Coin Timers For Coin-Op Tanning Salon

[frankie]

Georgia is not a regulated state. Soon to be I hope.

[theislandtan]

Originally Posted by frankie

Georgia is not a regulated state. Soon to be I hope.

Just noticed you're in Ga. It looks like the Athens area?

You might want to take a lok at this..
hb702.html

[EliteMike]

Who was it that was thinking about setting them up in the past and got talked out of it. Was it Greg?

He may have some contacts. It was a nice system, it used skin typing to get it right. It could still be tricked or fooled though

[frankie]

Yes this bill never got passed. Rep Drenner got sick or something and it never went through. Look for it to come up again. Things in this bill need to be challenged. Also if it does pass there will be no 24 hours tanning unless someone is on the premises at all times.

[PlanetSun]

In Belgium we have plenty of coin operated tanning salons.
All salons are equiped with a computer system which enforces several restrictions.

First of all, everybody needs a magcard or similar device which is handed to them in person after a skin type analysis. At this point every customer gets a tour of the salon, and all necessary information regarding the tanning proces.

Depending on the equipment and skintype of the customer, a maximum time is set. For the first session they are only allowed to go for 50% of that max time. They have to wait 24h between every session and 48h after the first session. If they don't tan for 30 days, they have to restart with a halve session.

The security issue is rubbish. They're plenty of places which are far more convenient to rape or rob someone than an fully cctv controlled tanning salon. Moreover there's a panic button/intercom system in every room.

So it is possible to have perfectly save and regulated tanning in a unmanned salon. With the additional 0.3 max emission, the rules in Europe are a lot more strict than in the US.

From the business side I do admit that an unmanned provides less service to it's customers, whereas a fully manned salon will invoke huge employee costs. As far as I believe, the most profitable option is somewhere in between.

I don't know if these are available in the US but I have good experience with WHBerlin coin acceptors and Inepro timer boards (although their customer support sucks big time, luckely these boards just keep on functioning).
For bill acceptors I prefer Innovative Technology (they're cheap !!!). At least some of these brands should be available in the US.
wh Münzprüfer Dietmar Trenner GmbH
Inepro, manufacturer of innovative payment and accounting solutions.
Innovative Technology Ltd

The computer system is something I developped myself (but not willing to sell it outside Europe).

A lot of members on this board will disagree but I hope I provided at least some usefull information for the TS.

[Brian Oshman]

Good info.

[frankie]

Good info if I could read it. None of the sites are in English that I could tell so what good is the info if someone wanted to buy?

FYI a lot of the states in the US already do not allow this concept. Look for a lot more to follow.

[PlanetSun]

Have another look frankie...it does look like English to me!!!

[Kathe]

Frankie I understand your concerns but the salon owner came here looking for help on a specific issue, not to get lashed for her decision to open a 24 hour.

I agree with most of your points however it sounds like the OP is running her salon with a lot of integrity and has covered all of the bases. I'm sure that she is one of the few but deserves our respect for working hard.

If things were different I would think about doing what she is doing. And by different I mean demographics. My town pretty much closes up by 9 pm but if I were in another demographic where there were 2nd and 3rd shifters I would seriously think about maximizing my salon as much as possible.

Good luck getting your timers.

[PlanetSun]

Coin operated tanning salons where banned in Belgium from 1999 until 2002. Since then it's allowed but only with strict limitations as I mentionned above.

These rules did turn the tanning industy into a more professional business and we little by little are starting to lose the negative image. The 0.3 rule might help with this as well although it is a still little bit early to see.

[Din]

so what happens when a skin type 2 that would go in for say 7-8 min in a VHR and their info is on their card restricting them to it. What happens when they go on a 2 week cruise and come back extremely dark and want to maintain that tan. Doesn't their skin type show as a type 2, but after their vacation, they are not a 3 and can take a full session. Are they still restricted on how long they can tan?

[Kathe]

I would think they could come in during the operator hours and they could manually change the card. I don't know though, just guessing.

[frankie]

OMG Kathe if you think that was lashing what do you think of some of the other posts here? I feel I am very mild compared to some. I will still post on my feelings if something is brought up. Sorry if you took it as lashing or whatever you call it. Geeeze

[frankie]

Planet Sun I am all for turning this industy into a more professional one.

[frankie]

Sorry I just didn`t look far enough.

[Kathe]

Sorry Frankie. And I think a lot of posts on here get out of hand. People come on here sincerely looking for information and sometimes they just get jumped on. It's almost getting to the point where I cringe when someone asks a simple question anymore because someone is going to jump on them and tell them everything they are doing wrong.

I have a lot of respect for you Frankie. I think you've built a wonderful business. The poor lady was just asking about a timer system though, not whether her business of 4 years should be in existence.

Sorry I over did it a bit.

[SunkissedTropicalTanning]

Thank you for the support and the information on the timers. We will look into the companies that have been suggested. I understand the concerns but if you came to our salon I believe you would see that it is professional and in this area has given tanning a much better name than others in the area.

[frankie]

Kathe I agree 100% some of the post get out of hand but I did in no one jump on her. I only was expressing my opinion on how I feel about this concept. She may be running a respectable salon as she sees it but I still do not agree with letting tanners tan when no one is there. If this industry comes to that then we are all in trouble. This is just MO and I am sure some will not agree. But oh well it will not be the first time.

[PlanetSun]

Din,

The skin type of a person does not change if they get darker (at least not according to our regulation). They still remain a type 2 and the max time will not increase (although it will be sufficient to maintain a tan).

A skintype 2 will not return extremely dark from a vacation anyway...

Please note that due to the max output of 0,3 W/m² there's not much difference between beds. A VHR will put out a little more UVA then a base bed in which we try to get a little more UVB (and less UVA).

The maximum session for a skintype 2 is 15 minutes, 20 min for a type 3 and 25 min for type 4 and this on all of my beds (ranging from prosun Lumina C 36/3 until Ergoline Excellence 700).

[Jim Fisher]

Why not call T max and ask them if they know of anyone who has a system that will interface to theirs