Beauty Spa Industry

They operate 3 chains; Lucky Plaza; RoxyRosyare 2; and the AdelDelphiTouch, relocated to China Square Centre from Chinatown Point, offers aciasocials body treatments, including Topical MesoMesosphere’s interviewed MariMarianne, Beauty Director. City Hall Face and Body Care, located at the basement of The AdelDelphifers facials and body treatments. We interviewed X, owner and main beautician. After research, the group analanalyses identified ethical issues from 3 perspectives: Business, Government and Society, before providing evaluations on their ethiethically acceptability.

Overview Low barriers of entry have made the beauty industry increasingly saturated, encouraging aggressive pricing and marketing strategies. Spas often offer lower prices for products and service to compete. It is common to find different companies charging conspicuously different prices for products of strikingly similar descriptions. Through our talks with a number of spas, one 9 concern they resonated is quality compromise of products sold or used in treatments by competitors charging lower prices. Our group is concerned that given product parallels, expectations of the same product quality would be unmatched by the firms.

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With beauty products, quality is the ability to provide physiological benefits. Reduced prices here refer to both romoruminationces and real prices masquerading as promotions. Hence, not disclosing the compromise in quality seems unethical since information of products used is not fully given. Government View Beauty Spas are not under any direct governmental regulation. In relation to the issue, the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (CPFTCAPITAates that an unfair practice is “representing that goods and services are of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, model, origin or method of manufacture if they are not. 10 The issue we pointed out is difficult to define as illegal until misrepresentation has occurred, which ouldloudisolated to better study its crux – matching price and quality relationship Ethics EthiEthicsdefined as the conception of right and wrong conduct. Though similar to laws in that both define proper and improper behabehaviorhics frequently go beyond the meanings given to legal rules. Because laws cannot always define proper action, what is ethical or unethical can still be legal behabehavior this report, we will be investigating if firms in the Beauty Spa industry have compromised on ethics for monetary gains..

Business View According to Madam X from City Hall Face & Body Care low prices are introduced to ttraattracte customers. She also mentioned that the onus is on the consumer to be aware of the good they are purchasing and that they usually expect “a difference in quality’. MariMarinaauty director of De Touch informed us that it is not unreasonable to use a cheaper product or leftover material and highlighted that the difference is not major. Face of Man informed us that their low price for “first-time customers” attempts to attract new customers and after the first treatment, charges will be as usual.

Like some spas, they think undercutting portends poor business hoichoochn high overheads already squeeze profit margins. Stakeholders “Stakeholders” are persons or groups that affect or are affected by a firm’s decision, operations, policies and actions. In this report we consider customers as primary stakeholders and government, the general public, concerned groups (such as watchdog organizations) and other Beauty Spas as secondary stakeholders. Issue One: Failure to inform customers of compromised quality in products when prices are reduced 8 Anne T.

Lawrence, James Weber (2008) Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethic, Public Policy, 12th edition, p. 130 9 0 Refer to Appendix A4 aAAA A5 RAAAer to Appendix Dl SDelietal View Prospective customers of beauty spas offering price cuts range from those who are experienced in 11 visiting beauty spas to those who are oblivious to 12 tactics that spas employ . The former group seeks advice and recommendations through friends or reading of online reviews, steering clear of beauty spas offering promotions that have unreasonable trade-offs. The latter group feels cheated after seeing the poor products when such promotions are offered.

Left in the hands of spa therapists lying prone, customers are vulnerable during reatretirementen pressured at this point, they may make purchases they would otherwise not under normal conditions. It is also reasonable to assume that part of the transaction for a beauty treatment is a stress-free and relaxed environment. Hence, firms allowing beauticians to make a sales pitch during treatments seem unethical. According to the CPFTCAPITA is unfair to take advantage of a consumer if the consumer is not in a 13 position to protect his or her own interests .

Under the 14 Unfair Contract Terms Act , consumers are also able to set aside the contract if found guilty f coercion, including actual or threatened harm to a person or his or her economic interests, like “barring customers from leaving the premises”1 5. According to Ms. FongFondSLie,Shih associate with Norton Rose, hard selling is difficult to define. This practice toes the line of illegality. Evaluation Both doctors concur that low prices usually indicate lower quality; customers are shortchanged. However, topical products are limited in their efficacy, as pointed out by Dr.

Wu. Wwwnce, customers may not be at the shorter receiving end if treatments cannot deliver much physiological improvements in the first place. Moreover, the quality of beauty products, before and after use, cannot be Judged easily. SavvSavvysumers, are wary and used to such tactics and find it acceptable. In contrast, the tactics are unacceptable to first-time customers, as they expect promotions to be marketing strategies to convince them of future visits. With experience, they would be conditioned to adopt the same level of acceptability as the savvy customers.

Being acceptable does not make it ethical though. Even if cost price and true quality are understandably not revealed in transactions, firms are unethical if they intentionally horthearthstoneproduct quality, as the premise of discounts is that a lower-than- usual price is charged. Thus, it is also unprofessional of beauty spa to engage in such pricing strategies. Customers, as buyers at their discretion, could only exercise caution when price anomalies are present. Most businesses interviewed admit to advising clients on products and services while administering treatment.

They deem it harmless to recommend additional procedures during treatments as a complement for better results. A parallel case would be, a sommelier recommending a bottle of wine to go with your meal. This practice seems to be customer-oriented and provides value-added service to customers. Firms we interviewed claim to not force their clients to commit to the products or additional services; however, this practice is inherently encouraged by the commission-based wages. Being subjected to hard selling during treatment is intuitively disliked.