massage and bodywork professionals
a community of practitioners
working at a salon
I completed my massage training this year and based on my business plan I made contact with local salons looking for a location that would employ me as an independent contractor. My training is more in medical/sports massage so the salon owner has been helping me adapt to a more "spa" modality.
My clientele is surprisingly balanced. I have about a 50/50 split of men to women- the women are usually seeking Swedish massage and have a greater interest in aromatherapy, the men are for the most part athletic or have very physically demanding jobs. I have great client relationships and the location is right on the main street in town.
I am looking for insight into what I see as a sometimes very unprofessional attitude in the salon environment. This is the first time I've been in an entirely female staffed work environment and I seem to be a very different kind of woman than my co-workers. Keeping my emotions in check, maintaining a professional attitude, and taking responsibility for my mistakes is something I learned growing up in my father's small business. There is so much blame and cattiness... it really is giving me a bad impression of women in business.
In addition, the salon owner believes that my medical background form is invasive and that I shouldn't be bothering people with questions like that in a salon. I've stood firm on that point and have tried to show her information on the risks of not asking these medical questions but she still sees it as a waste of time and an obstacle for clients.
In July in the midwest we had record high temperatures. Upon receiving the utility bill for July the owner insisted that the increase was due to my use of the laundry facilities (rather than the AC working overtime) and tried to insist that I help pay the bill out of my percentage. When I showed her that (coincidentally) I had done the exact same number of loads of laundry in June and July- believe me, I keep track of everything- she dropped the matter but still treated me poorly for weeks afterward.
Is this salons in general? Honestly most days I love what I do and get along well with the people here but there are days when the owner is just, well, a bully. There are all kinds of people in business and maybe I'm being over sensitive. I won't let her bowl me over, but she has a lot of connections in the community and the business community here and part of me is waiting for that day she decides A and I decide B and she destroys my reputation as a way of putting me in my place.
Does anyone here have experience with salon vs chiropractic office work? Would I be better off looking for a new location and easing out of the salon? Should I suck it up, keep my nose clean, and just always offer my best?
Views: 361
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Stacey Breslin on
-
OMG I'm glad I'm not the only one that went through this.. I was in a similar situation, I'll keep this short or else I could go on all night about what I went through but I was providing all supplies, equipment, started out with my own client base, promoting myself and only making 50% minus taxes. Sadly, this was my husbands family that I was working for, and they now are against me b/c I decided to leave and opened up my own business. I have lost a few clients, mainly the ones that I gained when I started working at the salon bc their clients then came to me BUT I have now busier than ever because most of my previous clients come more often than they did before and have been giving me lots of referrals. So if I were you, I would get out of the situation ASAP and make it as civil as possible which like in my case was pretty damn impossible b/c of how unprofessional they already were. Good luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Hannah Flynn on
-
Hi Cassandra- I can share in your frustration. I have been in a salon/day spa for over 1 year now and it can be very drama filled and catty, I don't fit in at all with the other women. Their lack of professionalism drives me crazy most days. Do you have a contract? If so, does it specifically state what expenses you are responsible for? If you really think she would go as far as destroying your reputation then I would definitely be looking elsewhere. My biggest issue in my situation is money. I am the only person who pays commission, everyone else is booth rent at $90 a week and I typically pay at least twice what the others do in a week. I had a couple really busy months where I payed over $1100 each month! I asked her just yesterday if I could switch to booth rent (seems only fair since the aestheticism is and other mt have been in the past) and was basically told no because she couldn't afford it since she is down a therapist and a stylist! So I am now bitter and feeling that I am being screwed because she needs the money. There aren't many other options in my area though so I am stuck for now... I have been in a chiro office and I did not have a good experience. I have also talked with several other therapist who have had terrible experiences in chiro offices as well. Obviously there are good and bad in all offices, it's just a matter of finding it.
-
Permalink Reply by Cassandra Cravens on
-
Sounds like you were in a tough spot too.
I made a year committment to the salon in March and per that agreement the owner converted one of her tanning rooms for massage. At that time she bought a table and chair even though I have my own equipment. She has also purchased oil and cream and linens and until July was having me use her salon laundry for washing linens. She's planning to maintain a massage offering whether or not I'm here and wanted to get on top of that. She's been very generous, and that's part of the problem.
She does/gives so much, more than she needs to and sometimes more than she should. Which is her choice, but the catch is that she expects others to do the same for her- whether or not they can afford it. I've discovered that I'm not the first contractor she's tried to pressure into helping with her bills. She seems to have a tendancy to jump into new business plans without much planning and when costs are higher than she failed to plan for she grabs at others to cover for it. This is just poor business sense. the issue comes when she treats people poorly who can't afford to help her pay for her business. She puts us in positions where we feel like we owe her so we feel like we deserve the abuse when we can't afford to help her out. Or at least that is what it felt like until I realized I was being bullied. Now I don't feel bad, I feel trapped.
this is such a small town and I've only lived here a couple of years. I'm still trying to make payments on my massage education and.... blarg. I'm not even sure what I'm asking here now.
How about, what is the most professional effective way to ease out of a business like this? She's added massage to her signage, converted this room... I really feel like I owe her and I have no idea how to talk with her about why I want to leave here without her immediately taking offense.
-
-
we have a verbal agreement. i tried to get her to look at a simple independant contracting agreement that would just give us a baseline of expectations. She was insulted that I wanted to make her sign some "legal jargon paperwork" and again, treated me poorly for days.
I didn't take issue with it at first, but doing laundry on site was part of our verbal agreement. I even offered to pay her so much per load and she refused the money. Then in July when the power bill came even though I was able to show her that my laundry usage was the same between June and July (and June's bill was her typical cost) she decided I had to do laundry offsite. no discussion, no chance to alter our agreement civilly, just her decision that it was now on me. In fact, when I tried to show her my records on laundry usage she told me "I'm not going to let you intimidate me with spreadsheets". I'm beginning to wonder if my college business classes have anything to do with the real world. How does a woman who has been in business for over 6 years get intimidated by a very basic spreadsheet?
After that I tried again to get her to sign a contracting agreement and again she got offended. She feels like her business is more of a "family" and doesn't need all that paperwork.
As I look back on what I just typed I think I'm realizing that I really do need to find another place. It looks so ridiculous- like the plot to a bad Hallmark movie. I'm being had aren't I?
-
-
Yes, I would definitely get out. I would never work for someone who doesn't want a contract, nothing good can come of that. Good luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
-
You can be bullied in a chiropractic office too... I dont use any kind of medical intake form... For me, there is no need... The laundry and money part of your problem is what bothers me...Thats not subjective..Its arithmetic.. I work in a day spa... Not quite the same. And I have a good boss... Ive worked in chiropractic offices too... There are good and bad bosses there too...There maybe no such thing as the perfect work environment, but we have to be happy getting up and going to work,.or life is miserable....The fact that your boss cant add or see reason when it comes to your laundery....Id be looking for another place to work... Working in a chiropractic office or a salon.. Doesn't really matter if you have a good boss and fun co-workers My opinion of course..
-
Permalink Reply by Gary W Addis, LMT on
-
Cassie, look to your state board's list of LMTs, find some fresh graduates and tell them of the business opportunity. IOW, since the lady committed to massage as a client service, if you find a suitable replacement you can walk away without guilt.
Cassandra Cravens said:Sounds like you were in a tough spot too.
I made a year committment to the salon in March and per that agreement the owner converted one of her tanning rooms for massage. At that time she bought a table and chair even though I have my own equipment. She has also purchased oil and cream and linens and until July was having me use her salon laundry for washing linens. She's planning to maintain a massage offering whether or not I'm here and wanted to get on top of that. She's been very generous, and that's part of the problem.
She does/gives so much, more than she needs to and sometimes more than she should. Which is her choice, but the catch is that she expects others to do the same for her- whether or not they can afford it. I've discovered that I'm not the first contractor she's tried to pressure into helping with her bills. She seems to have a tendancy to jump into new business plans without much planning and when costs are higher than she failed to plan for she grabs at others to cover for it. This is just poor business sense. the issue comes when she treats people poorly who can't afford to help her pay for her business. She puts us in positions where we feel like we owe her so we feel like we deserve the abuse when we can't afford to help her out. Or at least that is what it felt like until I realized I was being bullied. Now I don't feel bad, I feel trapped.
this is such a small town and I've only lived here a couple of years. I'm still trying to make payments on my massage education and.... blarg. I'm not even sure what I'm asking here now.
How about, what is the most professional effective way to ease out of a business like this? She's added massage to her signage, converted this room... I really feel like I owe her and I have no idea how to talk with her about why I want to leave here without her immediately taking offense.
-
Permalink Reply by Carrie Patrick on
-
It sounds like she IS running the business as a "family" ... I've seen a movie about that kind of family, it was called The Godfather. ;)
You owe this employer nothing, and as you said earlier, she was planning on adding massage to her salon whether or not it's you who is providing the massage. If you leave, I am sure she will try to give you a big guilt trip about how she added a table and signage and everything else JUST FOR YOU, blah blah blah, but you have to remember the reality of the situation. She didn't do that for you. She did it for her business, it was a business decision, and all her actions and decisions would have been exactly the same whether she had hired you or someone else as the contractor. You have no guilt in this situation if you decide the arrangement isn't working out for you and go elsewhere.
Helping her find a replacement for you would be nice, but you shouldn't think of it as an obligation. Would you ever feel like that was your moral obligation when leaving any other type of job where you were unhappy and being mistreated?
-
-
Except of course the guilt that might come from placing a newbie at the center of this woman's psychosis...
Gary W Addis said:Cassie, look to your state board's list of LMTs, find some fresh graduates and tell them of the business opportunity. IOW, since the lady committed to massage as a client service, if you find a suitable replacement you can walk away without guilt.
-
-
Yes, agreed completely! Although, if you do let other therapists know that the position will be available, I think it would be right to give them an idea of why you're leaving it. You never know, there might be someone who would be happy for the opportunity (it takes all kinds) but it really doesn't sound like a salon I would want to encourage somebody to join.
Pete L Blanco II said:Except of course the guilt that might come from placing a newbie at the center of this woman's psychosis...
Gary W Addis said:Cassie, look to your state board's list of LMTs, find some fresh graduates and tell them of the business opportunity. IOW, since the lady committed to massage as a client service, if you find a suitable replacement you can walk away without guilt.
-
-
That was my first thought when i started thinking about helping her find a replacement therapist. i cannot in good conscience tell someone they should come work here.
Pete L Blanco II said:Except of course the guilt that might come from placing a newbie at the center of this woman's psychosis...
Gary W Addis said:Cassie, look to your state board's list of LMTs, find some fresh graduates and tell them of the business opportunity. IOW, since the lady committed to massage as a client service, if you find a suitable replacement you can walk away without guilt.
© 2024 Created by ABMP.
Powered by
