Customers left with tough choice after local tanning salons close

None of us expects our favorite business to go out of business. But that's what happened to two local tanning salons, leaving customers with only one challenging option.

The situation leaves Lori Lidstrom between a rock and a hard space. In late June, when real sun was nowhere to be found, she paid $157 for 25 tanning sessions at Designer Tan in Dupont.

"I thought I was getting a pretty good deal," Lidstrom said.

Lori says she used 5 tanning sessions right away, then her schedule got busy with other things.

"I went back about a month later to use them again, and they were gone," she said.
   
The Designer Tan salon she'd been using is now Seattle Suntan. When I stopped in, I learned the new company purchased two of Designer Tan's three business operation -- the one in Dupont, and one in Sumner.  Designer Tan's owner sites the tough economy as the reason behind the sale. She posted a regretful notice on the company website.  And here's the dilemma for customers in Sumner and Dupont:  The only remaining Designer Tan location  where customers can use their pre-paid tanning packages- is in Redmond, nearly 60 miles away.

"Well, I wasn't expecting them to tell me to go to Redmond, being that I live in Graham and I work here in Dupont," Lidstrom said.

Ironically, Lori Lidstrom works at the Better Business Bureau where she filed a complaint.

By phone, Designer Tan owner Kris Zigman told me feels terrible about the situation and feels for her customers, but the economy just couldn't support keeping 3 tanning salons in operation. She emailed me the following statement:
  
"We were saddened to have to close the doors to our salons in DuPont and Sumner.  It has been a difficult economy for all small businesses.  The tanning industry has been hit harder than most with the additional burden of a tanning tax and publicity regarding some health concerns of tanning.  As a small business, the best that we could do to serve our customers was to keep the Redmond salon open and available to all of our customers.  We realize that this may be an inconvenience for those in the closed locations but it is our only option.  We will not be closing our doors at the Redmond location."

Zigman encourages Pierce County customers to call the Redmond location and get documentation of their packages- to try to continue their tanning sessions with the new company in Pierce County, if that new company is willing.  

This is just the latest example of why you should use caution when paying in advance for package deals that include a large number of services which you can use down the line. Contrary to what you may assume, you do not have the right to a refund when a retailer goes out of business.  When you pay for services in advance, whether it's tanning, or oil changes-  minimize the number of services you pay for and use them right away, because that deal is only as good as the financial stability of the business. There are no guarantees.