Is ANY Cutera technology worth buying?

My physicians were underwhelmed with the Cutera Xeo.

We were using the Cutera Titan & ND Yag. The inexperienced physician in the location where we had it thought it worked well, but my more experienced physicians hated it and, in effect, wouldn't use it.

The 'single do everything platform' is also something I generally don't like since I can only have one treatment room going at a time. I guess that Cutera is trying to target individual physicians with a 'this one device will do everything' approach. While you might originally might think this is a good idea it's hard to grow if you have to invest another $100k for each additional treatment room.

LH comments about Cutera:

"At this time, I have very little respect for Cutera. They have over promised and under delivered on many things (Titan, Genesis, etc). The only time they contact my office is when they want to sell me an upgrade. Their webinars are only geared to the new person getting into aesthetics. Their webinars are only made so they can sell you something. I have watched many webinars and have stopped because they are a waste of time.

I also have issues with a company that will sell you a brand new system and will not back it up if you sell it on the secondary market. They will not sell refurbished Titan heads to anyone other than the original owner. They will not train any non-Cutera laser techs. This is so they can charge more for repairs. They will not send parts to any non-Cutera laser techs. Therefore, Cutera has made my used laser worth much less than it should be.

Unless Cutera changes their ways, I will never purchase a Cutera laser again. I will also never purchase an upgrade for my current sysytem."

And Dermadoc says about Cutera:

"My frustration is two-fold: first, Cutera totally overhyped the Titan, despite a few (very few) providers who seem to be getting what they consider good results. Second, how could this coatrack be marketed without a more consistent technique being identified, along with consistent recommendations for patietn selection, expected results, etc. It was sold on a wing and a prayer and like LH, I will find it very hard to purchase anything from Cutera again."

I'd have to agree with LH. The only time I saw the Cutera rep was during sales calls. Cutera's refusal to support their technology outside of the origional purchaser is a mistake and greatly lowers the value of their entire system. I can't see that investing in a system with such a downside when trying to sell is such a good idea.

I'm curious as to everyone elses experience with Cutera technology or dealing with Cutera as a company. (I'm even interested in what the Cutera reps on this site might have to say.)

Thermage is comission. Titan & Fraxel are hourly.

As business models: Thermage is commission, Titan & Fraxel are hourly.

(Thermage + Fraxel discussion threads)

I had lunch with Clint Carnell, Vice President of Domestic Sales for Thermage today. While we were talking about the current state of the medical spa market he referred to the Thermage business model as 'razors and blades' and it triggered the thought that there was an analogy with commission vs. hourly employees.

Physicians seeking to minimize risk will often try to hire staff on commission with the hopes that they'll achieve two things; a motivated employee, and lower cost per treatment since they'll only be paying a percentage of treatments that are being performed. Nice in theory.

Here's the flip side. Commission robs you of success. This is a business that has very high fixed costs, but once those costs are met, there is a large potential profit to be made. As a business, its usually preferable to absorb those fixed costs if possible and keep the profit rather than have it diluted by paying commissions.

(That's why Surface has decided to grow as an entirely company owned business rather than persuing franchising with it's associated problems. If you have the capital, wholy owned businesses offer the most success while franchises offer the ability to grow the business using other peoples money.) 

Thermage made a radical decision to offer the 'box' (razors) for near cost, and focus on selling the disposables (blades). Smart enough. But Thermage is not charging 100% markup. Thermage tips probably cost around $12-$16 dollars to produce (that's a wild guess) but Thermage sells them for $450 or more. That's a helluva markup and it's led to a built in profit potential for anyone who can figure out a way around it as well as being a source of friction with those who have to buy them. (I have yet to hear any physician anywhere think that Thermage tips are a 'great deal'.) Refurbished Thermage tips came on the scene soon after Thermage launched and have even been studied for safety and performance.

Thermage faces a challenge in keeping providers happy with paying a commission on every treatment they perform. If they can, Thermage promises to be the gold standard for the foreseeable future.