Mobile Spa Safety
From the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA):
Their Question:
I am interested in starting a mobile massage business - going into people's homes to do massage. Question: how do you keep yourself safe? Anyone have experience with this? Thanks
Our Answer:
We are a tourist-oriented mobile massage business that employs over 20 therapists. Because our advertising material is very professional and clear about what we do, the vast majority of our callers are perfectly awesome clients who just want a fabulous massage, yet we do have to contend with the occasional dude who wants to know whether we offer "happy endings" or whether it's really a "FULL" body massage. Therefore, we've developed a few important company policies:
- We only send male therapists to single male clients unless there is clear evidence of a woman in the client's picture (i.e. the wife sets up the booking). This costs us some business, but we don't care. We'd rather sacrifice the commission than worry about whether our therapist is safe.
- Therapists are ALWAYS free to bail on a massage for ANY reason including their instincts or not liking what they see when they arrive. No explanation is required.
- We always request a deposit to hold the reservation (by credit card or Paypal). This not only provides advance identity verification, but vastly reduces the frequency of no-shows, which is really problematic when one has invested travel time.
- Therapists must dress and present professionally - no bra straps, no short skirts, and relatively modest clothing. We allow a lot of leeway for personal style (especially among the most experienced therapists), but the overall look must read "professional massage therapist". Ditto for table presentation and all client communications. If you look and act professional, your clients will treat you that way AND be more relaxed going into the massage.
So as a single female, here's what we recommend: Find yourself a partner and focus on couples massage. As a general rule, we assume female clients are safe. Only take single male appointments if you have a compelling reason to believe that they are okay and err on the side of caution. Your safety is always more important than any money you think you need to make.
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