Looking for some input

[Irishguy]

Hi all. I own a small electrical contracting business in Virginia, and am thinking about expanding into service work on tanning beds. I'm trying to put a business plan together, and was looking for some input from salon owners. Do most of you have your service needs taken care of? Do you think there is opportunity in this field? Any helpful advice? Thanks very much!!!

[Din]

Have you worked with tanning beds before?

[Irishguy]

Yes, but quite honestly, limitedly. I've had a few calls in my area from local salons through friends about problems. I've had no problems fixing them. I have an Associates Degree in Electronics, and a Masters in Electrical. If it has a plug and requires power, I can fix it! Thanks again much!

[brownsuze]

I use Brian Oshman. He rocks the house party at the drop of a hat, beats 'em all down with an aluminum bat.

[Irishguy]

Yes, I've read some of his posts....he is very knowledgable. However, this seems to be a service in short supply in Virginia...the few owners locally I've talked to can't even find technicians... Thus the reason for some input. Thanks very much!

[brownsuze]

Wait, if the owners you've spoken to tell you they need you, why look for imput from people far away from you? You already know what you need to know then, right?

[Irishguy]

Thank you for your response. Let me clarify a bit. I live in a town of about 25,000. If I want to make this a profitable business venture, I would have to provide services to a bit of a wider area. I originally submitted this post to see if there was a mid-east coast need for this service, and to "feel out" the service industry with respect to tanning beds. Thanks!

[sunsally]

If you are going to service tanning beds, having an electricians' knowledge will help - but you'll need more.

Consider hooking up with a manufacturer or distributor first if you can - they might train you on their equipment (for example, I know ETS offers tech training from time to time).

Plan on getting some "stock" parts that you'll run into a need for often - lamp holders, maybe timer boards, a couple of ballasts at different sizes, fuses, etc.

Some salons might want "service" that would include:

cleaning/detailing the beds
relamping the beds (esp. High Pressure which can be a several hour lamp change)
moving equipment around in the salon

I'd get ahold of as many bed schematics as I could find - past and present - and start looking through them and understanding the "make up" of different equipment.

Ditto all the above for timer systems - Applied Digital (Tmax) is the most common, but you also see FST and some others.

There is DEFINITELY a need for GOOD technicians - guys with years of experience, who have seen it all, done it all who can troubleshoot over the phone for 75% of stuff, who have the patience to work through a "symptom" and figure out what the REAL underlying problem is.

Of course, crappy techs who can't do a fraction of this are a dime a dozen.

I'd make plans to go to the National Indoor Tanning Show in Nashville this fall (see www.theita.com) and soak up ALL you can as well as make contacts in your part of the country.

Hope this helps - good luck!

[Irishguy]

Thank you very much for your reply! This is exactly the kind of input I was looking for. Part of starting a new venture is many, many hours of research and I am VERY grateful for all information I can garner. Much appreciated!

[Beach Bum]

Irish, I welcome anyone who is going to service our salons! There is only 2 guys around us who can actually fix tanning beds and wire them up properly. And one of those guys takes forever to get by. Normally you need something fix immediately. You can't wait 1 or 2 days.

There are several other guys who have said they work on tanning units, but they can't. Also, other things to learn that is helpful to salon owners is hooking up timer systems for the beds. Tanning beds and timers can be tricky. So, good luck, and thanks!

[imported_wpipp]

ETS is looking for good field service technicians across the country. If you are interested please call 800-228-6292 and go to our service department. We provide extensive training so that we can provide the best service possible to our salon customers when necessary.

Bill Pipp
CEO
ETS

[UltrabronzSteve]

Irish you are right about not being any good service techs in the VA...I know of several clients in the Richmond area already...we manufacture here in Richmond...what part of VA are you in?