Massage at a Spa Pet Peeve

Next….silence.

I wait.

I wait some more.

And then I begin wondering if I should shout out something like “I’m ready!” which I have done on occasion.

I continue to wait.

About that time (or to be honest even earlier) I begin wondering why it always takes the therapist so long to re-enter the room and begin my massage? Are they grabbing a quick break? Maybe getting something to drink? Perhaps washing their hands?

Of course eventually the wait is over, I hear the knock on the door, the therapist comes in and the massage begins. However when it happened to me again yesterday, I decided that I was going to write about it and perhaps get some conversation going.

I was at the Mandara Spa at Atlantis in the Bahamas where I had scheduled a massage which turned out to be a good treatment – except for the annoying wait on the massage table before the massage actually began.

Here is what I think therapists should know: Many (and I would even guess most) people who are getting spa treatments are counting on getting every single minute of that treatment and are keenly aware of time, whether they have a watch with them or not. It doesn’t matter if it is 50-minute, 60-minute, 80-minute, or 90-minute treatment, once the treatment is over they check their watches (or perhaps the clock that is in the treatment room). In fact, many people have even figured out what they are paying per minute! In my case, I was paying $3.00 per minute for my massage, factoring in the 20% service charge which was added to my bill BEFORE my treatment.

Time sliced off at the beginning (due to retrieving a guest late), at the end (due to ending early), or by taking a few extra minutes “to allow the guest plenty of time to disrobe” adds up and contributes a slight negative to what is otherwise usually a heavenly experience. To be fair, over the past years I have noticed a great improvement in prompt start and end times. It’s just those uneasy moments on the massage table waiting for the therapist to re-enter that seems to be increasing in my experience.

Which gives me an idea. Next time I go in for a massage and the therapist starts into the “I’m stepping out of the room” script, I will quickly take off my robe and get on the massage table while saying, “no need to step out of the room as I am fine with just slipping under the sheets while you are here” before she even exits.

I will let you know how that goes….In the meantime, do let me know your thoughts.
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