Oasis Owners Know Customer Relaxation Is Key

Customer service from the moment you walk through the door to the moment you leave—that is the winning formula Bruce and Marti Schoenberg of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., have used to create the Oasis Day Spa. The formula’s success was just recognized by Westchester Magazine, which voted their Dobbs Ferry location “Best Spa in Westchester.”

“When we were thinking of opening a spa,” Marti Schoenberg said in a recent interview, “we realized, if you bend over backwards for your customers and keep your prices competitive, you should do well in business.”

It may seem counterintuitive in what is a customer service business, but as the couple  described it, most day spas were just handling each service individually with no attention to the overall feeling of a spa and relaxation.

Bruce Schoenberg noted that in the industry workers were dissatisfied. “What was really revealing was not only were customers frustrated, but so were those in the industry,” he said. “Massage therapists, for example, felt pressured to sell retail products. They could tell  the customers were uncomfortable with a hard sell approach, it detracted from their relaxing experience.””

Oasis was designed with comfort in mind. There is a relaxation room with candles, leather couches, and healthful snacks and beverages for those waiting for a treatment or those lounging after a treatment. At the Westchester spa, the Schoenbergs have also created a garden rooftop to allow guests to “enjoy a moment with nature,” Bruce said.

The couple added the Dobbs Ferry venue to their two Manhattan locations when they moved to Westchester in 2004. Their first Day Spa had already won New York Magazine’s “Best New Day Spa,” in 1999.

Bruce said they were surprised that spas in Westchester were still not customer service centric.

“New York City is such a competitive marketplace that you really need to be on your game or else you are not going to cut it,” Bruce said. “In Westchester, because there were so few spas they didn’t seem to make customer service their focus. They must have felt they had cornered that little marketplace and didn't remember the customer comes first.”

Armed with a mailing list of 40,000 Westchester residents who had already visited their Manhattan spas, the Schoenbergs opened their Westchester spa right off exit 16 of the Saw Mill River Parkway.

 “Our whole operational mentality is the same,” he said, “The Oasis mission statement is the same. You are just going to a different address.”

Originally in the trade show industry, Bruce brought spa treatments to those venues, offering manicures, facials and massages. He said Oasis is now the largest “pop-up” spa treatment company in the U.S. Oasis also does a great deal of charity work, providing massages to participants at the Breast Cancer walks and other similar events.

At work, the Schoenbergs ensure the customer always comes first. At home their children come first. “There is never a dull moment,” with Stella, 11, and Harry, 13, Marti said.

“Bruce added, “Having kids is the greatest thing I have ever done in my life. Nothing comes even close.”

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