When I get a massage—which is (a) not often enough, and (b) only when I'm on vacation—my mind fills with questions that I want to ask the therapist, but don't. So when an old friend resurfaced on Facebook, and I learned he had become a massage therapist and worked for years at one of the country's top resort spas, I decided to seek some answers, both to my questions and others' from the TravelPost community. (If this brings to mind more questions, put 'em in the comments.)
Do you talk about your clients when you’re on a break?
No! Of course not! (Yes.)
If a client is annoying, do you take it out on their body?
Ha ha ha. OK, here's the deal. If they're annoying just because they're annoying, then no, I don't take it out on their body. If they're annoying because they insist you use an ungodly amount of force in their massage (never considering the work that might be involved in this for the therapist), then I might go super, painfully deep right at the beginning so that they wince a little and realize they should chill out and let me do my job. And I might smile a little while doing it. Also, if there's any hint of sexual harassment in the air, then it's always a good idea to inflict a little pain as a way of telling the client to simmer down. That's not what the handbook says, but it's what therapists will often do.
Who's harder to deal with: someone who's really overweight, or someone with no meat on their bones at all?
OK. When I have someone who is really overweight on my table, I will admit to becoming judgmental, mostly because it's hard work massaging a really fat person and they've just made my day harder. You really can't feel muscles under a thick layer of fat—sometimes you can't even feel bone! Also, they will often complain of aches and pains seemingly with no clue as to why they might be occurring. The super skinny people are another matter. They're only a problem if they demand deep work, and they have no muscle. It's like, do you really want me to break your ribs?
Do you have a set routine or pattern for each length of massage? Do therapists tend to create their own routine/patterns or follow some industry standard?
I do have a set pattern based on the length of the massage, but the pattern can be very loose depending on the needs/requests of the client. I would say most therapists have a routine they follow, although I've known a few who like to just go with the flow. Personally, this would drive me crazy.
There isn't really an industry standard, although I think most schools teach a routine, which usually starts with work on the back. I would say 90% of the therapists I've worked with start on the back, then glutes/backs of legs, then flip. At that point, some go up to the head. I work on the front legs, then arms, then neck/head. I skip the abdomen unless client asks to receive work there. Most people don't want their bellies touched.
Are there things you wish patients wouldn’t do while getting a massage?
Not really, outside of the obvious stuff like trying to grope me or move around a lot. I'm not a big one for talking while I work, so I'm not crazy about the talkers, but it's their dime. Non-relaxers are irritating, though.
Why do massage therapists always keep one hand on the client, such as when they’re getting more oil?
The idea is to maintain physical contact with the client for as much of the session as possible, so as to provide a continuous experience. Remember, the client should ideally be relaxing with his eyes closed during the session. If a therapist is repeatedly removing their hands from the client's body (even if it's to get more oil), the client will notice and, to some degree, be back in his head, which is not where we really want him to be. Also, continuous contact and repetitive strokes encourage relaxation and the release of muscular contractions.
What are good guidelines for tipping? Do you prefer cash over adding it to the credit-card bill?
The guidelines should be similar to any other service. Did you have a good experience? Was the therapist attentive to your needs and requests? Was the environment clean and pleasant? If so, $20 is good on a service costing $100 and under. For services that cost more than that, I'd do 20%, since those services are either long or probably involve travel on the part of the therapist, or something else. And I'd tip more at a spa since the therapist is only getting a cut (less than half) of the cost of the service.
Every therapist I've ever met prefers cash over a credit-card tip. Besides the under-the-table (tax-free) aspect, it's also harder to keep track of tips when they're added into one's paycheck, unless the accounting program creates a specific field for tips. Even then, you might not know who tipped what.
What percentage of the fee goes to the therapist?
It depends. At the resort spa where I recently worked, the prices were very high and the tip was a mandatory 15% added to the bill—so the commission was unusually low, about 25%.
Have you ever had a client who didn’t speak English? How did you communicate?
Once or twice. It was a Spanish-language speaker, and we had someone translate. Usually if someone can't speak English, they aren't going to try to communicate about things like pressure or make requests. They know the score.
What’s the most embarrassing thing that has happened during a massage—to either you, the patient, or to therapists you know?
Two examples come to mind.
When performing a scrub and massage, the routine is thus: scrub the client, get him/her into the shower, change the sheets on the table, and get out of the room so the client can get back on the table. Well, twice I just totally forgot to change the table, and the client got back on sheets that were wet, covered in scrub (gritty) and generally very unpleasant. When I re-entered the room and realized what I'd done, I was mortified. And then I tried to fix it with hot towels somehow, which was ridiculous.
And this: I had a client not too long ago who was very stiff in the hips. No matter what I did, she wouldn't relax her legs. I shook them, I stretched them, I massaged the hell out of them—but still she kept them locked rigidly in place. At the end of the massage, she sort of blew past me without making eye contact. And then I saw why: she was having her period and had bled onto the sheets. Actually, through the sheets all the way to the table. So that was pretty embarrassing—for her.
Do you come to hate the music after a while?
Not really. Not unless it's inappropriate or in some way distracting. I remember the spa used to have this one “Nature” selection which sounded like someone drowning—just a splashing noise for about five minutes. Bad. Also, there was one track that was classical guitar with, like, flamenco dancing, stomping around. Horrible. I used to just quietly reach over and change it. After a while, it all goes in one ear and out the other.
I recently had a therapist who wore a surgical mask. Should I be offended?
You shouldn't be offended. It's a little weird, though. Maybe he/she had a cold? If a therapist has a cut on his finger, he wears a little finger condom. Could be the same thing.
Do you like getting massages?
I love getting massages, and when my ship comes in, I'm gonna get a lot more of them. What I don't really like is trading with another therapist. That's just more work.
Does your significant other expect you to give him/her massages?
Yes, my ex used to want mini-massages all the time. And after you've massaged people all day and just finished washing the dishes and feeding the dog and you just want to relax, it's annoying to be asked to rub something—or anything, really.
3 comments:
I prefer to remain ignorant about what my massage therapist may be thinking.
Nice post! I now know Im not the only one, who has thought of nearly all these questions. I appreciate the tip one especially. its helpful to know how different industries pay.
Good to know! I once asked a massage therapist what motivated her to make a midlife career change (from being an accountant, of all things). She said that she derived a lot of happiness from making others feel good, both physically and emotionally, and that, for her, it had been completely worth it.
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