Chelmsford Thai massage shop 'tired' of being asked for sex work - BBC.com

[Shivani Chaudhari]

Thai masseuses 'tired' of being asked for sex work​

Maneerat Bossog and her staff at Real Thai Massage in Chelmsford in Essex

The owner of a Thai massage business has revealed she gets calls "every single day" from people asking if her staff offer sex work.

Maneerat Bossog came to England in 2019 and has been a masseuse for 17 years. She opened Real Thai Massage in Chelmsford in April after running a successful massage shop in Brentwood for the past four years.

Ms Bossog has had to put a sign on the door of the Chelmsford branch which reads: "We only provide professional massage services. Please do not ask for anything else."

Ms Bossog said when the shop had first opened almost half of the calls were men asking for "extra services" which has made her feel like she has to "justify my job every day".

The store has had to put up a sign that reads: "We only provide professional massage services. Please do not ask for anything else"

The owner said the sign was put on the front door in May and multiple signs have been put up inside the shop too.

She said: "We feel unhappy, the sign is there to protect us."

Ms Bossog added: "I want to protect traditional Thai massage and the goodwill of healing people from pain.

"I don't want anyone to look down on a pure profession that we are 100% committed to doing the right thing."

She said: "Sometimes I get a phone call from men who are asking for 'extra' and I have to ask them 'what they mean by extra'?"

Maneerat Bossog has 17 years of experience in being a masseuse and has said she has studied the craft for many years

Ms Bossog said some of her staff - a team of professional masseuses - had quit because of the offensive calls.

The shop advertised for a receptionist job earlier this year and a requirement was being able to refuse and handle customers who ask for "sexual services" on the phone.

"We are professional masseuses, if we offered anything else, we would not put up our sign up," Ms Bossog added.

"I have studied and learnt a lot about massage and therapies and my experience is almost 17 years now. Whatever we do comes from the soul.

"We are so sad and that is why we have put the sign up."

However, after almost five years of having a shop in Brentwood, she said it has got "a lot better" at that branch.

She said most people knew them in the area and the shop had a loyal customer base.

Ms Bossog added the phone calls had even caused problems in her staff's marital life and their husbands had prohibited them from working at the shop.

To prevent this from happening, Ms Bossog said she has had to invite workers' families to the store to prove to them that they are offering honest work.

"I believe in my education and in what I do so that's why I don't get scared," she added.

"I train my staff to be strong with this and tell them that we don't do this."

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