Observation Notes

Saturday January 30th, 2009:
Notes:
Structure: Gold walls, blue chairs (leather/vinyl), flat screen televisions (steps for spray on tan, men and women in swimsuits, talks about safety and instant results), lotion selection on wall, central greeting counter, photos (big, on walls, mostly women), Contemporary, very clean (sterile), two hallways (one with super tanning beds the other with regular (all numbered)), white tile floors, finger swipe access, two visible beds in the front (most expensive), magazines and soda machine
Questions: Do people want to tan in a place that is welcoming? Does it matter that there are big comfy chairs to sit in or do most people just want to get in and out? Are the pictures motivations for customers to think that “they could look just like the models”? Is there a behind the scenes that we don’t see in terms of cleaning? Actually how clean is the tanning bed after they sterilize it?
Audience: Within one hour ten women and one man, all young between the ages of 17-25, staff greets them (asks them for their name, if they need to buy lotion, how long they want to tan, finger swipe, room number), speak with slang terms only familiar to those who visit frequently, most people do not look tan at all or they look like they have leather skin
Questions: Do those who come to PBT want the entire experience? From the greeting to the amenities to the farewell? Why do these people come here? Just to tan? For endorphins? For sunlight when it is a cloudy day?
Tanning Room: Hard plastic blue chair, goggles, towel, “we appreciate your business” sign, UV level warnings from the state of Texas, shelf, hooks to hang clothes, tanning bed, fan, music playing (personal choice/ 6 channels)
Back of store: sterilizing buckets for goggles, washers and dryers for cleaning of the towels, hair ties, hair spray, deodorant, bathrooms
Annotated Version:
The environment of Palm Beach Tan is comfortable and inviting. The gold walls begin to give you a sense of warmth when you walk into the store and the contrast of the blue chairs brings life to the space. Palm Beach Tan is an important place in the community because it is often visited by college students and with its convenient location; it is very accessible to those who don’t even have a car, expending their ability to attract a diverse client base. The cleanliness of the store is also not something you often see in the tanning bed chain industry and that is what sets apart PBT from the others. The flat screen televisions playing videos of picture-perfect models tanning at PBT makes the average audience swoon for the chance to be exactly like them. The main pressure from society behind being thin, for women, is being tan. Entering the space and seeing these beautiful women who both work behind the counter and that are plastered on the walls definitely seals the idea into individual’s heads. Most of those entering the store were women in their early twenties, with an exception to some older men in their 30’s or 40’s. Does this mean that older women do not feel the need to tan? Or is it just that they come at a different time in the week other than a Saturday afternoon?
The staff is a completely different story at Palm Beach Tan. Normally there are not many jobs when being attractive is a requirement, but that is not true if you were looking for a job here. All of the staff that I saw was female and they all had piles of make up on their faces. They were also al, you guessed, incredibly and almost sickening tan. They greet you with a smile and take you through the process of swiping your finger and telling them how long you would like to tan for. The jargon they use, however would not be easily understood by someone who has never been to a tanning salon. That also makes the space special because anyone could walk into the store but only select people would actually understand what was going on.
The way the store is set up also is interesting because they have the central counter with all of the expensive lotion displayed behind it. The central counter is where one checks in and buys lotion and swipes their finger for access. The waiting area is very comfortable with magazines and a soda machine for convenience for those who have to wait for the next available bed. It is also important to note that on either side of the counter, one can find one of the most expensive tanning beds to use. They obviously makes these beds visible in order to persuade clients to switch to a higher level bed, incurring a greater cost.
Sunday February 1st, 2009
Notes:
Audience: More college kids today, no men at all, all of them are already members (none have to set up a new membership), most are in a hurry, most are wearing sneakers and Nike shorts (it looks like they just worked out), the location of PBT seems very convenient, not as busy, still no adults or people over 30
Structure: The slogan “Life needs color all year long”, “Become a premier member today!”, the option of sunless tanning (How many actually chose this choice?), free upgrade signs all around the store, a brochure with statistics says that 30 million people in North America in 2006, 75% of them women, turned to tanning salons
Other: PBT claims to be the best tanning salon because of their cleanliness and customer satisfaction, they say they care about their clients skin types and care
Annotated Version:
On this visit I actually tanned, instead of just observed and it was a much different experience. Once you enter the room with the tanning bed there is a hard plastic chair, a shelf and hooks for an individual’s clothes. It is an uncomfortable and sterile room in which one does not want to spend time in unless tanning, it is not a room built for comfort, but for purpose. The tanning room also gives you the option of blaring music of your choice. This is also something that makes PBT special because it gives each person who visits the chance to listen to their own music while they tan. The tanning process is at most 20 minutes and it is an odd experience for someone who has never tanned before. To be put into a small warm box and cook for twenty minutes is not most people’s idea of relaxing, however to those who tan frequently, it is a very rejuvenating experience. For some people it is the heat of tanning that brings actual warmth or it is the endorphins that arise when being exposed to artificial light. Maybe for some it is even a nice experience to have during a lunch break in order to relax.
The slogans that are all over Palm Beach Tan would definitely encourage, or even manipulate an individual into thinking they need to come back and tan more. It is obvious by the statistic that tanning is an increasing pastime for the younger generations, but whether it is a healthy one has yet to be determined.