TANNING BED

Description of Event or Problem

PRIOR TO DOING BUSINESS, WITH RPTR HAD BEEN TANNING AT ANOTHER SALON FOR APPROX. 6 MONTHS. DURING THAT TIME RPTR EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER AND RECEIVED EXCELLENT SERVICE AND ADVICE. EVEN THOUGH RPTR WAS THOROUGHLY SATISFIED WITH THEIR CURRENT TANNING SALON, THEY DECIDED TO BUY A PACKAGE AT A NEW SALON SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE PRICE. RPTR INITIALLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INDUSTRY STANDARDS OF THE TANNING UNITS, TRYING TO INFORM THEMSELF AS TO HOW BEDS AT THIS SALON WOULD COMPARE TO THOSE RPTR HAD BEEN USING PREVIOUSLY. RPTR WAS TOLD THEY WOULD BE THE SAME AND SINCE RPTR HAD BEEN TANNING AT 20 MINUTES/SESSION FOR AN AVERAGE OF 3 SESSIONS/WEEK, RPTR OPTED TO DO THE SAME AT NEW SALON. THE FIRST TWO SESSIONS RPTR EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEMS, BUT ALSO DID NOT OBSERVE ANY NOTICEABLE DARKENING OF THEIR SKIN TONE. THE THIRD VISIT RPTR ALSO TANNED FOR 20 MINUTES; HOWEVER, THIS TIME THEY BECAME QUITE SEVERELY SUNBURNED. RPTR CALLED THE SALON THE VERY NEXT DAY AND SPOKE WITH THE MGR. MGR'S RESPONSE WHEN RPTR TOLD HER THEY HAD BEEN BURNED WAS: "OH, YOU WERE IN BED #2. THAT'S A VERY 'HOT' BED. YOU SHOULDN'T GO IN THERE FOR 20 MINUTES." RPTR WISH THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN THAT INFO BEFOREHAND! RPTR TANNED AT THIS SALON 8 MORE TIMES. SEVERAL TIMES RPTR WENT IN ONE OF THE 20-MINUTES BEDS, BUT TANNED FOR ONLY 15 OR 16 MINUTES. RPTR DID NOT BURN, BUT ALSO DID NOT SEE ANY TANNING BENEFIT. ON APPROX. THEIR 6TH VISIT THERE, RPTR WAS TOLD THAT ALL OF THEIR 20-MINUTE BEDS (THE MOST POPULAR OPTION) WERE BEING USED. IT WAS SUGGESTED TO RPTR THAT THEY TRY A 10-MINUTE BED INSTEAD. RPTR QUESTIONED THE MGR ABOUT THIS OPTION: SINCE THESE LATTER BEDS HAD A 10-MINUTE MAXIMUM, WERE THEY TWICE AS STRONG, VOLTAGE-WISE, AS THE 20-MINUTE MAXIMUM BEDS? MGR STATED THAT THEY WERE INDEED TWICE AS STRONG AND THAT 20 MINUTES OF TANNING IN A 20-MINUTE MAXIMUM BED WAS EQUIVALENT TO 10 MINUTES OF TANNING IN A 10-MINUTE MAXIMUM BED. MGR ALSO SAID THAT THE 10-MINUTE BEDS WERE LESS POPULAR WITH THEIR CLIENTELE BECAUSE THE CUSTOMERS DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT THESE BEDS WERE IN FACT MORE POWERFUL. SINCE 10-MINUTE BEDS WERE MORE READILY AVAILABLE, RPTR STARTED USING 10-MINUTE BEDS. ON RPTR'S FINAL VISIT, RPTR WAS TOLD THAT 10-MINUTE BEDS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME BECAUSE THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING CONVERTED TO 20-MINUTE BEDS. RPTR ASKED WHAT THAT CONVERSION ENTAILED, THINKING THAT THEY WERE CHANGING LIGHTS IN BEDS TO ADJUST VOLTAGE DOWNWARD. MGR TOLD RPTR THAT ALL THEY WERE DOING WAS INSTALLING NEW TIMERS IN 10-MINUTE BEDS. THE PREVIOUS TIMERS, HE SAID, WERE ABLE TO BE SET FOR ONLY 10 MINUTES AT A TIME. NEW TIMERS WOULD ALLOW UP TO 20 MINUTES OF TANNING IN WHAT HAD BEEN 10-MINUTE MAXIMUM BEDS. RPTR SAID "SO THE BED THAT I'VE BEEN TANNING IN FOR 10 MINUTES AT A TIME, I CAN NOW GO INTO FOR UP TO 20 MINUTES?" "YES, THAT'S CORRECT," RPTR SAID. "AND BURN THE HECK OUT OF MYSELF?" "WELL, YES, IT COULD HAPPEN."