Before a new True REST Float Spa opens to the public, there’s a week of soft launch for working the kinks out and training the staff. This “friends and family” float time gives us valuable feedback on how we can improve from people who care enough to offer it.
I floated last Friday as part of the soft launch of the new Scottsdale spa. For this visit, the team was doing a simulation of what the float experience would be for a first-time floater. The first-time experience is incredibly important, because most people come in with lots of questions and little knowledge of what to expect.
Sometimes they are even a bit fearful of just floating on their backs for an hour: “Will I really be able to float?” “Will I be claustrophobic?” “Is the water clean?”
1 of the Pod Suites at True REST Scottsdale
My other floats had been at the True REST corporate showroom, so I really had no idea what the customer experience was like for a “real” customer.
I needn’t have worried; when I walked into True REST Scottsdale I was immediately greeted by a smiling face ready to explain everything to me. First I was asked to take my street shoes off and put them in a cubby, and I was given a pair of flipflops. I filled out the information form and the waiver, and then was guided into the relaxation room, softly lit with a wall-mounted TV playing a video that answers most of the frequently asked questions and allows you to start tuning out your day and coming into the spa experience.
I was also given a tour of the spa before I began my float. And then I was told how to put the ear plugs in (while dry) and where to hang my clothes while I showered and floated and showered again.
Once I got into my private room and showered to begin my float I realized how much attention True REST actually pays to cleanliness. The pods are thoroughly purified with both ozone and UV filtration multiple times between each float. As the person who led my tour explained, this may be a worry people have about public bodies of water, but here it’s completely unfounded. The water in a Float Pod may be the most pristine you’ve ever been in.
When you lay down in the pod, it is completely clean for you, and at the end of your float if you don’t come out when the music stops, you are likely to be part of the cleaning process as the pod gets ready for the next floater.
The most important part of any spa experience is the training of the staff. Even though this was a new store, the staff was highly trained and able to make me feel comfortable –even though I was looking for things to criticize. Of course after you get finished floating, treat yourself to the Oxygen Bar before you leave!
