Learn best practices for starting and running a float center:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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

Problems with Free Floats – DSP 354

The question asker today calls out Graham and Ashkahn on their most common marketing tip: giving away free floats!

The guys are put on trial and forced to defend the practice from someone who has experienced some major fallout from giving out floats to people. They offer some solid advice on how to make sure your free floats reach maximum effect and reassurance in the fact that it’s a relatively low risk practice.

If Money were No Object – DSP 353

Graham and Ashkahn have some fun and talk about all the crazy things they’d add to Float On if money were no object. They cover everything from the impractical to the insane. And Ashkahn reveals his love of robots… and sandwiches.

Accepting Insurance for Floats – DSP 352

There are rumors everywhere in the float industry about float centers billing insurance for floats and how they pulled it off. This podcast is no exception! 

Listen to Graham and Ashkahn opine on the hypothetical and the barely confirmed tales they’ve heard about the possibility of float centers getting that sweet sweet insurance payout, and then listen to the guys talk about the realities of accepting insurance and how it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Surviving a Recession – DSP 351

Graham and Ashkahn take on the unenviable task of talking about the harsh realities that the float industry will likely face in an upcoming recession, as well as how to be prepared for it. 

The guys discuss what it was like for Float On opening during 2010, and the pragmatic view of the things most likely to get cut and who will and likely won’t survive an economic downturn. 

How to Talk to New Float Enthusiasts – DSP 350

One of the most amazing things about the float industry is how open and friendly everyone is. Every float center we’ve ever talked to has stories about receiving help, advice, or information from another center or offering it themselves. It makes sense that float center owners would want to pass this goodwill on to the next enthusiast who comes knocking, but it can get a little time consuming talking to everyone. 

Graham and Ashkahn share advice on how to enthusiastically and efficiently talk to new floaters without burning yourself out or make it feel like you’re having the same conversation 100 times in a row. 

Latest Blog Posts

Announcing: The 2018 State of the Industry Report

Announcing: The 2018 State of the Industry Report

In 2014 we started gathering answers to a survey that would eventually become the very first State of the Float Industry Report. We’ve released one every year since, and this year we (once again) have the most contributions that we’ve ever had. In total, 293 existing...

2018 Conference Program Introduction

2018 Conference Program Introduction

It was absolutely our pleasure to, once again, host the Float Conference here in Portland. We couldn’t help but be slightly nostalgic remembering all the Conferences we’ve held, all the way back to 2012. Below is the complete introduction for this year’s program intro. While this may be our last year hosting, we look forward to what the rest of the industry has in store for us in the future.