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Massage Envy: Ethical Questions
September 15, 2008 on 7:07 am | In Cultural Commentary, Self Care | 26 CommentsPeaceBang is a big believer in the benefits of massage and wishes she had a special Massage Budget so that she could submit to the ministrations of Jen, Anne or Eddie on a much more regular basis. Alas, at $70 or so per hour, massage is a luxury.
In comes a company called Massage Envy, which is expanding incredibly rapidly and now has franchises in hundreds of U.S. locations, including in PeaceBang’s own town.
The deal is this: you go have an introductory massage for $39 and then submit to a fairly hard-core sales pitch (under the guise of your therapist’s “recommendations” for your needs — well what do you THINK they’re going to recommend for you? More massage!). The pitch is to join Massage Envy for $59 a month, a price that gets you one massage per month, with subsequent massages in the same month at an even deeper discount. If you don’t use your massage for that month, you can roll it over into the next month. You can get massages at any of the Massage Envy locations, and you can supposedly freeze your account at any time. (I tend to take this last bit of information with a grain of salt, knowing that once a company has its hands on your credit card number, you’re likely to go through many irritating phone calls trying to put a hold on automatic monthly withdrawals. I’d read the fine print on this very carefully if I joined Massage Envy).
This sounds really good to me, but I have to wonder: what kind of massage therapists must ME be attracting who are willing to work for such sub-standard pay? So there’s a quality issue there, and you don’t want to waste your time or money suffering under the hands of an inexperienced or worse, resentful, masseur. There’s also an exploitation issue: while you and I may know enough to tip the therapist generously to make up for his or her substandard pay, other clients will not. Furthermore, if I’m going to tip to the extent that my massage therapist gets a fair wage for pummeling my pudge, it’s not such a bargain there, is it?
Does anyone have experience with Massage Envy? Want to share?
P.S. Do look into massage, though, especially if you’ve never had any bodywork done before. If you find the right environment and the right therapist, it is incredibly healing.
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A friend of mine told me a neat trick–when you want to investigate a business or product (especially good for software, she says) type the name of it and the word “sucks” into Google. Doing this I see a lot of negs for Massage Envy!
Comment by Miss Conduct — September 15, 2008 #
i wonder if the frequency of massage (and the possibility that some people pay without using it, not unlike the gym) makes up for the low price?
having said that, I go to a day spa with competent people and sort of ridiculous prices. i can only afford it a few times a year, but it’s so worth it…
Comment by Teri — September 15, 2008 #
I’ve only been to massage envy once and my experience was so so. Both my mom and I got the $39 massage, hers was good, mine was not so much. But that’s a particularity to the massues (sp?), not the company. It seems like if you can afford a monthly $60 massage it would be a decent deal (especially if you have time to get a second one)…though the recommended tips correlate with a normal massage rate, not with the discounts. In my book it was not worth it. There are other places in town or near enough that do massages for $50 or $55/hour and they seem to do a better job and there’s no membership…so I’d be inclined to go with them first.
Comment by Deb — September 15, 2008 #
I’ve been a licensed massage therapist for over 8 years and have recently taken on a position of Massage Director for a Boston based chain of high-end women’s fitness centers. I’ve heard of Massage Envy but only negative things. I can appreciate what they are trying to do by using the health club membership model for their business, but am skeptical that it will work. I know that they don’t pay their massage therapists well so they don’t attract experienced or highly skilled or sought after therapists to their company. Their only chance of surviving is if their members don’t know a good massage from a bad one.
Although there are indeed tons of massage school graduates out there these days – it is extremely difficult to find highly competent, experienced and professional massage therapists even at the competitive rate that we pay in my company. Massage Envy likely hires folks right out of school or people who for whatever reason can’t get hired anywhere else and are desperate for work. I just wouldn’t want one of those folks massaging me.
Comment by Lauren — September 15, 2008 #
Two things that I like to do when it comes to massage:
1. Go to my chiropractor. It is to some degree covered under my insurance that way.
2. If there were a massage school around, I would go all the time. I’ve found a cosmetology school that is GREAT for non permanent stuff like nails and deep conditioners for hair (I don’t think I’d go for cut or color until I saw some of the results.)
Comment by madgebaby — September 15, 2008 #
I’ve had good experience and was able to just call to place my account in frozen status while I was out of the country for 3 months. I recommend it.
p.s. The therapist I always use says they only get paid $1/hr less than the expensive spa’s. [That's interesting, because I inquired of four massage therapists who work for four different spas and the difference was $35-55 less/hr. - PB]
Comment by Orville — September 15, 2008 #
I am with madgebaby, I see my friendly neighborhood Chiropractor. Not only do I get “creaked” back into shape, I get a great massage; then we catch up on kids,church, and football. (his wife is my good friend)
Comment by Linda — September 15, 2008 #
My husband tried them. He was not impressed.
Comment by A.Lin — September 16, 2008 #
I’m wondering whether they drove my regular massage therapist out of town.m He closed up shop about 6 months ago; and voila a Massage Envy franchise opened up just down the block. He was trying to build a private practice in the community at the local market rate of $1.00/Min.
BJ
Comment by BJ — September 16, 2008 #
Massage Envy encourages tipping the therapist, so you really don’t save much money by going there and the therapist that worked on you doesn’t get the whole fee!
I’ve found someone here in Nebraska for the bargain price of $45! Look around, new age bookstores, health food stores often have massage.
Comment by revtoots — September 17, 2008 #
I used Massage Envy, and when I got pregnant, they required a doctor’s note to cancel the membership. Canceling is REALLY difficult, so read the fine print. When you sign up, you’re basically in it for a year.
Not to mention, the massage was not great. My therapist clearly shaved his arms…and obviously skipped the day of my massage. Ew.
Comment by Katrina — September 17, 2008 #
I had one around the corner from where I lived in California and tried the introductory offer when I walked by. I got a good massage. I did not sign up because I was moving soon, and because I don’t do well at managing those agreements anyway. The desk people definitely checked to see if I had tipped, which I had. In that area there were plenty of good people who wanted the work, and my guess is that many of them were taking it on as an extra job, since the clientel was there mostly eves. One issue for me was the piped in muzak, so there wasn’t any choice. Also I was spoiled by an Esalen massage that was the best ever. They had a pleasant waiting room, better than some solo practitioners. I think their market will be people who haven’t experienced massage and are thrilled to sign up.
Diane Miller
Comment by Diane Miller — September 17, 2008 #
I bought my wife a 3 month “Wellness Benefit” membership yesterday for Christmas at the local Massage Envy place.
These people are all about money! The sales person acted like I was some kind of cheapskate for not buying the 12 month program.($177 for a present is enough – she can sign up for more if she wants.)
She also asked if I wanted to add in “Gratuity”. In my book, a gratuity is a tip and a tip is given AFTER the service is rendered VOLUNTARILY and the amount based on quality of service. I said No. She said REALLY!?! I said really.
Then I get paperwork stating that I have signed up for a program that auto renews and just put my credit card number below (on a document which can be seen by anyone!) I refuse. She is not happy. I said why give me this paperwork AFTER you have just charged my card and not before? I ask to speak to a manager.
The manager arrives while I am looking in my wallet for our attorney’s card. She then acts all surprised and there must be some mistake and No you don’t have to sign up for automatic renewals. (Yeah, sure … a mistake or standard operating procedure until the client starts pounding the counter)
__________
My wife goes in for a massage – it is “OK”. While I am waiting in the lobby for her to come out some newbie walks in and asks for a massage. She is told that there is a Holiday special and that if she books today before 2, she can get an extra half hour free!
When my wife came out I asked her if she was offered the free extra half hour – nope. When I asked at the counter why she was not given the special extra half hour the reply was “She didn’t ask for it”
So tell me, do you think we will be renewing?
As we walked out a new victim walked in and the staff jumped up. I just know they are thinking “What’s in your wallet?”
RUN!
Comment by Robert C. — December 17, 2008 #
I used to get about 4 or 5 massages a year. Most of them were at expensive spas while I was traveling. There is a Massage Envy very close to my house and I was just planning to go in for my introductory massage. The therapist was amazing. It was the best massage I’ve had. No one tried to give me a sales pitch while I was there, they simply explained the massage a month program and I thought it was a great value. Now I go every month and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m sure these massage therapists don’t have the same hourly rate as someone who works on their own and charges a $70.00 premium but they probably have more stable business than many massage therapists. I live in Austin and it seems like 40% of this town claims to be massage therapists. While this model doesn’t work for some, I wouldn’t assume that they are “bad” therapists because they work in this environment. I leave my guy a pretty hefty tip and I know just like in any service industry, many people do not.
Comment by LIsa — April 4, 2009 #
After 7 years of having a private practice, I recently started working at an ME. I believe the concept is good, but at the end of the day I don’t believe it is a great bargin. If you pay $59 per month and give a $15 or $20 tip your price is about the same as some private practices. My biggest complaint is the lack of connection with the clients, based on the change time between clients. If a client is just there for relaxation fine, but if you need to give clients some advice on stretching or some other thing that may benefit them there is little to no time for that. So people are not being given the full benefit of Therapeutic Massage, only the part that still makes massage a luxury just making it affordable.
Comment by Xavier — April 16, 2009 #
Joined the ME in Maple Grove, MN. Had one good massage and one that hurt. Received my credit card statement on 5-7-09 and saw that they over billed me. Called that day and was told it would be fixed. 13 days later and it is not. Left 2 messages for manager to call me (they aren’t there when I call… hmmm) and no call back. VERY UNHAPPY WITH SERVICE. I never had a single problem with the place I frequented for years (Remember the old saying? The cheap comes out expensive).
Comment by DP — May 20, 2009 #
Massage Envy is horrible. The consensus as far as the quality of the massage goes is below average, the best experiences at Massage Envy are no better then the norm at any other spa. Their menu is vanilla, the techniques on offer are very limited, and anyone whose been around the spa scene, or watched a video on YouTube can see just how limited the therapists at ME tend to be, or how limited the companies protocols are. The after massage experience at ME is like walking onto a used car lot. They use high pressure tactics, and say things that are patently untrue (like telling one lady I was within earshot of that if she signed the contract, and then changed her mind, she just needed to call and they’d throw the contract away, and asking another woman who said she’d need to discuss it with her husband to call him at work right then and there!)
I don’t see how their business model can work. They’re expanding rapidly, much like Starbucks did at one time, but you can see the trouble on the horizon already. For a monthly fee of $59, plus tip, you receive one hour long massage. The only way this arrangement makes any sense for the average consumer economically is if they get more then one massage a month, but most consumers of massage services are highly irregular in their use of such services. They may only get a few massages a year, often because they have gift certificates for such services. Most cities have a multitude of spa options, and there is almost always a therapist available at a rate comparable to the $59/hr. that it’ll cost at ME, so why in the world would you obligate yourself to a recurring charge that is a nightmare to rid yourself of? The only thing that can be said for ME is they always have therapists on staff, so walk-ons are easy, but then again, so do the Chinese massage studios in the mall.
Comment by Alex Trevelyan — May 24, 2009 #
Signed up for ME in Utah after a hard day skiing. Very professional and competent.
Brought my membership home to Northeast. Not quite as good as SLC. Not sure if I’ll renew after 12 months but have nothing to complain about after 4 visits.
ME is McDonald’s of Massage. Reliable service, when you need, it if you are hurting. Independent therapists can’t give me ‘walk in’ service. It is a trade-off; convenience vs. personal attention. Cost is a little cheaper via ME in this market too. Typically $80-100 here.
Comment by Larry O — June 8, 2009 #
I wish I had researched ME. I just thought it was a regular place to go for massages. I fell for the “Wellness” pitch and now it seems like I am stuck. I went in totally unprepared for the hard-core sales pitch. I went for a massage to reduce my stress level and walked out 10 times more stressed than when I walked in. How do I get out of this contract?????? I feel totally scammed.
Comment by Raven M — July 12, 2009 #
Well after doing quite a lot of research on ME, I decided to just follow through with whatever my own experience was and call it a day. And the end result is that I am completely thrilled with my ME massage experience and here’s why: I’ve had 7 (yes 7!) car accidents (in which NONE of them were my fault!) and have caused me to now have chronic upper and lower back problems. Because of this, I have a dear friend who is a chiropractor and has cared for my alignment needs. However, as he states my problem lies mainly in my muscle fibers and I should have regular massages as often as I can (preferably twice a month). So, after researching spas here in San Diego and La Jolla, not only are the prices variably high, some of the therapists are not that “great”. Then I came across ME, researched, and I decided to call and make an appointment in the La Jolla office. Not only was the staff incredibly kind and polite (absolutely NO PRESSURE whatsoever for joining) but I found the BEST therapist I’ve ever had (particularly for my specific needs of releasing my lil “stress buildup”)! He was thorough and it was the first time in my 15 years plus of getting massages that I had a therapist take such time to make sure I was not in pain while getting the job done! Sure it has to hurt a little but usually most therapists are not as cautious in cases like mine and Mike was right on the money! I love it so much and I thought the office was beautiful and the costs were perfect for my needs so I joined! And I couldn’t be happier! I’ve already scheduled my next appointment in two weeks and for the $59 monthly fee, one “free” one hour massage then $39 for each massage thereafter is a wonderful charge for this kind of service. I agree this isn’t meant to be a true spa experience but rather a more convienient and cost-effective way for folks like myself to have constant massage services without breaking the bank. Maybe I just got lucky with my overall experience but I thought I’d share… Good luck!
Comment by Michelle M. — July 18, 2009 #
Massage Envy is simply horrible. They provide bad service, bad massage, do not meet customer expectation and does not try to manage customer relationship. I had horrible time with Maple Grove location where essentially I paid for four months without any service. When I canceled my membership, they did not cancel the auto pay from my bank and continued drawing money from my account! They also look for every opportunity to not provide service while charging you membership.
Comment by Ari — August 30, 2009 #
I work at a Massage Envy currently. There are TONS of GREAT therapists there. The reason they all work there is two reasons: 1, they do a bait and switch. They do the interview, tell you you’ll be making 15 per hour, plus tips, plus commission if someone joins. Not true. You don’t find out the truth until you get your first or second paycheck or however long it takes to figure it out. You get paid 7.50 unless you are 50% booked in a 2 WEEK PERIOD. They don’t tell you this until you figure it out. The paycheck is so confusing the way they break it down, that you can never figure out how it got to be that amt. anyway. They tempt you with bonuses, advance in the company, “LEAD THERAPIST” free massages…. that’s not true either. We have to pay $20 for an hour and we can get bumped from the schedule if someone walks in wanting a massage for that time. Even if you have scheduled in advance. The list goes on and on… The second reason that great therapists are there is because the job market (here anyway) is just not hiring for therapists. There are too many schools pumping out therapists, and no jobs for them. They don’t tell you that in school either. They should send you off saying, “Congrats! Good luck finding a job–suckers.”
In MY opinion, Massage Envy is a crooked company based on money and how many people they can get to sign up–regardless of what they really need or want. Therapists get suckered in unaware of the truth until it’s really hard to get out. I’ll be leaving as soon as I find a replacement also! A crappy job is better than no job at all these days..
Comment by employee — December 28, 2009 #
Oh yeah.. and to get out of the contract.. just cancel your credit card and get a new one issued.
voila.
[Oh, yikes. Thanks for writing! Not surprising, just very upsetting. Hang in there and may better things come your way! - PB]
Comment by employee — December 28, 2009 #
I worked there for about a year. I consider myself a good therapist, but I know some of the therapists I worked with were not good at all. I scheduled a massage with one of my co-workers and came in on my day off to get my massage with her and she didn’t pick me up for 15 minutes after I got there. Since I worked there, I went back to the break room to find her and she was sitting down talking to some other therapists as though she didn’t even know I was there. Then, she proceeded to massage my neck with her elbow and didn’t touch any other part of my body! I was in shock that she was still working there.
I agree with “employee” about all the ways they cheat therapists. They pay therapists less than 30% of the fee clients pay. The people working the front desk are not paid well either and they are pressured to sell, sell, sell. The managers are all about the numbers, and many of them come from a retail mall outlet type of background, but no massage training or experience.
Another thing they do is say they want you to have time off to “take care of yourself” and so you get a little vacation pay that you have to accrue by working so many hours per month for one hour of vacation pay. When you need to take the time off, they tell you you have to find someone to cover your shift.
Its really just a way for inexperienced massage therapists to get practice on a lot of clients, but they aren’t making a lot of money, and they are taxing their own bodies for it.
Most of the owners of ME franchises are investors of some sort or don’t really know anything about massage and they are all about the money.
There is no education of clients. Members come in and expect to receive a high quality massage in one hour and they expect the therapist to read their minds. They will walk out without knowing that it may take 24 – 72 hours to actualize the full effect of their massage, if it was any good. They will chat it up, and if the therapist talks back, they will say the therapist talked too much, they may come in late, even if they’re told they only get 50 minutes hands on massage time, they don’t turn off their phones, some don’t bathe, some will give gratuities of $4 or $6 or maybe nothing.
I could go on and on, but there’s too much. When I told several of my clients I was leaving, they commented they knew it was just a matter of time.
It could be good, but its just franchise massage.
Comment by Past ME Therapist — January 6, 2010 #
Hooray! I quit!
On to bigger and better things! Oh, there have been a few more things that have popped up lately… such as the front desk stealing the cash tips of the therapists, and having the front desk sell the memberships to the clients BEFORE their massage (and the therapists don’t get their bonus that way) Yes.. everyone gets bonuses by getting you to sign up. That’s why they try so hard. I even had a front desk person ask me, “So what do you recommend?” and when I said, “They didn’t have many issues” she said, “well, tell them they have lots of knots.” No…. that’s not what we do. We don’t tell people to come back for reasons that aren’t there just for the sake of getting them back in. Also, they encourage employees to come to work whether they are sick or not. Would you like to have your therapist massaging you while they have a runny nose, sore throat, coughing up mucus or possibly spreading H1N1? Well, the owners and mgmt think there’s nothing wrong with that. If a therapist runs their own practice, if they are sick, they won’t work on you. And vice versa. Who wants to be that up close and personal when one of you has a cold and could be contagious? I’ve turned people away (working on my own) when I was feeling under the weather. That’s the right thing to do. So, on to bigger and better things!!! Here I go! Massage Envy… you are history to me. I’m better than that. 
Comment by employee — January 16, 2010 #
I am soooo THANKFUL to hear all these comments about how Massage Envy is a scam in many ways. They seem sooo money hungry I totally agree, the massage was so-so, def not relaxing. I wasn’t sure about joining, so I told them I needed to think about it, however I have them calling me daily! Now I KNOW and will NOT be going there again!!
Comment by Me — February 16, 2010 #