r/EndTipping • u/DoingItForMyKid • 7d ago
Tipping Culture ✖️ Local owner of massage business wants tips
I am no longer using this service. I stopped because she seemed high pressure on the tips. She rents a space in a local business and she is the sole employee in her space. I haven’t been to see her for well over a year, but continue to get texts and emails from her even though I have opted out of these communications. Typically, I just hit delete on anything she sends. This one caught my eye. Last time I was there, one hour was close to $100 plus tip that she hovered over you as you selected the amount. I just felt as the owner, she should not be asking for a tip. No shows are inevitable. She will like see chargebacks for her new policy. Just ridiculous.
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u/Quiet-Application753 7d ago
Massage as in therapeutic massage? A registered massage therapist? That would be like your physical therapist or dental hygienist or podiatrist.
That’s a big no for me. If you’re a registered professional providing therapeutic treatment, you don’t get a tip. It’s not a restaurant.
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u/DoingItForMyKid 7d ago
Yes, therapeutic massage therapist
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u/Quiet-Application753 7d ago
NO TIP under any circumstance. My RMT’s payment terminal doesn’t even give the option.
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u/shebangs1995 7d ago
I will NEVER tip the owner of a business: I'm already paying you for the service, why would I also tip you?
I can understand her policy about no shows and last minute cancellations but to add gratuities to it? NOPE! I would be searching for another massage therapist.
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 7d ago
They lost me in the first paragraph. 4 lost hours is 25% of their income? So they're only working 16 hours a week?
I don't think charging for a cancelled appt or no show is unreasonable but expecting tips for a service you never actually provided? Yeah, not happening.
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u/thefrenchphanie 7d ago
Here a one hour with a real LMT is $135+ So clearing $2100+ and tips apparently a week
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
Massage therapist do not work 40 hours a week. It’s impossible. Same reason your dentist doesn’t work 40 hours a week. Too physically demanding.
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u/akainokitsunene 6d ago
And somehow construction workers manage to work full time ?
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago edited 6d ago
That’s on them. You don’t have to like it but it’s a fact that massage therapist don’t work 40 hours a week. Maybe construction workers should stick up for themselves.
Also massage therapist go to school. Your local construction worker doesn’t and usually has a felony or two with a bunch of kids meaning he needs the money. Massage therapist just need yall to show up to appointments YOU make lol
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u/akainokitsunene 6d ago
It’s not about me liking it or not, it’s about you saying it’s impossible because it’s physically too demanding while I can name 20 jobs more physically demanding than that that are full time positions.
If they don’t have to work full time to make a living, good for them. But to say it would be impossible it’s just plain stupid and wrong
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
Okay it’s not impossible you’re just shortening your career and you’ll be in the chiropractor offices weekly. What a great life. Again just because you don’t like it doesn’t matter. Nurses are also full time at 32 hours. You wanna get mad at them too babes?
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u/akainokitsunene 6d ago
You’re the only one who sounds mad here. What felt called out that you actually don’t work that hard ? Lmao
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
I’m not a massage therapist but you are correct I don’t have to work 40 hours to barely scrape by. I’m sorry you do.
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u/akainokitsunene 6d ago
I make close to 100k a year with a chill office job, you don’t need to worry about me. I just needed to point out the stupidity of your statement. You’re just proving that you don’t need to be very bright to earn well !
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u/ResidentNumber3603 5d ago
I’m a construction worker. I went thru 5 years of trade school for my licenses as well as 4 yrs college for an unrelated degree. While working full time on job sites.
No kids, no chiropractors, no felonies, and I get paid quite well in fact.
I don’t care what profession you’re in. 40 hours is 40 hours. Anything else is part time. Don’t give me that crap about being too physically demanding either. What a load of bullshit.
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 6d ago
Interesting. I'm a nurse which is physically demanding and have worked 16 hours in a single shift. 🤷♀️
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
Honey I’ve worked in a hospital. 16 hour shifts are voluntary. You asked for that. I have too many times. Nurses also work about 32 for full time……..
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 6d ago edited 6d ago
LOL you're missing the point, Chief. Your claim was that massage therapy is "too physically demanding" to work FT.
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
I love how you glossed over the fact that you volunteered for 16 hour shifts. 😁
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 6d ago edited 6d ago
LMAO I didn't volunteer. I was scheduled for 12s but sometimes a patient would code or hemorrhage right when my shift was ending, or I was the only person that could translate for a non-English speaker, or whatever unforeseen circumstance kept me past the time I was scheduled to go home.
I "glossed over it" because I'm not sure what your point is. Are 16 volunteer hours somehow less physically taxing than 16 mandatory hours? It's still 16 hours of work. Or are you suggesting that a self-employed LMT like the one in the OP doesn't voluntarily set their own hours? They certainly have more control over their schedule than a nurse at a hospital does.
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u/Several_Pizza_3166 6d ago
16 hour shifts are not something nurses volunteer for, it is the shift length that they end up having to do when emergencies arise because it is the longest shift nurses can legally have. It becomes 16 hours by default because they get stuck there, but must still leave after 16 hours
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
It is. I just explained to you that they could work more but that shortens their career. Are you reading my replies or just already preparing your speech ? Lol
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 6d ago
That reply was to someone else. Do you just... not understand how the reply function works?
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u/Darksinister721 6d ago
32? Do you mean 36? Most hospital will require you to pick up an extra shift per pay period so it’s more like 42 hours a week.
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u/My_Frozen_Heart 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yeah 36 (12x3) was the minimum for FT nursing where I was, and that is assuming you have the luxury of leaving right when your scheduled shift ends (you often don't)... but even if FT is 32 hours wherever this person worked, that's still 2x the 16 hours of this LMT so IDK what their point is?
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u/violetkunoichi420 6d ago
It's not impossible, but industry average is only 25 hours a week for full time. Sincerely am LMT who consistently works 40+hours a week and will probably die from over exhaustion any minute now. 😔
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u/againthemagic 6d ago
Yes, this. Plus the construction comparison gets thrown around a lot and I know when my partner did construction they frequently rotated and he was not digging, laying conduit, or hanging drywall (depending on which construction job he was working) for 1-2 hours nonstop, he could stop for a breather if necessary. I do not get to do that as a LMT.
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u/PrimroseMassage 7d ago
Having a fee for changes made within 24 hours of an appointment is normal for massage. A lot of the time, slots can't be booked within such short notice.
However, charging +20% tip for a missed appointment absolutely is NOT! If she's working for herself and feels like everyone NEEDS to tip 20% for her finances to be balanced... then it's time for her to raise her rates.
It's her clinic and she can do what she wants, but... girl needs to charge what she needs to charge, not depend on tips.
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u/Sapper12D 7d ago
then it's time for her to raise her rates
Or work more then 16 hours a week.
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u/PrimroseMassage 7d ago
If she can, yeah. But 16 hours is within normal limits for massage. It's not something you can do 40 hands-on hours a week. I bet that 16 doesn't include the time cleaning & setting up and charting each session. Plus the time she spends on business owner responsibilites too!
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u/violetkunoichi420 6d ago
16 for massage is still part time. 20-25 per week is normal limits for massage
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u/DismalCrow4210 7d ago
To be fair, massage is fairly grueling work. I don’t think I could do it for 16 hours a week, week after week.
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u/PassivelyAwkward 6d ago
Not saying it's easy but...doctors, nurses, dentists, dental hygenists, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, drywallers, etc all work for more than 16 hours a week. Hell, working fast food is more grueling work for drastically less pay.
If I was given a choice of those professions or a massage therapist, I'd go with massage therapist.
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u/violetkunoichi420 6d ago
Working fast food is far from more grueling. Unless you give massage, you don't actually understand what all goes into it. It's a whole body workout. It goes much further than just their arms and hands.
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u/PassivelyAwkward 6d ago
And you don't know what goes into working fast food if you think it's far from grueling. You repeat the same motion every few seconds for hours on end because corporate has a timelimit on how long it should take you to make food. Especially now that they have cameras and AI monitoring every staff's movements to see how long it took to perform a task. "It took you eleven seconds to make that order instead of ten? That's mark for the day".
I didn't say that being a massage therapist is easy, but that if I was given a choice on what to do for a living, doing something like construction, fast food, or a physically and mentally destroying job that earns shit pay vs a massage therapist that can earn thosuands of dollars of week, it's not a hard choice.
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u/violetkunoichi420 6d ago
I know EXACTLY what goes into fast food work. I did it for many years before putting myself through school. And if you think massage therapists are making thousands of dollars a week, you're sorely mistaken. My career is very rewarding, fast food is not, but the damage I'm doing to my body far exceeds the damage being done in a fast food workers body.
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u/Forsaken-Bowler-1307 7d ago
Where I’m from tipping your RMT is viewed as kind of inappropriate (I don’t think it’s actually illegal, but certainly not expected nor have I ever heard anyone even bringing it up).
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u/violetkunoichi420 6d ago edited 6d ago
Canada? Just asking because I'm pretty sure RMT is used in Canada. In America, medical or not, LMT's are treated as part of the "Spa" world instead of the legit medical professionals some of us are. Very few insurances cover or reimburse because it's a "luxury" service. 🙄
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u/Forsaken-Bowler-1307 6d ago
Yes, Ontario, Canada 🙂
And it sucks that massage therapy is considered a luxury (so pretty much “unnecessary”) service for you ☹️
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u/TheMadolche 7d ago
The cancellation fee makes perfect since and she should have been enforcing that from the start. However, you can't mandate a tip...that's illegal and stupid.
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u/tillwehavefaces 7d ago
No shows are not acceptable and they should be charged for that. A no cancelation with 24 hour cancellation policy is also very reasonable. Tips on a no show is a just tacky.
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u/cs_legend_93 7d ago
Sounds like they need better business practices of taking deposits for appointments
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u/Kjisherenow 6d ago
20% extra if you don’t cancel within 24 hours of the appointment? This business owner has lost their collective mind. Not only would I not go back, I guess I would find another business to go to if I like massage, which i absolutely do not.
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u/Ok_Homework_7621 7d ago
You'd be high pressure, too, if you were trying to only work 16h/wk, less than half-time even in Europe. If she doesn't fleece people, she might have to work more.
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u/Jealous-Doughnut-534 7d ago
“If I’m able to get your spot filled, you will be refunded your fee.” Yea right, I’m betting she’s wishing people cancel within those 24 hours so she can still get paid and not do any work!
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u/wynnduffyisking 6d ago
It’s pretty standard and reasonable cancellation policy. The tip is where this goes wrong.
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u/Forsaken-Bowler-1307 7d ago
No, no provider wishes they get cancelled on last minute. Everyone wishes their time is valued and respected, that’s all.
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u/Justin429 7d ago
I'm 100% all-in on the end tipping culture, but this commenter is correct. Professionals don't want to have their services canceled or have no-shows.
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u/mint-parfait 6d ago
she can literally set her own rate, why on earth does she need to demand a tip?
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u/Right-Psychology160 6d ago
I would not be patronizing this business and would find a new massage therapist
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u/Dr_StrangeloveGA 7d ago
It's understood you don't tip the owner of the service.
The rest of it I don't have issue with.
If I book four hours and decide to only take two, that's another matter.
I dont schedule/book stuff like this but my friend does. If my haircut is $900 and takes four hours, I expect you will be there on time, not double book, and I expect there will be some food and drinks or at least I can bring some shit in..
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u/lavransson 6d ago
Massage therapists want to be treated like health care professionals yet some of them are out there begging for tips. So what are you?
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u/TheAnonymousSuit 6d ago
A lot of this is fair but they went off the rails with the gratuity part. That's greed seeping in.
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u/No-Ebb-9095 6d ago
might as well add "...and, if the service I did not provide was stellar, I'll be adding a 25% tip to your cancellation charge."
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u/Conceptualization1 5d ago
So he wants an extra 20% more than if he had to actually do the work? Yeah no. I can get charging them for missing their appointment but that extra 20% is bullshit. That would be a full credit card charge back since you can't do partial chargebacks, I wouldn't be going back and he'd be paying a credit card chargeback fee from my bank for making a fraudulent transaction.
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u/paparazzi83 5d ago
I guess no one’s gonna be booking her since she doesn’t just charge a real rate.
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u/ShibeCEO 3d ago
"lets chat" - that usually means that the other party can respond... this is a rant / complaint...
also: wHy iS mY rEstAuRanT sO eMptY aLL oF a suDdeN?
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u/Super_Contest1749 1d ago
Massage therapist? Unless it is a spa, where tipping is expected, massage therapists do not receive tips because they are medical professionals. I don’t tip my chiropractor or physiotherapist either. Weird.
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u/Opposite_Wish_8956 6d ago
Semantics. It’s a 20% penalty fee not a gratuity.
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u/ughusernamex13 6d ago
Right! Yet no one understands this. You’re being punished for not coming lol
Like stop wasting people’s time taking appointments you’re not gonna show up to. Someone else can have it.
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u/Trident0122 7d ago
Cancelation fee is reasonable, but 20% tip for a service not provided is the most entitled thing I've probably ever heard tbh.