Perfect Touch Day Spa
2525 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth
817-870-3610
www.perfecttouchspa.com
Perfect Touch is an upscale day spa offering massage therapy, skin care treatments, cellulite treatments, hair removal and other spa services.
When Jeff Robinson opened Perfect Touch Day Spa off West Seventh Street in Fort Worth in 2002, massage was considered a special occasion activity. Today, with massage more mainstream, the spa is moving to a 7,500-square-foot space at 2525 Wiesenberger St. in the Foundry District on Jan. 30 to better serve it’s “very large, long-term customer base,” according to Robinson.
The locally owned and operated business has 37 employees and sees about 15 new customers a day, Robinson says. Perfect Touch Day Spa is a full-service day spa offering massage, skin care, nail care and airbrush tanning.
Massage is the spa’s most popular service, making up about half of the business, according to Robinson. Massages range from 25 to 55 minutes and vary in price. His client base has changed from special-occasion massage clients to those looking to reap the health benefits of massage.
“At one time spas were sort of special occasion, but now people have integrated spa treatments because of the health aspect of it primarily related to the reduction of stress,” Robinson said.
“When we first opened in 2002, in a lot of our information we talked about the benefits of massage –, that it lowers stress, it’s good for your circulation, it’s reduced inflammation. But really the key benefit is the lowering of stress,” Robinson said. “In 2002 a lot of people had to be convinced. Not everyone saw the connection between stress and health. Today, you have a shift in the way people think. I think you’d have a hard time finding somebody that didn’t believe stress affected health.”
Robinson says that while technology isn’t a bad thing the constant connection results in less down time for people, which the spa can provide.
“We’re connected all the time and coming into the day spa, whether it’s for a facial, a day at the spa, massage, it’s down time,” Robinson said. “You’re not on your phone. You’re in an environment for an hour, or five hours, where all the attention is on you and you’re relaxing and I think that is extremely healthy and something that people need more and more every day.”
The spa also brought couples massage to Fort Worth.
“It’s what we call our champagne couples massage. No one did couples massage in Fort Worth until 2003 when we started,” Robinson said. “We started it as a Valentine’s Day promotion and it was so popular we kept it on the menu ever since and it’s been a big part of our business. When we started we had one room [for couples massage], and in the new location we’ll actually have three rooms set up for couples. It’s super popular.”
He says the spa sees couples, friends and sisters alike use this service, offered for $140.
For Robinson, customer service is key because the spa charges clients per service as opposed to using a membership-based spa model. A one-hour massage at Perfect Touch is about $70. He said the spa is able to keep costs low for clients and compensate practitioners fairly by reducing overhead costs. He attributes his client base and practitioner retention to this model.
Robinson chose his business model because in 2002 the spa industry consisted of high-end spas or single practitioners with no place in the market catering to a middle clientele. “I felt like if we could offer a better price point, but a nice facility, that there was really a niche for people that would value that quality,” he said.
“Everybody knows a massage or spa treatment is nice and relaxing and it’s enjoyable, but if you get the price point where people can afford to come in once a month or once a week, then they can really start to incorporate the health benefits of massage into their life,” Robinson said. “The other side of that is we want people to be able to make a nice living at their trade.”
While the industry has changed, the mission of Perfect Touch Day Spa hasn’t.
“Our goal is when people walk out the door we want them to feel better than when they walked in the door,” Robinson said. “Sometimes people come in and you can see the stress, they’re still on their phone and they’re anxious. An hour, two hours later, it’s transformational. I don’t know how you quantify that for somebody, but it’s got to be good for them.”