In my opinion

It’s been a while! I never dreamt when I wrote my last blog post that two months would pass before I had a chance to provide an update on our law to spa journey! The time has flown by and we are just coming up for air now.

We opened on September 5^th and it has been quite a ride! There have been lots of challenges, a few missteps and many bugs and kinks to work out. But for the most part we feel as if our first eight weeks have been a huge success, considering the massive learning curve we have all been struggling to get over - Kate and I as much as anyone!

 
One thing that has come as a surprise is just how often people tell us what they think we should be doing. As lawyers, we are used to people consulting (and paying) us for our legal opinions. In the legal world, many letters, emails and conversations begin with the words, “In my opinion.” But we never imagined we would hear those words directed to us in the spa with such frequency.

Everyone has an opinion about what we should be doing, how we should be operating, what the staff should be wearing, what wine we should be serving and the list goes on and on. In almost every instance the opinions have been provided in a completely helpful manner, but a few have been complaints thinly veiled as “suggestions.”

Many of the recommendations have been welcomed and implemented to great success. Others have been immediately discarded, because even though Kate and I may be newbies to the spa industry, we didn’t get through law school without a healthy dose of common sense. Others have been put on the back burner until we have the chance to really sink our teeth into them and figure out how to incorporate them into our business model.

Of course, the problem with opinions, unsolicited or otherwise, is that the person offering up their advice rarely sees the big picture. So while an idea itself might be great, its application to our current situation could be disastrous. We often find ourselves justifying decisions to a variety of, for the most part, well-meaning people who have only seen a small glimpse of the big picture and who don’t know what the potential ramifications may be. Ultimately, Kate and I are the ones who have to make the final call on what we think is best for Infusion and as we’ve already discovered, it often involves difficult decisions.

But just because we don’t automatically take your suggestions and run with them, doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the thoughtful spirit in which they were offered. So keep them coming, we love to hear all the different ideas and perspectives. We are quite happy to be on the receiving end of the opinions for a change!