How do YOU decide the levels in your salon?

[Tanning Queen]

DO you go by wattage? How many lamps? Facials or no facials? UVB% in the lamps?

What do you consider when creating your levels?

[theislandtan]

We do it by bed type/model.
Our level 1 and 2 = no facial.
Level 3 = facial
Level 4 = Stand up
Level 5 = HP

Level 1 is probably going away next year... We've already gotten rid of one of them.

[solman]

Lamp wattage/amenities/"wow" factor:

Level 1 35 x 100 watts/3 facials
Level 2 40 x 160 watts/3 facials, a-c, aroma, ionizer
Level 2 54 x 160 watts (stand-up)
Level 3 30 x 200 watts & 22 x 160 watts/4 facials,shoulder tanners, a-c, aroma, mister

[Tanning Queen]

32 views and only TWO people have responded? Come on guys!
How did you come up with your levels in your salon?

DId you or did your distributor come up with it?

For the veterans, have you changed your levels over the years when bigger better beds came out?


When I first started, I had all 100watt booths. So I thought having different "UVB %" was the way to create levels. It worked because back then, the clients didnt really know any different. Then nicer units came out and I got a VHR booth. Then I learned about all the differences in units and phased out the UVB levels and went with the unit type and wattage.

[vanztan]

I was just going to ask this question on the newbie board. We are having many opinions from those around my neck of the woods to what is the levels which I know can be arbitrary at times. But, I have a 52x200 watt stand up--what do think that should be?

[palmstanning]

we run ours at a level 4

[Glowtanning530]

lev 1/100 watt no facials
lev 2/160 top 100 reflector/no facials/ (our tween level sml rooms but needed a upgrade)
lev 3/ ambition 300 hp facials 160 top 120 bottom
lev 4 open sun

[BIG AL]

Our newest salon
level 1 - 36 lamp 120 watt no facials 20 minute
level 2 - 43 lamp 120 watt base 160 watt top 3 facials 15 minute
level 3 - 50 lamp 160 watt 4 facials 2 shoulder tanners 12 minute
level 4 - HP Magic 636 12 minute

[npeifer]

My setup is

Level 1 30-100W lamps/1 HP facial 20 minute
Level 2 17 160W top lamps, 16 100W bottoms no facial 15 min
Level 3 51 160W VHR Stand up 10 minute
Level 4 42 160W w/8 HP facials VHR bed 10 Minute

[phattmatt]

We never train our customers that we have levels.

Customers think of levels as the higher the level the darker you need to be in order to tan in them, thus the egghead salons unbenonce to them, gets less money out of a starter customer because they think they have to start at level 1.

Class A
Class B
Class C

Would increase your sales ten fold

[bronzecafe]

Level 1- 32 X 120 Watt 20min
Level 2- 32 (160watt top - 100watt bench) 15min
Level 3- 42 X 160 watt w/ 1200watt facial 12min
Level 4- Stand Up (48 X 160Watt w/ 1000watt facial) 12min
Level 5- 48 X 160 watt w/ 2000watt facial and a/c 12min
I know I really don't have that many levels but I sell it that way. I wish I had room at this salon for HP, I'd call it Level 10 because there are no hp's in the whole county. I won't make that mistake in the new salon were working on.

[Kathe]

We don't use the terminology of levels because customers get different visions of what that means from salon to salon (as is reflected by the posters in this thread).

We have used this from the beginning. We have our Basic beds and standup, our Select beds and standups and our Premier bed.

It has worked well for us over the years and isn't confusing to the customer. Confusion is the huge reason why a customer doesn't buy. You want to keep your pricing and your equipment as confusion free as possible.

You can see my pricelist online at www.absolute.bz if you want to see how we've set ours up.

[Kathe]

Originally Posted by phattmatt

We never train our customers that we have levels.

Customers think of levels as the higher the level the darker you need to be in order to tan in them, thus the idiot salon unbenonce to them, gets less money out of a starter customer because they think they have to start at level 1.

Class A
Class B
Class C

Would increase your sales ten fold

I agree with this totally. Doing ours basic, select and premier (pretty much the same as yours) we put new customers in premier just as easily as basic. It allows for higher sales.

[Tanning Queen]

Ok, well even if you dont use the terminology of "levels" you still have them in the salon in reality. Whether you call it groups or base, upgrade, superior etc, it still is levels.

I just want to know how people come up with the different categories for their salons. Things have changed over the last 10 years I have been involved with the industry and I am amazed to see that many people still are so all over the place with the levels.

One salon has it as a break down of

level 1 - 100w
level 2 - 160+w VHRs
level 3 - HP
Level 4 - add ons like spray, etc.

yet another salon will have all 100w beds but put different lamps in:

level 1 - lightsouce 5.0
level 2 - lightsource 6.5
level 3 - lightsource 7.5
level 4 - lightsource 8.5


This is part of the reason why our industry cant get things right. I think if there was a basic format that everyone followed, we could market better because the public woudl be able to understand the differences easier. But since one salons' level 2 is totally different than anothers, it gets hard to educate the clients.

JMHO

[bronzecafe]

I think I'm going to change mine to the following
Kia Level
Honda Level
Mercedes Level
F-350 Level (Stand-Up)
Bentley Level
What do you Think?

[phattmatt]

We call each level by the bed name that we create or go by the name the manufacturer named it......

Good Tan
Better Tan
For the Best Tan

[Kathe]

Basic are 100 watt 2 facial beds and 100 watt stand up (ETS)
Select are 140 VHO 2 facial beds (Dr. Mueller Sonics)
Premier is 160 VHR with 4 1000 watt facials (Dr. Mueller Orbit)

Our Suncapsules are 160 VHR standups which go with both Select and Premier

And we put them on our price list as:

Basic - Good
Select - Better
Premier - Best

We don't have HP here.

[Din]

1. Welfare
2. Part-Time
3. Have a job


We also don't classify ours in levels, we actually name our beds. So our levels are as such.

1. Royal Sun (32x100W-R with 2 HP Facials)
2. Viva (46x160W, 6 Shoulder tanners, 4 HP facial lamps)
2. Standup (52x200W)
3. King (High Pressure)
4. Spray Tan

Formostar is not on our tanning pricelist, we have trifold brochures with package pricing separately, it's our spa service.

In my eyes, whether it's a 30 lamp, 36lamp, 100W, 120W, 140W, all of the above mixed, with facials, without facials.....they are all the same and i don't classify it any different. that is why i price it in those levels.

In my eyes, there are 3 types of tanning beds.

A base bed
A VHR
A High Pressure

The only one i'd consider another level, is the Combo beds VHR/HP mix like the Ergo 650 etc...that would go between a VHR and HP in levels and pricing.

[tuscantan]

After reading this thread, I changed my verbage from Levels to Kathe's Basic, Select, Premium....and did it change...the past sales haven't been on the basic, but our select and premium....I didn't think it made that much of a difference, but how it changed!!! Wish I would have known.

[dbl-a]

I describe my levels as incresing in the size of the bed, and the number and wattage of the lamps as well as facials. I do not have the best new beds but I feel that I have a very go mix. Please feel free to critique my lineup.
Level 1: Ovation 134 = 34 100w
Level 2: Bravo 154 = 20 100w, 24 160w+3 400w facials
Level 3: Ergo 600 = 50 160w, 4 500w facials and 5 25w shoulder
Level 4: Ergo 650 = 33 160w, 12 500w facials and 5 25w
Level 5: Matrix L33 = 27 620w and 6 1000w HP
Also have MT200 Custom spray tan.
Single sessions are L1=$7, L2=$12, L3=$17, L4=$24, L5=$30, and spray is $35. Upgrades are $5 a level. Working very well and can'a wait til winter!