I recently had the pleasure of having a massage at a 5-star spa.  Although the spa was luxurious and my treatment was equally impressive, I was shocked by the lack of attention to detail and overall lack of "attentiveness" displayed by the spa attendants. 

After the prerequisite tour of the locker room/steam/sauna and dispensing of the robe and slippers, my attendant slipped back behind the counter and was never heard from again. There were a couple of other attendants lurking in the background--engaging with each other but clearly checked out when it came to the guests.  Some of the signs that they were checked out:

• The women's lounge was packed with pre and post treatment spa guests sitting awkwardly on crowded sofas


• The lounge's magazine racks were depleted of magazines so I sat there with nothing to read


• The toilet paper roll in my bathroom stall was empty


• As my therapist walked me to the treatment room, we passed a large co-ed lounge--plenty of sofas and magazines, yet my attendant neglected to mention this alternative lounge!


• All the spa attendants seemed oblivious to the fact that guests were cramped and uncomfortable in the women's lounge and that there was a clear solution

When I looked up "attentive" in the thesaurus, the words that came up were "helpful", "caring", "thoughtful", "considerate", "consciencious", "kind", "courteous", and "polite" (the antoym is "neglectful"). Are your spa attendants attentive? Do they pay as much attention to your guests as they do to folding towels? If you do not have designated spa attendants, who is responsible for tending to the details of the guest experience?

Attention to the small things adds up to big rewards in this competitive environment. If you have any tips on how to improve the performance of your spa attendants and improving the guest experience, we are all ears!