50 minute massages

[nOnAME_MAN]

I am just curious to hear others opinions on 50 min massages. It seems they are everywhere now. I like to sample others work and am actually having a hard time finding a new practitioner that gives a full hour. And judging from some of the posts I've read, not all advertise that they cut short the hour. When I went to school, 60 min in an hour was the norm. I guess the ME business model is catching on big time.

I could never get everything done in 50 min, I'd either have to give everything a quick once over or skip areas. Add that to the fact that I do lots of specific &/or deep tissue work, it would be impossible. If I were ever forced to work at one of these places I'd end up trying to talk every client that walks in the door into getting an 80 min. We offer 45 min where I work, if someone books an appt for that length I let them know I can either do a very quick once over & maybe have time to work one area(although usually not as much as I'd like) or I will do focused work on maybe 2-3 areas & secondary work on surrounding areas.

As a client I don't like to book at these places because I worry the therapist might be burnt out or i will be rushed, as I know establishments that do this book on the hour. I know many owners respect their therapists and will book them only as much as they feel they can handle, but when looking at at companies literature I do not know this.

Just curious to hear everyone's opinions on the topic, from both therapists that do 50 min and offer a full hour.

 

[Boomer Rat]

50 minute massages

I have always done a full 60min. "hour."

 

[Ajack (got it back :3)]

50 minute massages

Our business does 60 minute hours and schedules time between clients for changing the linens, intakes, followups, etc.

 

[Pashy]

50 minute massages

At least massage envy does admit that the "hour" is actually 50 minutes.

I check out the description of services before I book at any new place - many of them WILL list the time allowed.
I always tell the therapist what area is my priority - and what areas I do NOT want work on and leave it up to them on how they use their time. Typically - if I have more than one major issue I will book 90min - I am more likely to receive the work I want in that time without feeling "jipped"
Your best bet in getting that full hour is to find someone in private practice.
They are usually smart enough to schedule themselves appropriately.

At one place that I work (4 years) I am constantly battling with the owner over this - I ask repeatedly NOT to be booked back to back on the hour. Yet she insists that the session be a full hour...even when client is late. Guess her math skills aren't too great :

 

[Tiffany]

50 minute massages

We schedule 30 minutes between sessions to take care of room change-over, therapist potty time/drink, client check-out and *hopefully* next client check-in. When they don't arrive on time or early, it's hard to keep up with the schedule. I may try changing the wording of our session descriptions to include that fact; something like, "We intend for our 'one-hour' session to be a full hour; if you have the same desire, please arrive early so we can take care of the pre-session discussions before your hour actually begins." Of course, being our own boss, we can do that... (if the clients will comply. Some insist on arriving precisely "on time", and then talk too much before getting on the table...)

 

[azagames]

50 minute massages

Massage Envy was my first job when I got my license because frankly it was the only place that would actually look at my resume and not dismiss it immediately for lack of massage experience. I think I lasted 2 1/2 months with them. And this was during the summer which is the slow season. I can't imagine how it would have been during the holidays.

Since I was one of only 2 girls who actually gave a deep tissue massage, I would get 4 clients in a row who demanded I go deeper every minute and quickly because the session was only 50 minutes. They would have none of the "I need to warm up your tissues first".

I had a talk with the owner about the situation but nothing was ever done. I asked the girls in the front desk to ask if the client was looking for a deep massage and to fan them out throughout the day, and they understood cuz both girls were going to massage school at the time, but the clients would just say they wanted relaxation and them come in and ask for deep pressure everywhere cuz they "can't really feel anything getting done". When I would explain that it would be a good idea to schedule a 90 min for their next massage I would usually get something like "I'm paying enough already. Just do your job." snaped back at me.

 

[SLA]

50 minute massages

Some places do 50 minute massages because they are making appointments on the hour, every hour, giving the MT 10 minutes to wait for the client to get dressed, escort them out, change linens and clean room, greet the next client, do an intake, and then wait for them to get on the table. I worked in a place like that for a while, your first client would get a full 50 minutes, the rest would get shortchanged, because we were required to stop at 10 minutes till, regardless.

It was ridiculous, 10 minutes is never enough time between clients. And to make things worse, they also offered a 25 minute massage. Scheduled on the hour or the half hour, with those you got 5 minutes between clients.

As I am writing this, I am amazed at how long I put up with that.

 

[sjwanderer]

50 minute massages

Years ago I worked with a company that provided 50 min. massages. It's not my cup of tea.

Personally, it takes me about an hour to relax on the massage table myself, and an hour an a half is really best for my body.

In my private practice I have always offered 60 min., 90 min and 120 min. massages. I schedule 30 mins. between clients 99.9% of the time and I like it like that.

Those are my opinions.

 

[Breezy]

50 minute massages

ME didn't start this, high end spa's have been doing it as long asI remember. It's all about the money, lol

 

[Lexi]

50 minute massages

So far it seems everyone who replied so far can't do their best work in less then an hour either. I have seen independent practitioners both on this board and around town who advertise 50 min sessions. So there are those that choose to do this, and I guess they feel they can get everything done in an hour.

I realize ME didn't start his, but they are the most successful & well known with the business aspect. Others must be taking notice and following suit. So is it all about the money with the independent mts as well? If so I find it disheartening that most of what I find around here is this way of practicing massage. I have had numerous clients comment after the massage that they have never had their muscles worked before. While yes I do appreciate the awareness and advertising ME & the like do for our industry, but I also wonder how many go for a 50 min full body session and don't realize how much more to massage there can be and just write it off.

As far as requesting a full body dt in 50 min, I always wonder if some of these people are just so numb to the world they just can't feel anything. I have stopped trying to force dt like that long ago. I feel I put myself at increased risk for injury as well as my client.

 

[justme123]

50 minute massages

no, no...ME didn't start this, I agree, it WAS the "high-end" spas, and it has always been about the money NOT the therapist.

I am surprised to hear that some in private practice do this, rather than the full hour. I haven't seen it personally in my area.
I wonder if that's the way they think it's supposed to be...working for all those places that have 50 min hours.

One menu I looked recently was so confusing with the times - they listed various times and prices for each service...
for 60/75/90 minutes (yet the actual service time is 10 minutes less). So to get a full hour I would have to book for the 75min price...and if I book 90min, I really only get 75-80 minutes.

Another menu that I just looked at does NOT list the service times at all, just the price!

Whatever works I guess!

 

[? Christina angel baby ?]

50 minute massages

The clinic that I have worked at for over 18yrs does the 50 minute thing. They book on the hour but they do have it posted in the reception area that the massage is for 50 minutes so clients are well notified. Believe it or not but several years ago we took an informal vote to see if we should change it to 60 minutes table time with a small break in between and I was the only therapist there at the time who wanted to do so. The rest thought it would cut down on the number of massages a day they could do.

t102

At my new office I do a full 60 minutes. Shoot, if left to my own devices I normally do closer to 75 minutes. Actually I try to get most of my clients to schedule 90 minutes because I feel that I can do a much more thorough job.

Angie

 

[FoulgeVossess]

50 minute massages

Moogie- how do you feel about the work you provide at the 50 min/ session clinic? Do you manage to get everything in? Obviously you like to give (& probably receive) massages like myself- slow and thorough. I'm like you with the 75 min sessions, but I have managed to get it down to 65 min. I can get a whole lot done in the extra 15 min.

The threapists are so used to doing 50 min massages,I hadn't thought about it like that. Especially when you hear some schools are starting to teach students to cater to ME clients. I guess this is they way the industry is going?

 

[Scarecrow Man]

50 minute massages

Moogie- how do you feel about the work you provide at the 50 min/ session clinic? Do you manage to get everything in? Obviously you like to give (& probably receive) massages like myself- slow and thorough. I'm like you with the 75 min sessions, but I have managed to get it down to 65 min. I can get a whole lot done in the extra 15 min.

The threapists are so used to doing 50 min massages,I hadn't thought about it like that. Especially when you hear some schools are starting to teach students to cater to ME clients. I guess this is they way the industry is going?

I know you asked this question of moogie, but I realized while re-reading your original post, that this may be the kind of info you were looking for, so I thought I'd chime in too.

When I was doing 50 min. massages (for about 3 years at the one place I mentioned), I didn't feel bad about my work. I was able to do a thorough session in 50 mins. Granted, I was loosing the 10 mins, so, I had to be very judicious of my time - for example, in my own practice that extra 10 mins. is going to go to an area that needs more work - but, it didn't mean that I couldn't still be thorough and work slow. Timing is everything here. So, for example, you may cut down a min. from the head, neck and feet. That gives you three more minutes. And, you cut down a half min. from each limb (supine and prone). That gives you 4 mins. And, you take a min. and half from each glute. That gives you 3 more minutes. You have shaved off ten mins. from a 60 min. massage without the client feeling compromised.

Of course, some people only want their arms and legs skimmed. So, if you normally get too involved in the arms and legs, this is a very easy place to gain minutes. I can do an arm (supine and prone) in one minute on each side and still make it flow seamlessly with the massage, make the massage feel like a full body and keep the client very very happy. That gives a lot of extra time when you need it. I can do the same for a leg in a min. or min. and half.

So, if you are looking to learn how to shave off time and still provide a great massage, I suggest asking clients if they want a lot of arm/leg work prior to the massage. This can help you to be more effective on the other parts which may be important to the client. I also do this with 60 min. and 90 min. massages. It's not that the arms and legs aren't important, but I find a lot of people just aren't wanting as much work in these areas. Who am I to dictate how their massage goes? I may suggest more work in an area that is known to be problematic with a particular problem they may not have thought of, but by and far, this is a great way to get more time into those full body massages.

And, I don't think the industry is going the way of ME. I think ME is going the way of ME, and a possibly a few more people are following in their foot steps. High end spas (as already mentioned) have been doing this for years and years.

As the general public gets more and more familiar with massage (through ME's commercials and chains), it gives us the opportunity to writing good web content to encourage people to see the benefit of what many of us do in private practice every day - making the private practice the wave of the future, in my opinion.

 

[Britney]

50 minute massages

no, no...ME didn't start this, I agree, it WAS the "high-end" spas, and it has always been about the money NOT the therapist.

I am surprised to hear that some in private practice do this, rather than the full hour. I haven't seen it personally in my area.
I wonder if that's the way they think it's supposed to be...working for all those places that have 50 min hours.

One menu I looked recently was so confusing with the times - they listed various times and prices for each service...
for 60/75/90 minutes (yet the actual service time is 10 minutes less). So to get a full hour I would have to book for the 75min price...and if I book 90min, I really only get 75-80 minutes.

Another menu that I just looked at does NOT list the service times at all, just the price!

Whatever works I guess!

In reading this lively thread, I began to think of the concept of a "50-minute hour". I remembered being in school (elementary/high school), and realized that THEY also do a "50-minute hour". Actually, I think their hours are really more like "45 minutes"; the bell rings, and those extra 15 minutes are for students to wend their way through the halls to their next classes. Bathroom break optional. It never really hit me that they were reducing the meaning of "an hour" until I started to home school my own children, and learned that in counting "hours of work done", it referred to each 45-minute block of time rather than a full 60 minutes.

So, the massage industry itself is not the initiator nor only user of this "less is more" time model.

 

[Georgia_xo]

50 minute massages

And another question: Can other therapists actually manage to get by on only 10 minutes between clients for their own physical down-time? We schedule sessions with 30 minutes between-- not only to give us time to turn the room over and check out one client/talk to the next one, but also to allow ourselves the chance to rest, go to the bathroom, grab a bite of protein, stretch.... I did back-to-back-to-back in my internship in massage school, and was SO glad when I was done and would be able to control that timing for myself "from then on out" (knowing from the get-go that I was going into business with Hubby rather than to work somewhere else). Maybe I'm just a wimp....

 

[Mundane]

50 minute massages

I don't think you're a wimp. Your post made me realize that in all the spas/clinics I've been an employee at, we've done the 50-minute back-to-back massages with 10 minutes in between. Plenty of time to change the sheets, but not enough time to recover from the last one. Looking back, being employed at those places I've always felt burnt out with massage, and that's probably the reason!

When I just started in private practice I did 50 minutes since that's what I learned, and while a lot of times I felt like I ran out of time, I never felt bad about doing a bad job. It just could have been better. Anyway, I did finally realize that I was in charge of my time now so I switched to 60 minutes with a half hour in between. Not only does it give me a rest, but what if someone asks for another 10 or 15 minutes? This is starting to happen frequently and I am perfectly ok with it!

 

[elenelie]

50 minute massages

So far it seems everyone who replied so far can't do their best work in less then an hour either. I have seen independent practitioners both on this board and around town who advertise 50 min sessions. So there are those that choose to do this, and I guess they feel they can get everything done in an hour.

I do my best work no matter how many "minutes" I get. As a profession we are geared toward an hour of time for the majority of our work. However, that can be the "spa hour" as previously noted, or 60 real mins. The amount of time does not have to do with my doing my best work though. And, I do think it is important to understand the difference.

I realize that you are using the hour time frame concept regarding a full body massage that you are providing. But, what about the person who works extraordinarily slow? Now you have to guage as to if that person who provides less strokes per hour is doing a better, worse or equal massage as you, during the same amount of time, when using your rationale.

What it comes down to is skill you use, in the range of time you are given, and, how your maximize the effort your are putting into that table-work. I find that as I get older, I work more efficiently than I did when I was younger. This has to do with my knowledge level and my willingness to learn how to apply my craft in a different manner.

No, I can't do a full body in 5 mins., but if you only give me 5 mins. to work, I can pick and choose accordingly to how I will best use my five minutes. I think this is an important aspect to consider for this thread.

If you are working in an environment where you only get 50 mins., utilize that 50 mins. to the best of your abilities. If you want to invoke change toward a 60 min. hour (a real hour), then do so. We'll be happy to try and come up with ideas how to get this concept across to your boss too, if you like. It may or may not work, but if it's what you are seeking, it's worth a shot.

If you think of other questions that we haven't answered, please make sure and add them here too. Keep picking our brains.

 

[Pompal 09.]

50 minute massages

Moogie- how do you feel about the work you provide at the 50 min/ session clinic? Do you manage to get everything in? Obviously you like to give (& probably receive) massages like myself- slow and thorough. I'm like you with the 75 min sessions, but I have managed to get it down to 65 min. I can get a whole lot done in the extra 15 min.

I feel good about the work I do no matter the time restraints. If I only have 50 minutes, then I make the client understand that there is no way to do a full body massage and work out all of their issues. I make them chose what is more important to them. I rarely do full-bodies at the clinic. I have a few clients that come in for relaxation only but for the most part I do therapeutic for pain relief so I spend the entire time on their problem areas. I have been able to convince most of my clients who really want a full body plus therapy to schedule hour & 1/2s.

The threapists are so used to doing 50 min massages,I hadn't thought about it like that. Especially when you hear some schools are starting to teach students to cater to ME clients. I guess this is they way the industry is going?

I went to massage school LONG before there was ever a ME (1991) and in the clinic there we were taught to do a 50 minute massage as that is what most employers were expecting.

Angie

 

[benchrisdarren]

50 minute massages

Wow, I have lots here to comment on!

First, I guess I worded things poorly. The comment about not doing your best in 50 min didn't mean I or anyone else wasn't giving the massage my/their best effort because the time was shorter. I meant that if I had to do a massage in this time frame I would end many sessions feeling like there was so much more work to do. I feel like clients are not only paying for our time, but they're also paying to feel a certain way when they leave- be it relaxed, relief from pain, more flexibility, etc. and you can't always accomplish this in 60 min exactly. I like that I work at a place where I can give an extra 5-10 min if necessary. If you already are giving sessions 10 min less, and are booked on the hour, you have no leeway. Besides, I've had two 50 min massages and body parts were left out. I am a very small & petite lady and don't have much tension to work on, and I can't think of any area I'd want less time on. Not that I should be judging all 50 min on these experiences.

Thanks for breaking down how you do it peuppi & moogie. Funny thing is peuppi, time managementn isnt my strongsuit & these are all tricks I've used to get my massages down to an hour. Another trick I learned when time is short is to use forearms so you can cover a bigger area, thereby getting more bang for your minute.

Maybe the reason I was having such a hard time grasping this concept is that my office attracts so many people with pain issues and also want a relaxing massage. I guess after a while you begin to think everyone has issues with their neck/back/hip/ whatever. Very rarely we get someone who just wants to relax.

Also, I didn't know so many schools always taught this way. I was taught a 60 min session in school, and before school always recieved 60 min, and always offered 60 min/ hr session (we also offer 30,45,75,90, 120). I wonder if it is a regionl thing, or just coincidence.

Renee- that is the other issue I have, is 10 min in between enough time? On top of what you mentioned, I also need time to clear myself from the prior session. I was also glad I could schedule more time than our usual 15 min in between this summer when I injured my hands. That way I could still make the same money w/out causing further damage. One Mt I
know who worked at a spa w/ 50 min sessions said they often had to store dirty sheets under the table because they
didn't have enough time to put sheets in the laundry in between.

Thanks all for the various opinions on this, you are definitely solving my curiosity on this subject.

And about more independants writing articles, that is a fabulous idea! I've always been keen on more mts/ holistic practitioners being out in the public eye and educating what we do. It's something I think about, but have never gotten around to doing.