You may have noticed when booking a massage that there are two prices listed for each service: the dollar value and the points value. This has raised some questions.
What are these points, anyway?
We’ve recently adopted Vagaro as our scheduling service and payment processor. One feature they offer is a rewards system for returning customers. We love it because it’s a great way to show our loyal customers our appreciation. You’ll love it because, hey–free massage!
How do they work?
Our rewards points can be earned by receiving massage*. Every hour of massage earns you 10 points.
You can also earn points when you add session enhancements like tension release; hands, feet, or scalp upgrade; or chocolate hydrating face mask. The number of points depends on the dollar value of the enhancement. To see how many points your enhancement will earn you, look at the booking menu and under each item, “earned rewards” are listed under the name of the enhancement.
Free Stuff?!
Rewards can be redeemed at a rate of 50 points for a half hour of massage. You can bank them as long as you like, or spend them right away, either on a 30 minute session or as an upgrade to your session.
Watch this space, as we plan on adding products to our rewards redemption options. For now, your points can only be redeemed for massage and select session enhancements.
What do I have to do?
Nothing, really. You don’t even have to carry around a card or install an app. If you wish to see your rewards points balance, simply log in to your Vagaro account (if you’ve had a massage with us before, you already have one). Go to your profile on the top right hand of the page. Click on the star icon on that page and you will see your balance.
How do I redeem my points?
Just talk to us at reception at checkout to use your rewards for your massage
Can I save them up?
Rewards points can be banked for as long as you like with no limit and do note expire. Use them however you wish.
*Medical Massage, which is billed to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry or an auto insurance company is wholly except from the rewards system. You may not use points for these services, nor can points be earned in receiving them.
Tom Gunn is the blog editor and marketing director at The Good Life Massage. To hire Tom for tutoring, writing, or consulting, visit his website at www.TGunnWriter.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @ElManoRoboto.
When you get right down to it, the gender of your massage therapist really makes no effective difference.
While it’s true that there are some good reasons for objecting to getting a massage from a male therapist, my hope in this post is to at least open your mind to the idea, and question whether your objection is really as big as you think.
I was a little reluctant to get a massage from a male therapist for the first time myself. I had only ever been worked on by female therapists at GLM (we have only had female therapists until recently). Then, a male intern came in and I got on the list for a free session. I think of myself as open-minded and willing to try things, so I didn’t outwardly flinch at the idea of getting a massage from a man.
But inwardly? Yeah, I admit it. I did flinch a little.
After I got on the table, I realized my reluctance was completely silly. It helped that the intern in question was highly skilled and is going to have a great career in massage someday. (What I got for free will one day cost hundreds of dollars, I am certain.)
As I felt his hands on me, I realized that it’s a lot like getting examined by a male physician. This intern was there to take care of my health: period, final. There was no other motive or intention behind his touch, and every move he made spoke to his high level of skill and professionalism. With my eyes closed, I couldn’t tell the gender of my therapists, and I didn’t care.
Why?
So why is it that I was so hesitant? What held me back? And if you have a problem with getting a massage from a man, what’s holding you back?
There’s no denying that there’s an intimacy in massage that is matched by few other kinds of health treatment. You are being touched in places few people even see, let alone touch. The trust involved in letting a stranger work on your body is hard to over-state. But let’s put the brakes on a few false ideas right now:
Clinical massage is not sexual
While massage therapy has a reputation for being a sexual service in some circles, that is emphatically not the case at a clinic like The Good Life Massage. What we offer is a relaxing, healing service in a clinical setting. While it’s true that massage can be pleasurable, in no way is clinical massage intended to be an erotic experience.
We meet and exceed Washington state law regarding proper draping techniques. Further, our massage therapists are expected to be completely professional. They will not initiate sexual touching of any kind, and will end a session immediately if sexual touch is initiated or requested by a client, either implicitly or explicitly. Any misconduct in this area is grounds for immediate termination and possible legal action.
We don’t discriminate, and neither should you
The Good Life Massage is an equal opportunity employer. We do everything possible to hire the very best therapists we can find, and gender is never a factor in that decision. Period.
If you need a massage, don’t you just want the best possible care you can find? If you need your appendix out, are you going to balk if your surgeon is a certain gender?
After my massage with that intern–feeling like my entire back and core muscles had been effectively replaced with brand new ones–I felt a little bit silly for feeling that tug of reluctance at seeing a male therapist.
In fact, I’ve been back many times to see our newest therapist as of this posting, Charlie Fadness. Charlie is our first male therapist, and I wish we could have brought him on sooner. I feel like a million bucks after every session with him.
But still …
If you still object to seeing a male therapist, we completely understand. We don’t want to pressure our clients into doing anything they don’t want to do. But there are a few things you should take note of before coming in for the fist time.
State your preference
If you feel strongly that you prefer a male or female practitioner, let us know right away. We can keep that information on record so it never becomes an issue. If you’re booking over the phone, our front desk staff will try to make it clear with whom you’re having a massage, but we won’t bring the issue of gender up if you don’t. It’s on you to state your preference and ensure it’s being honored. Read your confirmation carefully and be sure to call us more than 24 hours prior to your appointment if you need to reschedule.
Tom Gunn is the blog editor and director of marketing for The Good Life Massage. You can find him online at http://www.TGunnWriter.com or on Twitter @elmanoroboto
Know Your Practitioner is your chance to become more familiar and comfortable with your massage therapist. If you aren’t sure which of our talented therapists would be best for you to come back to regularly, this is a great way to meet them and get to know who they are, both personally and professionally. This is Part 6 in the series. To learn more about our other therapists, check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.
We’re pleased to introduce you to Charlie Fadness, LMT. Charlie is highly skilled, and comes to us with a great facility for deep tissue work, and can get good and deep with the pressure if that’s what you need. Being fairly new, Charlie isn’t our busiest therapist as of this posting, but we’re confident that will change soon; his clients are already starting to come back for more. We sat down with Charlie to talk about his experience, his inspiration, and his motivation for working in massage.
View the video version of this interview below:
Tell us a little something about your personal life: hobbies, interests, family, friends, etc.
My name is Charlie Fadness. I’m born and raise here, living in Seattle most of my life, kind of jumping around a little bit, kind of going towards south, then kinda coming back to Seattle. My hobbies right now are spending time with family and friends, and then occasionally gaming on my computer from time to time. When I go out with my friends, I usually either try to either catch a bite to eat, or go to the movies, or kind of try a new activity. Our last activity was going to an archery range and then going out for dinner. That was really fun. Tell us about your career in massage. How did you get started? What events lead to you working here?
As a kid I’ve always done massage, just kind of massaging my dad’s back, and my older sister would always make me massage her hands and feet before she went to bed. So I was always doing massage in my life. But the one thing that kind of triggered it was I was playing volleyball with a friend, and we were playing and she injured her shoulder. And I really wanted to figure our what was going on in the muscles. So I was kind of feeling around and seeing what was going on in there, but I couldn’t really find out what was going on. But I really wanted to know. So I believe that kind of sparked it all, really.
Before The Good Life Massage, I started at a chiropractor. That was my first job. I was excited! It was fun. And then slowly I moved over to Massage Envy just because the hours were a little bit better. Working at The Good Life Massage, everyone is kind of one big family. Everyone gets along. The atmosphere is really great. The clients are really great.
What’s your favorite part of this job? What gets you excited to come to work?
My favorite part about massage has to be the clients, because each day you walk in the door, you don’t really know what you’re expecting, so it’s like a whole new challenge every day, which I really like. I’m not a big fan of the “go to this job and you only have to do this set of things and not much really changes. So, when you’re in an atmosphere where everything changes, even by the minute, it’s really fun and exciting. You never know what you’re gonna tackle.
What is it about your massage that keeps your clients coming back? What makes you stand out from the other GLM therapists?
One of my strong points in massage right now is going and finding knots. I love working out the knots, and a lot of clients have told me I just kind of know where they are, and so they’re really fun for me to work out, and it brings a lot of tension release for the client.
Pick a superpower: flying or turning invisible. Explain your answer.
If I could pick a superpower, I think I would pick flying, because if you’re invisible, you can still be invisible. If you can fly, you can get to distances really quickly. So I just feel like it would be like soaring through the sky like a bird. It would just be amazing, and the views and the landscapes would all be amazing and breath-taking.
We’re all about wellness here. What’s your favorite health habit? This can be something that you’re working on, have mastered, or just feel like our clients should be doing.
Right now, as for health for myself, I’ve been really trying to eat healthy–rarely going out to eat, making all of my dinners, making all of my lunches. So that’s really be healthy for me. And drinking a lot of water and starting to exercise a little bit more, and you really feel that. Eating healthy nowadays is really important for the body just because of all the chemicals and stuff that are in the food, and sometimes when you go out you don’t really know what’s inside the food. But when you’re at home making it, you know exactly what’s inside the food. I feel like it’s a lot more beneficial for our bodies.
Is there a client you’ve worked on who stands out in your memory? Someone for whom massage made a big difference?
One of my clients that I’m seeing now has benefited a lot from massage. She would always wake up every day and have to kind of pop her hip into place. That really irritated her until her friend recommended massage. So she went in one day and I was working into her glute muscles and her hip muscles and she felt a lot of relief. She didn’t have to pop the muscles in her hip all the time, and she was really happy. I took quite a long vacation, and when I came back, she made me feel so welcome. The first time she saw me after I came back she was jumping in joy. So that made me feel really happy and excited inside.
Finish this statement: I wish my clients knew …
I wish my clients knew how important their bodies are, and how we influence the muscles in their bodies, and just kind of moving things around–that can benefit them so much.
Thanks, Charlie!
Book a massage with Charlie today through our website, or give us a call.
425-243-7705
Please note that Charlie is unable to perform the aromatherapy enhancement due to an allergy.
Tom Gunn is the blog editor and director of marketing at The Good Life Massage. You can find him online at TGunnWriter.com or on Twitter, @ElManoRoboto
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