Tips to Owners, Therapists... and Clients

[Albertaman]

Wishing a healthy and prosperous 2017 to everyone. Posting this in the Edmonton thread as there are no signs of life on the Calgary thread.

Been enjoying the massage side of things for a very long time. Mostly the therapeutic massage 'with added potential' field, not the full service spas with fixed menus. Hopefully, some owners and therapists read these forums from time to time, as most of the helpful tips that I've jotted down may be useful to build a stronger business. As clients, feel free to add to this list:

1. Massage skills and a desire to truly Work on a client. It’s not about the 2200 or 3000 hrs of training, but a true desire to provide good massages tailored to each client’s need. Being flexible and listening to what the client might have to say and being able to read the body (yes, some have it intuitively, and others gain it through experience when they really want to learn). For massage place owners, you need to keep these employees happy – this means sharing at least 50% of the hourly rate. Greedy owners = poor therapists with no incentive for anything other than quick services for tips = unhappy, non-repeat clients.

2. Ambience – Clean, Warm rooms. Absolutely clean Showers and Bathrooms. Yes, showers should be attended to after each use. Clean sheets and towels, no short cuts. The towels don’t have to be from the Fairmont, but please replace the ones that are falling apart – no client wants to walk away with their clothes covered in lint. And, we do see if the sheets on the massage table are not fresh. And some peace and quiet, calm music is good.

3. Communication – bookings, walk-ins etc. need to be managed like a professional business. Therapist running out of the room throughout a massage or answering phone/cell, texting during massages – A NO NO. Clients need to get a lot more firm on these practices. I am not afraid to let a therapist know in advance that I do not accept such distractions and if this time-frame is not suitable for focused service, please book me another time. Guys, have some spine, it’s your money. To owners, NO yelling at therapists through the wall, please, unless you don’t want future business. This might be a cultural thing, but get over it. Owners – you are responsible for managing a good booking system, where each client gets their appropriate time without being rushed. Clients – we need to respect our appointments, or modify them well in advance. Owners should simply blacklist tardy clients.

4. Tipping – is a personal thing, whether it is for the massage only, or for other benefits. I prefer non menu driven therapists, where the relationship evolves in a YMMV fashion and tipping evolves accordingly. The therapists that last the longest (years, not days or weeks) at a place with a good owner usually know how to evolve the interactions with individual clients. At good places, neither the owner, nor the therapists are out to make a killing in a very short time – their business is built like a recession proof annuity. Where there is consistent value, clients will always return, even if they went elsewhere, tried other places, now and then. Owners need to set the boundaries for services at their place, and the therapists need to find their comfort zone within those boundaries on a client by client basis.

5. Appearance, Dress etc. – This is where individual therapists can enhance their value proposition. Most of us clients are men, most therapists are women. As a client, I make an effort to show up clean and as fresh as I can. We know that many of the therapists work long hours. But professionals in any field figure out ways to step out looking the best possible. Therapists who make some effort to freshen themselves through the day, maybe some lipstick, light fragrance, a change in dress etc. can increase their earning power in my opinion. It’s about the total experience. One of my all-time favourite therapists (yes, a real RMT now moved on to another phase of life) used to wear pleasing dresses or skirts. But she always wore something more provocative underneath that would make the experience more memorable as a 90 minutes massage progressed. Yes, it is possible to combine a serious massage with some additional pleasures. Smart Owners can encourage the development of certain therapists over time.

6. More Communication. Smart owners and therapists will gain permission from ‘good’ clients to send them text messages from time to time. When an owner knows the type of massage and therapists a client likes, they can then send out a message to some clients when a new therapist joins. They can also ask for some general feedback as in whether the experience was great or not (no need for a lot of details). One owner I know likes me to try out a new therapist, but if the massage is not that great, she offers me a good discount on my next massage. Perfect. I am always there to try out a new therapist.

7. Clients. Good Owners figure out how to get good clients to repeat often, even if they do visit other places. Good clients are respectful of the therapists, respectful of appointment times, careful in their approach to posting reviews, and should be treated as special guests. As clients, we need to understand what to keep private and what to disclose in an open review, especially if it is a good place with good therapists, with a good owner. As clients, let's direct more of our dollars to good businesses with good owners and therapists, be respectful while not putting up with the crap from crappy places and crappy owners. Cheers.

 

[Rubmegood]

Bravo! Now, how many owners and/or therapists actually follow this forum and actually CARE what you think??

 

[hotsparrow]

Good write up. The ambience in a massage place is especially important to me, nice interior, fitting music, nice but not overpowering smells, warm or dark colours. Some places can be too clinical or bare. One thing I have sought is an infrared sauna or something similar as well, some therapists recommend that you have something like a sauna before a massage to loosen you up.

For clients btw I've heard some stories and there is some shoddy behaviour out there, no respect for boundaries, little to no tipping while expecting the type of service only a good tipper can get, lying about what kind of service you can receive to try and push the therapist, running from paying a tip or running from paying at all. If you want to be a repeat customer that's not going to help you heh.

 

[Albertaman]

Bravo! Now, how many owners and/or therapists actually follow this forum and actually CARE what you think??

Does not matter an iota as to the number of owners or therapists who read it or care about what I think. What matters is that one or two or three therapists or owners in any city actually want to distance themselves from the crap experiences that most of the places offer and their never ending struggle to advertise to draw in some fresh suckers. There is still a finite number of dollars that are spent by all the clients. If the better places / therapists can improve their cash flow by 2-5% (gaining a bit more of the total market) then they are going to be that much better off. A slight gain in total market share of all the massages covered by insurance claims can actually turn a so-so business into a much better business. And clients win too if these places can hold on to good therapists with a bit of personal flair and the ability to create personalised experiences for individual clients (while still providing massages that have a strong therapeutic-claim component).

If you have nothing to add to this thread, there is no obligation to post here. If you have additional ideas to add to this thread, do so.

 

[DerekD]

Here are a couple of my suggestions:

-Invest in a quality heated massage table. Especially if your location is in a basement we freeze when the massage is undraped.

-get rid of the cheap oils, and stop using canola oil!! I don't want to ruin my clothes with your cheap ass oils

-maintain your linens and change frequently. I actually walked out of a place because the condition of the linens was disgusting. If i can see stains on them, fuck that

-stop using generic fake pics of girls on your ads. You are not fooling anyone. Xiaoping/Del Sol gets props for actually using real girls in their ads.

-communication is key. If I show up and a walk in took the spot I had I will probably not repeat

 

[Albertaman]

Excellent points DerekD.

 

[Rubmegood]

Excellent points DerekD.

"If you have nothing to add to this thread, there is no obligation to post here. If you have additional ideas to add to this thread, do so."

 

[Albertaman]

Additional tips to Owners/Therapists:

- Give the full allocated time to the massage, an hour massage should be an hour massage.

- Don't shill your services on CAF. Shilling is a poor substitute for advertising.

- DerekD mentioned the subject of oils. How about giving clients a choice of massage oils, maybe even add a small surcharge for high quality massage oils like almond oil?

 

[luckydog]

I have had some success with RMTs who never would offer a HE outright but who made sure they brushed up against my boys or massaged all the way up the leg, giving some kind of sign so that the question I ask is not out of the blue.

 

[madaddict]

1,2,3,4, and 7 agreed!

5 & 6 your pushing into the escort world, but you can always hope.

 

[Albertaman]

(5) is a real struggle in Alberta. In Ontario and Quebec, more of the RMT ladies take care of their appearance, especially when they are Eastern European or Russian. Did find one in Calgary, the one who has moved on. But this is one area that a business or a therapist can take a lead on and gain more business.

(6) not as rare. Have a couple of owners in Calgary who text me regularly. And they are real RMT places,

 

[Albertaman]

Not posting just to bump up my own older thread. But had an idea that some masseuses might want to consider and implement from time to time. Instead of just offering a Happy Ending, how about incorporating a Happy Middle plus a Happy Ending, especially if the massage is 75m or 90m massage? Back in my younger days, I recall having a Russian masseuse who would work in a Happy Beginning, a Happy Middle and a Happy Ending into a 90m massage, plus she enjoyed reciprocal digital happiness in exchange.

The anticipation of double happiness combined with a good quality massage from a pleasant lady would create 'loyalty' IMHO.

 

[aro]

Additional tips to Owners/Therapists:

- DerekD mentioned the subject of oils. How about giving clients a choice of massage oils, maybe even add a small surcharge for high quality massage oils like almond oil?

Totally agree about the quality of massage oil. I went to XP only because of certain favourite ladies such as Rose. These days, when I choose a place for a good massage, I exclude XP just because of the Canola oil. They have some good masseuses such as Wendy but I have a very hard time cleaning up after a XP massage.

 

[Rubmegood]

Totally agree about the quality of massage oil. I went to XP only because of certain favourite ladies such as Rose. These days, when I choose a place for a good massage, I exclude XP just because of the Canola oil. They have some good masseuses such as Wendy but I have a very hard time cleaning up after a XP massage.

Just tell them you're allergic to canola and they will use something better.

 

[aro]

Just tell them you're allergic to canola and they will use something better.

I did ask one time. It took Tin Tin 5 minutes with a lot of chattering with the other ladies in the hallway. She came back with the massage cream but said we need to wait for a few minutes for the cream to "melt", whatever the heck that meant. Got the impression what I asked was a bit of an effort so I didn't feel asking for that special treating the next time. Haven't gone back since Rose and TinTin left.

 

[Rubmegood]

I actually had a rash the last time they used canola and I'm not allergic to ANYTHING! They bring conola in a plasic squirt bottle but Anna brought this stuff (I think she said it was coconut oil) in a small bowl. It was warm but then they always warmed up the canola, too. It was no big deal and she brought it as quickly as ever.

I miss Rose and Ting, too! You should try Anna.

 

[Rubmegood]

I hear ya! You want a good, undraped massage- I'm a bit of a flasher myself and that's half the attraction for me to these places.

The trouble is that the minute you lie down naked, it's the universal sign that you want more than a massage!
Of the girls currently there, Wendy speaks 'not bad' English. Why not try to tell her what you want? I think she has the massage skills to provide a decent massage if you let her know.