Against my better judgement, I decided a couple of weeks ago to go to a tanning salon a few times. Just so my white legs won't blind anybody on the beach this spring & summer, of course. ;) I'd seen advertisements around for Ultra Tan that boasted only $19.95 per month. They don't make you sign a traditional contract, and you can cancel your "membership" at any time. So I figured, "Hey, I'll go a few times this month and then cancel. What's twenty bucks for a little boost in self-confidence?"
What's twenty bucks, indeed. I'll start by saying that by the time I left the salon that day, I was $85 poorer than when I went in.
What I really wanted to do was see if I could just pay for maybe five visits or so and not sign up for a recurring account. Immediately, the salesgirl pulled out a list of membership options. She pointed out the top option right away, saying that you really get the most for your money. That may be the case if you are tan-addicted and go multiple times a week and buy lots of products from them. This option is $49.95 per month, and you can use any of the beds they have. The options go on, decreasing in ten dollar increments, and *seriously* decreasing in value, in my opinion.
I couldn't see spending all that money on tanning, especially if I was only going to use it for maybe a month. So I went with the $19.95 option. The salesgirl was obviously not so happy about that. In addition to that, there was a $19.95 "membership fee" (I call bullshit!). THEN I got tricked with the lotions. The girl showed me six different options ("These are the ones that are on sale," she said. "Yeah, right," is what I now say.) for lotions, which they strongly encourage. She asked me which ones smelled best. I narrowed it down to four. Then I picked the three options that looked the cheapest. She told me the prices, and I had to pick my jaw up from the floor.
Anyway, I won't go into anymore detail about that part, because it's obviously my own fault for being a pansy and unable to say no. But I will say that there are both pros and cons of the $19.95 membership.
CONS:
*You cannot tan at any other location than the one where you signed up. Really not that big of a deal, honestly.
*You don't get "Ultra Bucks," which get you discounts on products and bed upgrades.
*You are allowed to tan in one bed only. The basic twenty-minute bed. Read: The really crappy bed that is small, hella uncomfortable, and doesn't give you an even tan whatsoever. (By the way, if you can stand the entire twenty minutes, you probably tan way too much. Just sayin'.)
PROS:
* ...unlimited tanning?
*clean facilities
Oh, and you CAN do bed upgrades, but you have to pay. On top of the $19.95 per month. Insert fist-shaking here.
So, Ultra Tan, I have a little advice for you. I'd much rather pay for this inexpensive package (without the stupid "membership fee," thank you very much) and have access to all the beds with a restricted number of sessions per month. This would be a much better option for so many people.
To be honest, I'm pretty sure this package is a ploy to get people addicted and make them want to buy a more expensive package. Not cool, Ultra Tan. Not cool. read more