Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
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.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: All right, hello everybody. I am Graham, once again holding down the fort here alone in the studio. I guess not alone, Jordan is also here, but he’s just not in front of the mic, he’s behind the mic. He’s actually making some really animated faces right now. What’s that? You’re giving every listener $10? That’s really generous of you. Just go to floattanksolutions.com/jordanowesmemoney.
Getting back to the actual episode, boy is there a question today. It’s a really long one, and it takes a little explanation too, at the very beginning. So, it’s a long question with a footnote. Let’s just go ahead with it.
“Hi”, first of all. Hello. “What do you encourage your tacos and taco supremes to do when someone wakes and starts showering in a time of limbo?”
First of all, instead of managers and regular level employees, we call them taco supremes and tacos, is the background there. Time of limbo, I assume he means that time after you die but before you’re actually in your assigned afterlife. So, when you’re actually in this beyond living and death state, or just maybe a transition between floats. Not exactly sure.
“By that, I mean five to ten minutes before the scheduled time to start playing the music.” Okay, so I guess it was time between floats. “I understand that short floats can be good, and I’ve found that, especially for the first time, a 50 minute float can be the norm, as people’s minds start wondering about the wake up music. Thinking they are done with their floats, I wish to start their pumps so that the water can filter and thus start getting the room ready for the next client. However, my concern is that they are showering for excessive salt in the face or they just wanted to check their phone and intend on hopping back in until they hear the music. Just trying to find the balance for myself and recommendations for staff between being efficient in the workspace while not being totally invasive to the person and their session”
That was a big one. Basically, it’s just coming down to someone gets out of their float early, before the scheduled wake up music to come on to actually end their float, what do you do? Do you turn on the music early? Do you assume they’re getting out and run the pump so that you can actually get the next person in, maybe with a little more time? What is the right ethical and moral answer? I’m not too divided, and I’m the only one here so that’s really all that matters. I would say just don’t turn on the music initially. Turn it on at the scheduled time. Don’t turn on the pump early. If they come out of the room and they say yes, I’m totally done with my float, I’m not going back in that room, for sure turn on the pump or anything else, assuming that it doesn’t interfere with anyone who’s still in the tanks. At Float On this is another level to this problem. Even if people get out early at our shop and we know that they’re out of the room, our rooms are still right next to other rooms that usually have other people floating in them, so we can’t really turn on our pump equipment anyway, just because it would pass right into the tanks next door.
So, in our case it’s not a bonus even if we know that they have come out, but again, the customer is paying money to come in, or even if it’s a free float, it’s a free full length float, whatever that means for you, an hour or an hour and a half. So, if someone is out and showering, especially if it’s just 10 minutes beforehand and you think that they’re getting out anyway, don’t assume anything. It’s way better to, yourself, just have to rush a little bit more during transitions or again, get the next customer in on time as opposed to early. Way better to do that than to anger a customer by assuming that they’re done with the float. If you weren’t actually done with the float but the pump turns on while you’re in the shower, just getting salt out of your eyes, I’d feel a little bit rushed or almost that my calming experience was being pushed on a little bit excessively from the outside.
In things like this, I think, especially as a business owner, it’s important to really think of the needs of the customer ahead of just your own, or even the customer who’s coming in next. In this case, again, don’t worry too much about whether they’re coming out early or not. Your reaction should just be the same, which is assume that they’re staying in there full time. Turn on the music once they’re actually out, or turn on the pump again if you are able to run it, once you know for sure they’re out of the room. That’s it. Good, I hope that was satisfying.
If you have your own short or lengthy questions to send our way, cruise on over to floattanksolutions.com/podcast and I’ll be joined back in the studio in just a couple days with my co-host Ashkahn. Have that to look forward to. All right everyone, have a good one out there. Talk to you tomorrow.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Rise Interview with The Perrys & Stephen Johnson – OSP 01
We’re BACK!
(sort of)
The Not-So-Daily Solutions Podcast is back with some interviews from the Rise Float Gathering. When we were there, Juliet had a chance to speak with a lot of the speakers about their presentations and we decided to share them with all of you! Here’s her conversation with Glenn and Lee Perry along with Stephen Johnson where they talk about how the industry has changed and the future of their plans to preserve their legacy in the industry.
We hope you enjoy!
Tank Topics: Customer Contraindications
Something in the world of floating have you stumped? Show Highlights This Tank Topic covers important things you should discuss with your customers before floating. Some of these can be mildly unpleasant to...
Tank Topics: All About Memberships
Here’s a topic for everyone in the industry: Memberships! We’ve put together the best Daily Solutions into a triple threat of solutions. This collection covers everything from discounts, to marketing, to a detailed analysis of how Float On’s own memberships.
Download it into your brains here!
Tank Topic: Special Float Center Cleaning Tips
Any float center owner knows that these tanks and the rooms they live in are fickle creatures that need particular supplies to maintain. This Tank Topic is a great collection of practical tips and tricks for keeping tanks, showers and rooms clean and happy.
Tank Topics: Building Your Own Float Tank
This is a simple two episode compilation about advice on building your own float tanks. The guys are pretty against the idea. Having built two of the 6 tanks at Float On in house, they personally know the challenges that arise with this and how many unexpected obstacles you have to get over to make it happen. In between their blanket condemnation of the idea, though, are really helpful tidbits of what to look out for if you absolutely cannot be dissuaded.
Latest Blog Posts
Start Your Float Journey the Right Way at the Float Conference
The Float Conference has been the birthplace of many amazing things in the industry. It’s where Justin Feinstein met Colin Stanwell-Smith and together they designed the Float Lab at the Laureate Institute of Brain Research; it’s where Jeremy Warner got the inspiration...
Some of the Best Flooring Practices for Float Centers
Looking for something specific? Search our nearly 100 blog posts. Float On has been around for nearly 9 years, and in those 9 years, we’ve gone through lots of floors. Some have held up better than others. Some didn't hold up at all. At one point we tried putting...
Take Part in the 2019 Float Industry Report!
We’re gathering responses for our 2019 Industry Report through the end of July, and we once again need your help.
Please take a brief moment to answer a few questions about your float center (or future float center) – it may be the easiest thing you can do to contribute to the growth of floatation around the world.
Flux’s Conference Science Recap
Flux comes back to provide a visual recap of his informative talk from the 2018 Float Conference, discussing the relationship between floating, depression, and the immune system.