she didn't have any recourse. Case dismissed. She glared at me and walked out. The judge just smiled at me.

[Stephen Underhill]

EFT's are essential to a successful salon, however the idea is to provide great customer service with no surprises. I have my salon owners get a PO Box for sending cancellations to. When a client becomes a member you give them in written form the complete process for cancellation that requires sending it to the PO Box with a delivery receipt required. This should be a different form than your contract and should be signed and filed. This creates one more step to cancel reducing the amount of cancellations, it also gives you an opportunity to call them and sell the freeze program. The delivery receipt eliminates any confusion as to when they canceled. If I can write a letter and turn it in at the desk I may do so in the heat of the moment, the time it takes to go to the post office to request a return receipt gives me time to rethink my desire to cancel. Show them this up front make sure they understand at that point, don't gloss over it.

[mimistanningshak]

Thanks so much to everyone with EFT ideas! I will be starting an EFT program and these posts helped SOOO much!

[Alan @ TanToday]

April 1st - we officially phased out our VIP Program (EFT). In our area there are 2 salons that have painted the whole monthly EFT deal in a very bad light. For over a year now I have removed all the obsticles that people use to NOT join an EFT:

(1) Contract minimum time - GONE
(2) Enrollment Fee - WAIVED

At one point we had around 70 people on EFT's then people would cancel credit cards or call the day after and demand we credit their card back because they only wanted to use it for 2 months then quit.

Enough was enough. We stopped it as of today and sent letters out to the 32 that are left on EFT. These are the tanners that were paying full price regardless before. I basically discounted tanning for them and didnt see any of the benefits expected (huge #'s of EFT's with little hassle).

Oh well, you test test test and when stuff doesnt pan out you learn your lesson and move on. EFT's didnt work for us. Make your own decision whether they will work for you.

[Shan]

I just started the EFT's and was getting a great response due to the fact that we waived the sign up fee for a week and they can pay $5 more to not have to commit to a year. I actually had a lady come in and give her 30 day notice an hour after she signed the contract. SO, she paid $24.95, got to tan for a month at that price in the midst of peak season and I pretty much wanted to tell her thanks for finding the loop hole in my system and would be sure to fix that!

I still have the sign up fee as $39, but have it marked out to $15 so they still feel like they are getting a deal, then they still have to pay the $24.95, that way, if they cancel, I still have the price of what one month would be! Some people are so TACKY!

Sorry it didn't work out for you Alan! I just HATE it when other people ruin something good for you! My hubby is a Chiropractor, so we are used to it though! LOL

[Crystal Sun]

Alan, I am starting to wonder for us too....we have done everything possible to get new EFT clients, we call it our EZ Pay plan so we don't scare them; we have waived the fee; we have given a free month of tanning with 6 mo membership (6th month free); a free bottle of lotion; etc, etc. I think the only thing left is to jack up all of the other prices so EFT is the only affordable package. We raised our prices a couple years ago and added a Suns (point) program and that PO'd people sooo bad. We had a crappy manager at the time that added to it, but we lost 500 people a week during our busy time (consistantly - not just for one week). That hurt a lot. $50,000 worth of hurt! We have close competition that watches us sooo close. They call on a regular basis to check our prices (we try to not give all of the information, and ask them to come in so we can explain the specials better, but we don't want to offend our customers either). We have to be very careful, especially in our area. Our customer service and cleanliness kicks butt, but with the level of unemployment we have in Michigan, people are forced to be frugal.

I am at a loss, I would love to get more EFT members so I can budget better and know that rent is covered, but I can't seem to get it right. We have terrific employees as far as sales go, but everyone is afraid of the commitment.

[christine]

They pay $39 down and $39 a month (so $78 to start). Their payment is due on the same day every month (30 days from whenever they signed up). They can't tan until they make their payment and if they pay it late, it still doesn't affect their next payment date, they just didn't get to tan for those days. They can freeze one time per year. If they miss 2 payments, they have to start over with the down again. (I have waived this a couple times for my regulars). It works great for us-there is no commitment for the customer and I don't have to give a % of anything to anyone!

[Crystal Sun]

Do they pay in cash every time? Do you call to remind them of the pay date?

[christine]

that they are aware of their payment date of ___ and they acknowledge that making their payment late will not change that payment date. On the agreement, we call it a month to month payment plan with no contract minimum. No, they do not always pay in cash. By having EFT you can guarantee yourself x amount a month. This way is not a guarantee, but by having them sign an agreement, it tends to keep them around longer. Sometimes they won't come in until 2 weeks after their payment is due, but they'll still make the payment because it's cheaper than starting over. This program is great for not only your year round tanners, but those they want to tan for three or four months and can't pay the 3 mo unl. price upfront. It's kindof like a payment plan.

[island sun]

allen sorry to hear that you gave up on eft's. hope you will reconsider. The slowdown in the tanning buisness , i feel is not do to the econamy or gas prices, but do to too many tanning salons. i feel that you must keep an eft program to ensure cash flow in the off season. eft's work for me, and i have had all those same strugles with it that everyone experiences. i curently have about 300 clients on my eft program at each of my 7 salons. i just kept at it. keep your month walkin price high lets say 49.00 i charge 49.00 enrollment fee but give the first 30 days free, also give a free matrix visit and a free gift bag of lotions 30.00 value. i do loose clients but am always replacing them with new ones. i know they can go down the stree and get 2 months of tanning for 25.00 but their are some clients that want to come to a clean salon with quality equipment and uprades. those are the ones to target. if i can help you in any way with ideas let me know

[TanPro]

I have posted a similar question in the past, My question is, now that it is the busy season how much can a salon expect to make. I know that is a pretty broad question but I would assume there would have to be averages. Numbers that i have heard are $15,000 per bed per year or $4.50 to $8.00 average per person per day( includes sign up for that day and any product purchases) It would be nice to have some real numbers from real salon owners post so as not just to take the word from the people trying to sell the whole concept. Any response would be appreciated. thanks in advance!!!

[Shan]

Christine ~
Would you mind sharing a copy of your contract?

I am starting to get alot of people asking if they can come in and pay each month because they don't like the automatic billing. I figure this will be fine as long as I have a good contract. Another salon in town offers billing and she just charges $5 more if they don't want to have it taken out of their account. Her customers actually get a bill in the mail each month and they have to send it in to her. I have thought about this too, that way they have a reminder!

Thanks

[Stephen Underhill]

Quote (At one point we had around 70 people on EFT's then people would cancel credit cards or call the day after and demand we credit their card back because they only wanted to use it for 2 months then quit.)

I have not seen the demographics for your area, but if you only had 70 EFT members it is no wonder you canceled it. Even the smaller salons should have hundreds of EFT members and the larger salons in strong demographic areas can have 1,500 to 2,000 EFT members. You might want to do a complete evaluation of all aspects of your price structure. Just so I can get a better view of your situation Alan, please send me the address of your salon, I would like to do an income projection based on your area. I will also need to know how many tanning rooms you have.

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by island sun

i feel is not do to the economy or gas prices, but do to too many tanning salons. i know they can go down the street and get 2 months of tanning for 25.00 but their are some clients that want to come to a clean salon with quality equipment and uprades.

We know what the problem is....but what can we do? I would say that 30% of the current salons need to close before the profit margins return to a respectable level.
Puck the dumb as*es buying into the franchise dreams and pucking it up for everyone.

[Breigh]

I would remember that when it comes to efts... You are not "out to get" your customer. Try to come up with an easy way of doing it so that there is no chance of them cancelling. We do a two month minimum but people always stay because we give them every sixth month free. Our prices are a little higher but the customers are happy. We have a $30 and $40 membership. You don't want to scare people away. Yes, we are in business to make money but we should do it in a way that we would want if we were the customers. Simplify things, it's easier on everyone!