At the beginning of 2020, like so many of us, Steve Plattner was optimistic. The owner of six Massage Envy locations in the Tampa Bay area, Plattner was seeing customers flock to his businesses. “We had a strong 2019, and 2020 was likewise getting off to a strong start,” Plattner said. “We went from that to shutting the business down on March 18.”
From restaurants to hotels to gyms, businesses in all industries are finding ways to get through the crisis, bounce back, and alter their processes to continue to serve their clients. Plattner’s six stores reopened in May, and he says they are seeing more and more clients return each week. Their employees were ready to come back to work and their clients are booking massage and facial appointments because they can see that the business is taking extensive precautions to keep everyone safe.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” Plattner said.
Massage Envy employees are doing temperature checks, asking the standard questions about contacts and travel. Service providers are all wearing masks. Each room is fully stocked with hand sanitizer and disinfectant. And between clients, employees are disinfecting all surfaces, changing sheets, and washing hands.
During the months when his locations were closed, Plattner couldn’t just pause and wait for them to reopen. While his management team worked tirelessly on operations; Plattner and Ron Wuchko, his business partner, worked hard behind the scenes to keep the financial side in order. “We are being very conservative with our spending and watching the bottom line carefully,” he said. “I have been very pleased with the government’s response and support, with the PPP and EIDL programs. And Spoor Bunch Franz has done a fantastic job in helping us figure out all the rules and regulations.”
It’s now clear that the COVID-19 crisis is far from over, and that the survival of local businesses depends on how well they find ways to operate through the crisis. Having the mindset that you will make it work is key, Plattner said.
It’s clear that Massage Envy is adapting well. “The nature of our business is health and wellness, and what we ended up doing, from a health and wellness perspective, these things were already baked into our business,” Plattner said. “This just required us to raise the bar and pay even more attention.”