Reference:

http://www.skininc.com/spabusiness/management/customerservice/1
7970329.html

A Case Study: Kohler Waters Spa

By Cathy Christensen

Posted: April 21, 2008, from the October 2007 issue of Skin Inc.
Magazine.

“The corporation and each associate have the mission of contributing to a

higher level of gracious living for those
who are touched by our products and services. Gracious living is marked
by qualities of charm, good taste and generosity
of spirit. It is further characterized by self-fulfillment and the enhancement
of nature. We reflect this mission in our work, in our team approach to
meeting objectives, and in each of the products and services we provide
our customers.”
—Kohler Company mission statement

Within the quiet, green fertile valleys of Wisconsin lies a quaint, nostalgic
village that time seems to have ignored. Instead of the trappings of an
organized olden days festival, however, Kohler, Wisconsin, very much
embraces current technology while maintaining the personality of a simpler,
friendlier time.
The town itself grew from the immigrants who worked at the Kohler
Company factory, which was opened in 1873, in the midst of an economic
depression, by founder John Michael Kohler, an Austrian immigrant. After
applying a baked enamel coating to a horse trough/hog scalder created by
the company, Kohler realized that he had developed the company’s first
bathtub. Hence, the Kohler legacy began.
More than 100 years later, the company began offering hospitality
ventures as ancillary products. Starting with resorts, such as The American
Club and The Carriage House in Kohler itself, it soon expanded to include
The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews, Scotland. Looking to develop its
reach even more, the Kohler Company followed the connection between its
emphasis on water, graciousness, hospitality and the spa lifestyle, and on
December 18, 2000, Kohler Waters Spa was opened, embodying all of the
qualities subscribed to by the rest of the company in a spa environment.
 Since 2003, Kohler Waters Spa has been recognized by the travel
industry leaders, such as Condé Nast Traveller, Travel + Leisure and Mobil
Travel Guide, as a top destination spa nestled snugly among the bevy of
spas located in glamorous and coastal regions.

Location
In an industry that relies heavily on the benefits of location, Kohler
Waters Spa has overcome the challenges offered by its remote Midwestern
setting. According to Jean Kolb, spa director, the Wisconsin location does
present a problem, but it is one the company continuously works to tackle.
“The large majority of our market is from Chicago, so we let guests know
they don’t have to get on a plane to get here. Even the drive here is
relaxing,” she says.
The spa markets its Americana location as a small, friendly village that
offers top-quality furnishings and treatments. “You have to work with your
department of tourism to make sure that dollars are being spent to bring
awareness to the types of resorts, facilities and hospitality we have here in
the Midwest,” says Kolb.
Kohler Waters Spa also has benefited from the advantages provided
by having a world-class resort and golf course on the property. Two highly
regarded 36-hole golf courses—Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits—bring
much attention to the middle of Wisconsin. In 2004, the flagship Straits
Course at Whistling Straits hosted the 86th PGA Championship, and a U.S.
Senior Open Championship was held at the course during the
Independence Day weekend this year. “They may come for the golf and
stay for the spa. The individual sectors of the business support each other
and one positively affects the other,” explains Kolb.
Although Kohler doesn’t have mountains or oceanfront beaches, Kolb
paints an irresistible picture of the village during the year’s colder months.
“In the middle of winter we have a million white twinkling lights on all the
trees, and horse-drawn carriages travel through the village so you hear
clip-clopping going on until 10 PM each evening. And the very best place to
be when it is snowing those big fluffy white flakes is in this wonderful,
warm, yellow spa; it’s fabulous. We have a lot to offer,” she says.

Spa menu development

Many of the unique and successful aspects of Kohler Waters Spa lie
within its internal structure, not its external one. One of the most
challenging and necessary components to running a spa business is the
creation and maintenance of a menu, and Kohler takes an interesting
initiative in creating its offerings.
Unlike many spas that consider this task to be a responsibility of
management alone, Kohler Waters Spa takes the unusual approach of
making it a voluntary venture for management and treatment professionals
alike. According to Kolb, “We have a development committee, and we also
work very closely with the company’s plumbing engineers because of all of
this technology that puts together beautiful products that are ergonomically
good for the body.”
Because the plumbing products are typically designed and created for
about two to four years in the future, this collaboration allows the spa to
know what is on the horizon, and, conversely, the plumbing division learns
from the spa what clients are requesting.
When choosing and developing treatments, the use of water and
appealing to the senses are the details that matter the most to the spa.
“During our menu development, we try to incorporate as many senses as
we possibly can,” says Kolb. “If we incorporate all five senses into a
treatment, it is a home run.”
Of course, water is always considered when thinking of treatments as
well. “A non-negotiable is every single year we come out with a new
innovative water treatment, because that is what we hang our hats on at
the end of the day,” says Kolb, who also states that the spa has a higher-
than-average water-based service business, constituting about 15–16% of
the treatments.
Taking these requirements into consideration, the team of volunteer
menu planners gets together to identify the therapeutic benefits they would
like to obtain and how they can be accomplished, while also mulling over
interesting or unique aspects to include, and, above all, how to make it
Kohler. The annual process begins in August and the menu is finalized by
the end of January. After extensive training, the menu is debuted by May 1
each year.

Customer service and team building

It is evident through the inclusion of treatment professionals in the spa
menu development process that this spa sees things a bit differently when
it comes to its team members. Because of the Kohler Company’s general
emphasis on graciousness, Kohler Waters Spa works to build and nurture a
team that is able to provide this attitude to its clients in all aspects of its
business. This is no more evident than in its hospitality ventures.
According to Kolb, “Our level of service doesn’t deviate depending
upon where you are within the resort. We are gracious to customers and do
whatever it takes to make sure they want to come back. We talk about
hospitality by design, and it’s not something that just happens—it’s
something you work for and design to reach.” The motto at the The
American Club and Kohler Waters Spa is “Stop, drop and greet,” whether it
is for a guest or a fellow co-worker. “We have to be gracious with each
other in order to be gracious with the guest,” explains Kolb.
This utopian method of building a business requires a very special kind
of person, and the interview process to fill positions within Kohler differs
from many others. Instead of hiring based upon past experience, the way
candidates present themselves is the most important factor here. “It’s their
smile, eye contact and reason for wanting to work here. If they talk about
benefits and good money, it might not work. It has to come from within—
that part is not trainable. You look for it immediately in the nonverbals. Our
human resources department will screen people based on how much they
smile and look at you,” explains Kolb.
Before a new hire even sets foot upon the Kohler property, they must
attend orientation. There, employees are educated about the resort and its
quality expectations. A continuous discussion takes place about the
company’s mission and the meaning of personal service. The training and
education doesn’t stop there, however.
Once the team member is in place within the spa, there is a meeting
every Friday morning that often involves role-playing and discussions about
hospitality, positive attitudes and engaging with other human beings.
Another feature of the Friday meeting is a focus on a specific value, such
as “fail forward faster,” which encourages team members to make mistakes
because the sooner they do, the sooner they will learn. “All the technical is
trainable,” states Kolb. “You can have experienced staff members who do
not connect, and that leaves the client feeling like nothing.”
Another point of focus for Kohler Waters Spa team members is
continuing education. According to Kolb, “If someone wants to learn, as an
employer, it is the company’s responsibility to find ways for them to learn.”
These include providing a dollar amount for each employee to spend
toward continuing education credits. The staff also is encouraged to attend
industry conventions and conferences, and Kohler management often
brings outside experts to the spa to train the team in a new modality or a
business topic, such as customer service.
Because of the emphasis on team members and customer service,
Kohler Waters Spa experiences very low turnover, and it if someone does
leave, it is often a result of life circumstances, not displeasure with the
working environment.
Spa cuisine and consumables
Kohler Waters Spa sees food and drink as an expansion upon the spa
experience. Because of this, it places an emphasis on providing food that is
prepared as healthfully as possible without compromising integrity or taste.
“We have a policy not of deprivation, but moderation, so that people have
choices,” explains Kolb. Not only does the provided lunch menu feature a
variety of small, light entrees to fit the spa experience, but the facility also
works with the other nine restaurants owned by Kohler, each of which
features spa cuisine options.
Also available within the spa are a variety of snacks and beverages to
help replenish guests’ energy during a day of pampering. “You need to
surprise people, and they need to be nourished while they are in the spa.
This is the kind of detail where you can make a point of differentiation,”
says Kolb. “We have little bars that are homemade by a woman in Kohler,
and we change that offering every quarter. We offer seasonal juices to go
with the snacks.” Also available within the spa are teas, as well as an
energy snack mix for those with minimal time to replenish themselves.
Kolb recommends using anything indigenous in your area to your
advantage. “It just makes it more special. That’s why we have butter yellow
on our walls. Doesn’t it make you feel good? Doesn’t it make you feel like
you are in a spa in Wisconsin? People love our yellow. They equate it to
the Kohler Waters Spa.”

Serve others and make a profit

Although Kolb concedes that it is still a corporate structure and money
has to made, she insists that there are different ways to be successful.
“Here at the spa, we talk about how we are in the business to serve others
and make a profit; we are not in the business to make a profit by serving
others. Our intention is to serve others and, at the end of the day, we reap
the profits,” Kolb says.
In order to do this, it all comes back to the people. According to Kolb, “We
really value our staff. We have a beautiful spa here, but it means nothing
without them. It’s like having your body as a vessel, and not having any
breath or life in it. They are what make us tick.”