I always wonder if we are the only profession that gets treated this way, if other professions get hounded by bargain seekers like we do. And why. Do these ppl think massage is "too expensive" or we already make "too much". Why don't these ppl argue at the grocery store, at the post office, at their dentist's office and ask for a better deal. It's a mystery.
Unfortunately some MT's willingly charge less - there is an individual in our community advertising $25 1 horu massage. Yes, that's 2-5. The school charges $35.
And some MT's give in under pressure. We are usually caring people who want to make other happy. Is it why?
I let someone finagle a free chair massage out of me last week. It was a busy day but it was going OK until 4 pm. Then all hell broke loose for about 1/2 hour. Our 4:30 appt forgot their driving directions and I spent 10 min on the phone with them (they were out of town and NOt listening), I was hungry, had to go to the bathroom, I had to set up for a couples hot stone massage since the other therapist was coming from work, then the 4:30 arrived and was waiting, there were 5 ppl wanting to buy GC's, the phone ran off the hook. The woman wanted a free massage b/c she bought 2 GC's over the phone. I do not do it b/c if I give a free massage for every GC I sell, I will go broke. But my stress level was so high at the moment that I just wanted to get her off the phone.
Which made me think about an assertiveness class I took a few years ago. An important thing I learned in class was that it's a lot easier to be assertive when you are feeling good physically, mentally and emotionally. And not so easy when you are tired, hungry, thirsty, have to pee. When you are already in agony a pushy person becomes too much for you to handle. Your body needs to take care of your primary, physical needs first .
So it's very important for us to feel good about ourselves, eat well, exercise, take breaks. It all came back to me and made sense!