Should You Allow Minors To Tan At Your Salon?
February 23, 2008 – 3:29 amShould you allow minors to tan at your salon? This is very likely going to be an issue that will come up. It is important that you give it some careful consideration. There are more and more teenagers out there turning to tanning salons to help them look great. They may want some color daily or for some occasion that is coming up such as a school dance or a vacation.
In some areas there are laws against minors tanning without they consent of their parent or guardian. It may be 16 or it may 18 years of age that they have to be to do so on their own. If there are no such laws in your area then it is up to you to set the policies and procedures for your tanning salon.
Most tanning salons find that this is a huge market to appeal to though. They definitely don’t want to prevent them from coming in to tan. Teenagers are also the primary group that tends to tan all year long. Since winter time is so slow for many tanning salons this is a good way to have a steady flow of traffic. Of course most of it in the winter will be in the afternoon hours due to school.
Should you decide it is a good idea to allow minors to tan at your salon, you should have the parent or guardian come in to sign a release. This way you can be sure the minor does have their permission to come in. They can be very smart about forging permission slips. It is much harder to get an adult to pretend to be their parent or guardian in person.
If you are worried that the consent form will turn people away, don’t be. Most parents don’t mind at all if their children go to a tanning salon. They may help them to cover the cost of it. They may also want to sign themselves up for the services as well. You can encourage this by offering a discount at the time when they come it to sign the release form.
It is important for minors and for their parents to understand the risks involved with tanning though. Skin cancer is possible and the age of people getting diagnosed with it is younger and younger all the time. If they are willing to take that risk that is fine, but it is your responsibly to make sure they know about it.
Make sure the teenagers are taking responsibility as well though. They need to sign the release form as well. This should only be done once they have read all of the information you provided. You want to make sure you aren’t held liable for any issues that come up so this should be a priority.
With the trend of teenagers using tanning salons, this is a corner of the market you don’t want to forget to appeal to. Make sure they know the rules of your salon though so they won’t be irresponsible. They need to show up on time for their appointments or call to reschedule. They also need to use the equipment only as it is designed. Make sure they know they can ask you about any questions they may have.
Tags: Small Business
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