Tag Archive for: experience

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Why Franchise Spas Might Not Provide The Best Massage Experience

Are you looking for the best massage service in your area?

The allure of a large franchise massage establishment to the average massage customer is understandable. These businesses are large, usually have some great amenities and some interesting pricing options. In addition, their brand and name are fairly recognizable to the general population. However, all of the apparent benefits may not equate to the best overall massage experience for the true relaxation enthusiast.

Here are some reasons why franchise massage providers do not always provide the best service to those who want to get the best bang for their buck.

Personalized Experience

Many massage franchises are notorious for back to back scheduling practices. This means that they maintain strict policies which don’t allow for adequate time between appointments for things like changing sheets or even bathroom breaks for therapists. While this is great in some ways for customers because it means that more clients can be seen throughout the day, there are definitely some adverse effects on both clients and therapists. One of the most significant places we see this practice impact client experience is in the personalization portion of a service.

When a client pays for an hour of service, they generally expect to be massaged for the entire hour. However, if their consultation and room cleanup time bleeds into their actual massage time there is little the client or therapist can do to recoup the lost massage time as it could impact the next client’s massage time as well. Many times this situation can lead to a shorter consultation or a lack of personalization because the therapist is focused on providing a complete service for their customer despite their time and scheduling constraints. All around, this back to back scheduling practice is not relaxing for either client or therapist.

Flexible Service

Franchises also tend to lack the versatility that a local massage provider or spa is often capable of providing. You see, small and locally owned spas like The Spa’ah do not have to answer to corporate headquarters. We pride ourselves on our ability to work with customers in their specific situations. Many franchises or “big box” spas do not have this capability. In fact, they require strict yearly contracts that bill monthly for massages whether a customer is actually able to get the massage or not.

In a perfect world, a massage a month or more sounds wonderful, however, we understand that life happens. Some months are busier than others and our customers cannot make it in to visit us. That is why we do not require subscriptions or contracts to use our services. We value our customers and their schedules because we are here to serve you.

Versatile Offering

Locally owned spas can also offer a level of versatility that many franchises or big box stores may not be able to provide. Large franchises are usually restricted to a certain menu of services. Franchise owners generally are not permitted to venture beyond the traditionally marketed categories of services to maintain uniformity across the franchise. Locally owned spas and massage service providers are at liberty to add a variety of modalities to their offerings.

Choosing to sign a contract with a franchise spa means that you will be closing yourself off from the many different variations of massage that could help alleviate specific ailments you may be experiencing. In other words, you may not have access to the best massage for your condition. For example, many clients find great relief from allergies when they receive a lymphatic massage from a trained lymphatic specialist. Unfortunately, many franchise spas do not offer lymphatic massage specifically so members do not have access to its healing benefits. Lymphatic massage is just one example of the versatile offering you may be missing by signing a contract with a franchise spa instead of visiting a locally owned provider in your area. Some others include hot stone, lomilomi, Thai, cupping, and more!

We Believe In Local Small Business!

Large franchises like Massage Envy and Hand & Stone are often owned by investors who do not live in or care about our communities. While this is not always the case, directing your dollars at a locally owned small business that you believe in is a great way to support your local economy while receiving a great service. THE SPA’AH offers many different modalities of massage and spa services in Conway, Arkansas. We believe in serving our community with the best possible products and customer service in our power because you all give so much to our business and community. Thank you for continuing to choose locally owned and operated products and services for all of your needs…not just for relaxation. Thank you, Central Arkansas!

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3 Simple Ways to Check the Legitimacy of A New Spa

New spas and massage parlors pop up fairly often pretty much anywhere in the US. Unfortunately, not all of these spas are legitimate. Some are actually sex-businesses disguised as a legitimate spa. This practice can cause all sorts of problems for both therapists and clients. For instance, unsuspecting clients who simply want some relief from their chronic pain can get a nasty surprise when they’re propositioned by a worker at one of these establishments. These types of businesses also create a bad reputation for the industry as a whole while simultaneously making legitimate business unsafe for licensed therapists when their place of work is mistaken for one of these illegal sex businesses.

Here are some simple questions to ask yourself to make sure a new spa is legitimate:

How does the spa market their business?

Sometimes, minute differences in marketing can make a huge difference when it comes to choosing a reputable spa with real therapeutic services and choosing a less than legal business for your relaxation services. For example, real spas advertise a myriad of services and products that address specific ailments like hydrotherapy, myofascial release, and more. However, less than legal businesses will focus on relaxation and “feeling good” with limited add-on services. Massage parlors that are a front for another kind of business are also not likely to spend marketing dollars on gift cards, social media, business cards, or staff uniforms.

What is the level of spa professionalism?

You should also take into account the professionalism of a spa before choosing that place to service your relaxation or chronic pain needs. In a genuine spa, the staff should be well dressed and usually wearing a clean and sanitary uniform. In addition, the spa’s lobby and massage rooms should be well kept and organized with informative pamphlets and magazines. There might even be therapeutic or medicinal products for sale. However, these products should focus on healing rather than its aphrodisiac-like properties. Legitimate spas also take a variety of payment methods including cash or debit and credit cards. If the business that you find yourself in is always cash-only, you may want to high tail it out of there.

Are the spa employees “therapists” or “the girls”?

It is also important to consider the way that a spa treats its employees. The employees should all be licensed therapists with the state in which they are practicing. Most legitimate spa owners are proud of their employees’ accolades and will display them prominently for customers to see. If your chosen place of relaxation can’t provide proof of your therapist’s licensing there might be a problem. In addition, massage therapists are highly trained and should be able to answer your questions about your ailments intelligently and with confidence. If your “masseuse” cannot answer basic questions about the human body and mobility, you might want to reconsider your choice of “therapist”.

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