The Spa Boutique Standard

Thirty minutes before the spa opens, clean the counter, the shelves and the glass of every display: dust, fingerprints, rings left by bottles. Sign the opening line in the boutique log with the time.

Face every product forward with the label out, at least two of each on the shelf. Fill any gap from the stockroom before opening, never in the middle of a sale.

Check that every product on display has a price label in the spa’s own style, and that the price on the label matches the price in the till.

Check the testers: one per product, marked “Tester” with the date it was opened, lid on, pump wiped. Spatulas and cotton pads beside every jar, so no finger ever goes into one.

Read the day’s treatment diary and the product lines therapists wrote in yesterday’s aftercare notes, so you know which guests may come to the counter and what for.

Open the till and the room-charge screen, and check the stock of gift bags, tissue paper, ribbon, gift cards and delivery labels for the day.

Check yourself against The Presence Standard before the first guest: uniform, name badge, hands, and a voice kept at the level of the spa.

Attend a guest who stops at the counter at once. If you are already serving someone, acknowledge each new guest within 30 seconds with eye contact and a few words, and serve them within one minute.

“Good afternoon. I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

If the wait would pass one minute, call a colleague from the spa desk. The counter is never left empty: whoever needs to leave it asks for cover first.

Greet the guest by name when you know it from the diary. Otherwise ask once whether they are staying with you, and use the name from then on, as The Name Standard sets out.

Let a guest at the shelves look first. After about a minute, ask one open question, and step back if they would rather browse alone.

“Are you looking for something for yourself, or a gift?”

If the guest has just had a treatment, read the therapist’s product line in the profile and start from it. The one suggestion at the end of a treatment is made at reception, as The Aftercare Standard sets out.

Otherwise ask two questions before you suggest anything: how the skin feels today (dry, oily, sensitive, after the sun) and what the guest wants the product to do.

“How does your skin feel at the moment: dry, sensitive, or happy as it is?”

Suggest no more than two products, each with what it does, how to use it and the price for the size shown. Never say a product treats or cures a condition.

“This balm is for dry skin after the sun. Use it at night. It’s €48 for the 50 ml jar.”

Ask about allergies before any product touches the skin. Show or read out the full ingredient list when asked, and name fragrance, nut oils and essential oils every time.

Offer the tester on the back of the hand with a clean spatula or the pump, never with a finger in an open jar. Hand the guest a tissue and wait for them to decide.

For a guest who is pregnant or has a skin condition, suggest nothing with essential oils or active ingredients until a therapist has confirmed it suits them. Call one to the counter if one is free.

If the guest declines, thank them and leave them to browse. Do not bring the product up again during the visit.

Ring up each product as its own line with name, size, quantity and price. Correct any wrong line at once, before the guest leaves the counter, and print a new bill.

“That’s the balm and the body oil, €96 in total.”

For a room charge, ask the guest to write the room number on the pad, never to say it aloud. Check the name against that room in the PMS before you charge it.

Present the bill in a clean bill folder, open and facing the guest, read the total aloud, and give them time to read every line before they sign.

For a card payment, the card stays in the guest’s hand or on the terminal in front of them. It never goes out of the guest’s sight.

Give the itemised receipt in the bag or by email, as the guest prefers. A line the guest questions after signing follows The Bill Query Standard.

Wrap every purchase in tissue inside the spa’s bag, bottles upright and lids checked tight. Seal anything liquid in a clear pouch so it cannot leak into a suitcase.

Ask whether it is a gift. If it is, take off the price label, gift-wrap it and offer a card for a handwritten message.

“Is this a gift? I can wrap it and add a card, if you like.”

Offer to keep the bag at the desk or send it to the room, so the guest does not carry it round the spa or to the pool.

“Shall we send this up to your room, Ms Haddad, or keep it here until you leave?”

If the guest is flying, say once that liquids over 100 ml go in the hold luggage, and offer the travel sizes where the spa stocks them.

Label a bag kept at the desk with the guest’s name, the time and your initials, and store it behind the counter, out of sight of other guests.

Send room deliveries within 2 hours, or at the time the guest gives, through housekeeping or the bell desk. Write the room, the name, the number of bags and the time in the delivery log.

Whoever delivers knocks and announces as The Door Standard sets out. If the guest is out, the bag goes on the desk in the room with the receipt in an envelope, never outside the door.

Confirm each delivery in the log with the time and the name of who took it. Any bag still at the desk at closing is chased the same evening.

At closing, check the till against the day’s sales, and make sure every room charge is on the guest’s folio before you leave.

Clean the counter, the shelves and the display glass again, fill the gaps on the shelves, and lock the cabinet that holds the high-value products.

Every Monday, check each tester: in date, at least a quarter full, label clean, pump working. Replace any that fails, and log the date and the products changed.

At the end of each month, list what sold, what guests asked for that the spa does not stock, and which testers ran out first. Send the list to the spa manager for the next order.