Table of Contents
Glicken is a Yiddish word that roughly translates to “the icing on the cake.” It’s about 
those benefits and rewards that have no monetary value. They make our lives much richer and the spa industry is full of them. This is a good time of year to take a few minutes and appreciate your glicken. What are your benefits and rewards?
It’s also a good time to enhance your guest experience with some glicken.
In the spa and wellness industry, we really have it sweet. People pay us to help them. We help them look better, feel better, reduce stress, and relax.
We create positive change in people’s lives every day. One client at a time we make lives better. Looking better makes them feel better about themselves. Improves their self-image and self-confidence. The experience reduces their stress. Reduced stress improves health and wellness.
The beauty side…hair, makeup, and nails give clients an immediate positive lift. They sit a little taller, smile more and it is clear they feel better about themselves. Hair removal and deep relaxation offer their own immediate results. And when a client gets a compliment on how great her skin looks, she thinks of the person who helped her look that way.
When we make lives better, make people feel better, they leave with a smile. That smile is a gift that keeps on giving. The people they meet get a benefit when greeted with a smile.
Most of us never pause to think about the depth to which we affect those we interact with. We smile that we made them happier. That smile triggers our own endorphins and makes us feel happier. It’s that warm glowing feeling. The beauty of it is the more we give, the more we get in return. A win-win combination for our clients and us.
If we add a little something extra, something unexpected, the glicken quotient ramps up. Our guest connects with us more strongly. Beyond “I got a great treatment”, an emotional connection happens. A bond builds. It works both ways. We give and we receive.
In a spa setting, it might be that piece of chocolate set out for the client next to her glass of water. It might be welcoming them with a glass of champagne or cup of herbal tea. It might be a dry scalp massage while the client is masking... or to start the treatment in a de-stressing manner.
Maybe it is finishing the treatment with a quick five-minute makeup refresh. It doesn’t need to involve financial outlay. It doesn’t need to take a long time. Just some little extra bonus.
Many people like to buy little thank you gifts to hand out during the holidays. What would you rather receive? A trinket? Or a gift of time, self? Something directly from you to them. A gift of self is powerful. It is rewarding for both of you.
At the local bank, I’ve noted each teller has a little sign next to their station stating how they give back to the community. People like to do business with people who help locally. Take this concept and make it yours. How can your business give back to your community?
Get rewarded for doing what you love – helping others. What is your passion? What matters to you? Is it children? The homeless? Women in transition? Those challenged by cancer? Fundraising for a local need? Working to save the environment? It’s all good.
Every time you give, you share, you help, and you get those good endorphins going. Without anyone ever saying a word, you know. You can feel the glicken to your bones.
If you are a sole practitioner, keep it simple. If you have family, is there a way you can all be involved? Make it a family team event.
In a larger facility, consider letting employees pick their own local involvement. Post what they do in a visible space where they work. You can also team together to do a larger annual in-clinic event. Glicken is good for the community… it’s good for the soul.
Judith Culp Pearson receives three top honors
at the annual Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals in
Ft. Worth, Texas - October 7-9, 2023
