The New Normal: Treating Clients in a Post-COVID-19 World

By Prestige Media Team
April 21, 2020

We’re all looking forward to re-opening for business and getting back to normal, right? Not so fast. Things have changed—and in a big way. The new normal is likely to be a lot different from the old one. There are new variables to anticipate, new challenges to address. Don’t believe it? Ah-CHOO! Your client sneezes during treatment. Or perhaps even worse, you do. What will your client think? How do you react? Do you need to immediately stop the session and sanitize the entire treatment room? Yep, like we said, everything has changed. So let’s take a moment and consider some steps you can take to prepare yourself and your business for life in a Post-Covid-19 world.

 

 

 

Booking and Confirming Appointments

As you reach out to clients—or they contact you—be sure to inquire about their health. Ask directly if they have recently experienced any of the symptoms of COVID-19 as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), including fever, cough or shortness of breath. If they have, insist on re-booking their appointment for a later date or touching base again in two or three days to see if the symptoms have subsided. Explain that you’re simply taking precautions to ensure the safety of ALL the clients you will come into contact with in the next several days. Also, consider dropping any cancellation or rebooking fees for clients who have communicated they have displayed symptoms associated with COVID-19. 

 

Your Reception and Waiting Area

First impressions are everything. Let clients know that you place the highest priority on providing a safe treatment experience from the moment they walk in your door by doing the following:

1. Make sure your area looks and smells clean and tidy. Be sure it also remains that way after every client visit. An unkept or off-smelling waiting area may lead clients to assume you aren’t meticulous about cleanliness in other aspects of your treatment as well.

2. Post a notice outlining the steps you are taking to ensure a safe, sanitary treatment experience. Even a simple printout will do. This doesn’t just help put their mind at ease, it also sets expectations for their behavior in your workspace as well. Also, keep hand sanitizer or wipes in conspicuous areas around your waiting and treatment rooms. This will further encourage clients to follow healthy practices.

3. Take time now to consider your waiting area and treatment policies and protocols. Ask yourself the following questions:

a. How many people are you comfortable having in your waiting area at any one time? Are you okay with friends/drivers remaining in your waiting area during your client’s session? Are you leaving enough time between appointments to prevent crowding in your waiting area?

b. Will you require people in your waiting area to wear face masks? If so, will you require that they bring their own or will you provide/sell them? 

c. What will you say to a client who arrives for treatment and does not appear to be fully healthy? 

4. Outline your procedure for keeping your waiting room clean and sanitized, especially if this duty is delegated to an employee.

a. Make sure to clean all surfaces PRIOR to spraying them with a registered disinfectant. After the disinfectant is applied, be sure to leave surfaces WET for the full contact time listed on the label. Paper towels can be used to wipe surfaces but be sure to toss them in a closed canister afterward.

b. Pay extra attention to cleaning surfaces that are regularly contacted by clients and/or employees: door handles, TV remotes, pump handle on hand sanitizer bottles, etc.

 

Your Treatment Room

Obviously, it’s essential that your treatment area remains extremely clean and sanitary at all times. Ensure this by doing the following:

1. Clean FIRST. Then disinfect. Make this TWO-STEP PROCESS a habit. Cleaning surfaces first using detergent or soap and water removes dirt, infectious agents and other gunk. This allows the disinfectant to then, well, disinfect. Speaking of disinfectants, make sure you use a registered brand and allow treated surfaces to remain wet for the amount of time recommended on the label.

2. Pay special attention to surfaces touched frequently: door handles, light switches, tables, sinks and faucet handles, phones, keyboards, epilators, autoclaves, sterilizers, treatment tables, stools, lamp/magnifiers, loupes and more.

a. Note: Be careful using wipes or sprays on lamps and magnifiers as some have a delicate surface paint applied to them. It’s recommended that you only wash these with soap and water and that you handle these only with a barrier film or cloth during treatment.

b. Consider using barrier film or other coverings to keep all equipment in the treatment area covered when not being used.

3. Remember to clean the bottles of product you use to clean your treatment areas! Use the same two-step process: clean first, then disinfect.

4. Obviously, all linens that could even potentially come into contact with clients should be changed after every session. Place all used linens in a closed hamper or directly into a washing machine, then immediately transfer them into a dryer after washing. Treatment table paper and disposable fitted sheets/headrests/drapes make clean-up faster. All of these should be discarded into a closed container after usage.

 

YOU!

Yes, you! Now that your workspace is ready for clients, make sure you are too. Obviously, wearing gloves is a given but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also constantly properly wash your hands—use soap and water for a full 20 seconds. Only use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol by volume and make sure your hands stay wet for at least 15 seconds. As always, uniform and lab coats should be washed nightly. These measures are nothing new. But the following are some things that may warrant extra consideration:

1. Are you concerned about your own health and want to wear a mask so your client won’t have to? If so, you have several to choose from. You’re likely familiar with the N95 masks used by medical professionals. These masks are form-fitting and better designed to filter out harmful particles. However, they’re also expensive and can make breathing difficult. Another option is the general surgical mask or earloop facemask. These masks provide a physical barrier but, because they are not form-fitting, are not as reliable for preventing inhalation of all air particles. Both types are single-usage only, meaning once they are removed or handled they are considered contaminated and should be changed.

2. Even if you decide to wear a mask, there is also your client to consider. What happens if they sneeze or cough during treatment? Well, for starters, particles they expel may linger in the air of your treatment room for up to three hours! That means you have some serious protocols to consider after such an event. Obviously, you’ll want to thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces. But you may also want to keep the area clear for those three hours before doing so, allowing particles in the area to settle first. One option to consider is requiring your clients to wear a mask during treatment. If this is the route you choose, will you provide them the mask as part of their treatment or add the item to their treatment fees? Will you allow them to bring their own cloth mask and run the risk that it hasn’t been properly or recently washed? These are things to think about now so they don’t become issues later.     

 

Things have changed. That’s just the reality. The good news is you still have time to think about how you are going to respond to these changes in a way that works best for you and your clients. We’re all different. We all have different comfort levels. That’s okay. But do take some time now—before you welcome clients back into your treatment space—to consider the policies and practices you want to implement to deal with the challenges of treatment in this different new world. If you have to make changes later, that’s okay too. None of us have had to deal with any of this before—and we’re all in it together! 

 

 

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