Massage Groups

I had a recent round table discussion with other massage therapists about their cancellation policies and I found most, if not all, of their policies to be too lenient. Perhaps it’s just me, but I think any notice less than a week, and maybe 9 or 10 days if there is a weekend notification to be right. Many therapists I know ask for a 24 hour notice, and I think that is too little.

I am sticking to my guns as of now, cancel within 7 business days and no charge for rescheduling, but any less notice than that and I may find it harder to book that time with another client, so I am currently charging a 50% cancellation fee if it;s not done within that time frame, and if it is not canceled within 48 hours of the session, then 100% is expected.

Am I being too stringent with this? Does anyone else use a similar policy?

I’ve had several discussions with people who have had some troubling issues with contracts with various massage spas or businesses. One particular situation involved a friend who had signed up at a place where she had hoped to make lots of money and stay for a long time due it’s close proximity to her home, however after she signed the contract and began working, she found herself longing to find another place of emplyment, unfortunately, the contract she signed kept her from working within close proximity to her home and also had a clause that she would have to pay hundreds of dollars to the spa id she stopped working there within a year of starting.

From a business owners perspective I can understand the need to protect certain secrets, and the need to protect yourself if you are running advertisements for a certain famous contractor who is working at your establishment. However this friend of mine was fresh out of massage school, so she was not famous. She was not advertised with her name specifically, and was not privy to any of the behind the scenes business or marketing meetings, so this contract was really over broad and went way overboard for her situation, especially since the amount of money she had hoped to make there did not stack up to what she was led to believe.

I suggest reading and re-reading any contracts that you sign, talk to your friends and peers about any contracts, and discuss with an attorney if it is complicated. Also be aware what you sing becomes the rules, and sometimes what you think that has been talked about will be adhered to, is not usually the case.