Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Graham and Ashkahn roll up their sleeves and get down and dirty dealing with objections to floating. To shake things up a bit, they’re ignoring claustrophobia and talking about some of the other things people bring up when they say they’re hesitant to try floating.
Show Resources
An Important Announcement from the Daily Solutions Podcast
If you’d like to sign up to ask a question on our two-hour call-in show, November 29th at 3 pm PST, go to floattanksolutions.com/dsplive.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: All right.
Ashkahn: Hey.
Graham: That one was via audience requests. Thanks for sending in that suggestion. I’m Graham.
Ashkahn: I am Ashkahn.
Graham: We are Daily Solutions Podcast.
Ashkahn: Ignite!
Graham: We are winding things down, but we got one last big episode. Well not one last, we have a few more episodes, but then also-
Ashkahn: But one last big one.
Graham: A big-
Ashkahn: The rest of these are going to be not so big.
Graham: Yeah. Pretty much our only big episode ever. We’re doing a two-hour live call in show, November 29th.
Ashkahn: 3:00 PM until 5:00 PM Pacific Time.
Graham: Yeah. Come join us. It’ll be a blast.
Ashkahn: There’ll be video.
Graham: Everyone that you know and care about is going to be there. So you’ll really be missing out if you’re the only one who’s not. In the meantime, we’ve got a question to answer for you today.
Ashkahn: Exciting.
Graham: It is-
Ashkahn: What is it?
Graham: “Other than claustrophobia, what are reasons that some people never get in to float?” So yeah, the-
Ashkahn: What they say. What are the things that people say they’re nervous about.
Graham: Or that they don’t say that we just know-
Ashkahn: That we can actually see it in their heads.
Graham: … about their inner psyches, yeah.
Ashkahn: Yeah. Claustrophobia-
Graham: Is one.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: Which I guess is why they excluded that in the question.
Ashkahn: So really common things people will say when they’re beginning this-
Graham: Water sanitation. I’m just going to say the next big one is water sanitation.
Ashkahn: Okay. Yep. Go ahead. Clearly you’re ready.
Graham: Anyway, do you want to go into more depth on that or?
Ashkahn: I think water sanitation is one that people bring up a lot. It’s just you get asked all sorts of-
Graham: “Wait, hopping in the same waters as the person before you or what’s going on there, huh?”
Ashkahn: Yeah. Just like that, and variations on that sort of theme.
Graham: “How do you know what people do in there?”
Ashkahn: I’ve found that while that is a concern that comes up a bunch, and even if people don’t bring it up, a lot of people think- I mean, if you look at our Yelp and Google reviews, cleanliness is mentioned nine out of 10 times or something.
Graham: Well, it’s obviously top of mind for them, for customers.
Ashkahn: What I found is that it’s really easier than it should be to put people’s fears at rest. You can pretty much answer them and if you have an answer and you sound confident, they’re cool, because I’ll just say like, “Yeah. It goes through this filtration process where the water is pumped through this entire crazy filter system with a UV and hydrogen peroxide being added as this.” I’ll go through it and make it sound kind of technical, and they’ll be like, “Yeah. It really sounds like you know what you’re doing.” I bet I could be saying anything. I bet I could be like, “Yeah. We use the reverse waterfall method to upend it through our crazy straw filtration system.”
Graham: “Crazy straw. That sounds great. Yeah, my fears are allayed.” People will often give you some form of like, “That’s cool.” Then some of them will still never come in to float, right? It’s weird to be like, “Cool. Well, I’m still concerned. So thanks for explaining that, but I’m not going to come in.” A lot of people say that even showing people tanks, they’re like, “Cool. That’s not as small as I thought,” and they still have claustrophobia and they’ll never come float.
It’s kind of like the more that you can get these answers out really steadily, and you’ll see this as we go over a few other objections, but in your literature, on your website, kind of pre-address these concerns and really make it so often for just human psychology. If we don’t hear something repeated a handful of times, we tend not to really internalize it or believe it as much. So the more you can expose people to these common concerns, and again, address them before they even come in to ask you about it in person or give you a call, is a really good strategy.
Ashkahn: Yeah, because it makes sense, right? They see it there, they were probably thinking about it, them seeing it lets them know that we obviously know and care about it. I honestly feel like sometimes people ask us about sanitation expecting us to be like, “I never thought about that. You’re right. How is the water being chemically …”
Graham: “You got me. You got me.”
Ashkahn: Just the fact that I’m like, “Yeah. We have realized that that’s a thing and we have a solution for it.” No matter what we’re saying, it makes people nod and go, “Okay. Cool.”
Graham: Yeah. So don’t take advantage of that. It’s a superpower that you must use for good and not evil.
Ashkahn: Yeah, and it’s going to be the case with a lot of these. At the end of the day, in their eyes, you are like the grand float expert and-
Graham: Grand float Poobah.
Ashkahn: Yeah, and everything you’re saying is extremely authoritative information.
Graham: What other concerns?
Ashkahn: The other one I hear all the time is, “I don’t know if I could be alone with myself for that long.”
Graham: Yeah, for sure. Actually, it’s a very small percentage of people, but some of the small percentage that get out early and didn’t really enjoy the float and probably won’t come back, have said, “My mind was just going, ‘I’m the kind of go, go, go person,’ and I just couldn’t relax,” which I think is the perfect candidate for someone who should absolutely try floating more until they can calm down. Some of those fears are legitimate and they get in the tank and their brain is going too fast, but it’s such a small percentage. Way more people who are afraid of that are actually in desperate need of a float and their whole system will probably celebrate when they’re actually thrown in the tank, you know?
Ashkahn: Yeah, and I think people. It’s just the concept of it sounds freaky to be in nothingness, and they think it’s going to be like a drug trip where they’re totally not in control and have no ability to whatever. So I often find just explaining the setup even a little bit helps people in those situations. I’m like, “Yeah. It’s in a private room. The doors just open and close. There are light buttons on the inside.”
Graham: “You can get out any time.”
Ashkahn: Yeah, just painting a better picture than probably what they’re imagining in their head is often pretty great.
Graham: That ties into also that just that sound scary, or “weren’t those used for torture” kind of objection for why some people unless they actually get educated or seek out more information themselves, will probably continue to think. I’m just being like, “No. Do you think that laying down in a warm bath by yourself with dim lights is scary? Because if so, you should absolutely not hop in a float tank. This is way too intense for you.”
Ashkahn: Another thing I’ve found that seems to help is I’ll mention to people that … I think this goes in the same world as like do people ever freak out in there, is kind of along the same vein, right? I usually mention to people that everything that’s going on in there is telling your body to chill out. This is just an environment that is literally convincing your brain that this is the chillest you should definitely be. So it’s actually almost chemically difficult to have a freaky experience in there. You’re not even primed with what’s happening in your body to be able to have freaky panicked experiences for the most part.
Graham: Yeah, and they do, again, they’re extremely, extremely rare. They happen and certainly not to the level that people should be concerned about it. We’re talking about one in 10,000 floats, or maybe a little less, but still in the thousands.
Ashkahn: I found that to make people go like, “Yeah. Interesting,” and that changes their objections a little bit.
Graham: Yeah, for sure. Another one is just, “I don’t have enough time.” I definitely hear that, and that’s an objection to not just floating, but a lot of things for personal care that people probably should have in their life. My favorite answer to that came from the yoga industry but adapted to floating. It’s “if you don’t have an hour or an hour and a half to float, you should probably float for two or three hours”.
Ashkahn: They definitely are the people who need it the most. For us, we have specifically a really great response which is that we’re open 24 hours a day. It’s just such a good comeback. People are like, “Man, yeah, I’ve been really busy. I don’t know if I’d have time for that.” I’m like, “We’re open 24 hours a day.”
Graham: “This is on you buddy.”
Ashkahn: Yeah, “There has to be a time that fits into your schedule. We’re literally open around the clock.”
I’ve gotten “My grandmother was betrayed by a float tank and our family has taken a vow to adventure and as a result, we’ve disbanded from all float activity for generations”.
Graham: In which case, point out that vengeance is a circular cycle and the float tanks will strike back probably in greater force than before. Perhaps making peace is the better option.
Ashkahn: So check, that one usually solves it.
Graham: I’d say once a week for something like that if we’re talking about common objections. Honestly, there’s more and there’s little ones, and the answers sometimes differ, but basically fall into this category of people can come up for all sorts of reasons not to do something that they’re kind of nervous about. So your goal with all of these-
Ashkahn: It’s usually fueled by that.
Graham: Yeah, your goal with all of these is really to make them understand that floating is not scary or intimidating. It’s actually way more similar to other things they’ve done. Like get a massage, or be in a warm bath, or be in a hot tub, even though we’re at neutral temperature, and just making it more relatable and accessible. I think often, even though that’s not what they’re telling you, often takes care of whatever concerns they are bringing up. It’s kind of like trying to get to the root cause rather than just addressing the symptoms.
Ashkahn: There’s certainly a certain amount of social proof that helps in all these situations. I found quoting how many floats we’ve done in almost any of these answers, like if someone’s nervous about claustrophobia, which I guess we’re not supposed to be talking about in this episode, but I’ll say something like, “We’ve done 90,000 floats, and we just don’t get people coming out and saying they felt claustrophobic,” or just throwing those big numbers out there, it makes people go like, “This is not just some little thing. Clearly, lots of people are doing this,” or even just having a shop that’s on a busy retail foot traffic street. We pay more for that because we felt like it felt more like we were a real business and that gave us this inherent credibility that made people more trustworthy of thinking that these things were legitimate.
Graham: Use that power for good and not evil, but yeah.
Ashkahn: Having a nice looking website, all this stuff is making people realize like, “Hey, if this is a successful business, that must mean people are coming in to do this, which must mean it’s an enjoyable experience,” right? There’s this inherent logic that exists there, that I found is really helpful. So especially if you’re hitting a lot of resistance before you’ve opened your business, this is one of those things that gets easier once your business is open, because just existing as a business is proof that you’re not crazy to be telling people to go in to float. That’s another thing that’s really nice. It gets easier over … We’ve been open eight years now and that alone lets people know that obviously, this is not some sort of crazy thing.
Graham: An alternate source of income coming in somewhere. All right. That was a good one. Good question. Getting down to the final few episodes and then our big live show.
Ashkahn: Yeah, a few final episodes, big liver.
Graham: Thanks for the contribution over there. Tune in the 29th, 3:00 to 5:00 PM.
Ashkahn: Pacific Time.
Graham: Yeah, you got it. We’ll see you there.
Ashkahn: All right. Bye.
Graham: Bye everyone.
Recent Podcast Episodes
What to do When Floaters Interrupt Intros? – DSP 284
Ashkahn’s back and on form. He and Graham take on the question of how to handle first time floaters interrupt the pre-float intros explaining the process.
There’s a lot of information that first time floaters need, and if they aren’t paying attention, it can cause messy floats or unnecessary difficulty or confusion. The reunited duo provides some great tips while going over different customer scenarios.
When is the Best Time to Open a Float Center? – DSP 283
Graham takes the helm again without any co-captain to steer the SS Daily Solutions through the rugged storms of float industry questions.
Today he answers a question about when the best time of year to open your float center. The important thing to remember is that, whenever you choose, you should plan for even earlier, as float centers are more likely to get delayed in construction.
Tips for Choosing Contractors – DSP 282
Graham the Lone Podcaster takes the reigns on answering how to pick a contractor for float center build out.
It’s the kind of big decision that every float center owner hopes to only make once, so getting as much information ahead of time is extremely useful. Graham breaks down some useful tips and explains how to ask for a bid, specific skill sets to look for, and general advice on knowing when to walk away.
Starting your Pumps Early – DSP 281
In this episode, Graham goes solo again to answer a particularly loquacious listener who sent in a question about how to logistically handle your changeover when a floater comes out early.
It can be tempting to start your changeover as soon as possible, especially if you have a few of them to get to, but Graham lays out some helpful things to remember before flipping that switch and running your pumps before the allotted time.
How Hot is Too Hot in a Float Tank? – DSP 280
Graham goes solo again to discuss how people perceive temperature in the float tank.
This is an important issue specifically because of a few pieces of technical information that your average customer just isn’t going to know, largely how humidity impacts temperature, but also how easy it is to overheat in an incredibly humid environment.
Latest Blog Posts
4,937 Things to Know About Buying a Used Float Tank
You’re thinking about buying a used float tank. Whether this is for a new center, an addition to an existing operation, or a purchase for your home, this is a big decision.
We’ve compiled together some of the major questions and considerations to entertain before making a purchase. While you do have the opportunity to save some money and snag a good deal, there can be hidden costs and unknowns to weigh against those savings.
Offering Overnight Floats
Almost three years ago, we discussed the merits of running overnight floats from an employee’s perspective, focusing on the opportunities of this unique experience as well as its challenges. We’d like to take a deeper dive into this issue because, while the majority of floaters come through our tanks during “normal” business hours, overnight floats form an important part of not only Float On’s identity, but also its business structure and broader culture.
How to Talk About Floating
You step into the elevator and shuffle to the side to make room for the kind-eyed, old woman with the miniature poodle.
“Good morning,” you say with a smile.
“Good morning,” she beams back, her gaze resting briefly on your water bottle with the logo from your float center’s annual party.
After a brief pause, she asks, “What is Float-a-Palooza?”
You take a breath, smile, and launch into your literal elevator pitch.
So, what do you say?
Employee Handbook Template
Whether you are a small or large float center, you most likely have other employees working for you. Regardless of the size of your staff, for reasons of efficiency and legality, it’s essential that your organization has clear and straightforward policies and guidelines. No matter how good employee communication is, it’s always safest and cleanest to have clear parameters and expectations written down.
This is why Float Tank Solutions has created a customizable Employee Handbook Template. Free for anyone to download, it contains federally compliant language (current as of October 2016) and contains a multitude of sections, from employee benefits and compensation descriptions to job guidelines and discrimination policies.
