Getting rid of unwanted clients ... ?

[old know all]

Hi all

Wondering if anyone can give me any advice about getting rid od unwanted clients. I'm a female therpist and work from home (massage and beauty). 2 of my make clients make me feel quite uncomfortable and I don't want to treat them anymore. I can anyone give me any advice or experiences they have had that might help?

Sally

 

[Kye]

How exactly do they make you feel uncomfortable? If they are acting inappropriately or being suggestive then it's always a good idea to make clear from the startthat the service you are offering is a complimentary health massage and that the client-therapist relationship is strictly on professional terms only. However it sounds like you have been treating them on more than one occasion, so how about reminding them of the above, and then clarifying it by saying that if they would like to find another therapist that might offer an 'alternative service' more in line with what they are looking for, then that is perfectly OK with you.

 

[Due March 23 2010]

I agree with Azalia.. if you aren't comfortable with a client, don't treat them. If you have had a few sessions with them and they are there for something specific, you may want to refer them elsewhere and say you feel the treatment isn't working for them and another practitioner may have more luck in getting results. It's a tough one. I've only ever had one client I didn't want to come back and fortunately, once he realised his mistake in coming to me (and not getting any extras) and that he had a boring old seated and clothed indian head massage - he never came back.

 

[JooJcq]

If either of them has already booked an appointment, call and say that you will not be available (do not give a reason) and tell him/them that you will call later to reschedule.Conveniently forget to call. If he/they call back, you can always fumble through your diary and say that you do not have any appointments untilmid December(or even later).

If you work from home, do you have anyone else in the building at any time? Could you schedule male clients for when you have someone in the house with you? I always did that when I first started working. Nowadays Iwork from a rental office in a local town;I rarely do evenings and weekends, and am too long in the tooth to put up with inappropriate behaviour!!

Do not put up with any nonsense.

 

[parkerjiscool]

You could call a business that offers "extras" and ask if they would take some clients from you for a commission fee? Could work to all parties' benefits.

 

[thoitrangcongso]

You're encourageable Darren!

 

[auenyuuzingiaoedb]

Thanks for all the advice

Darren your post made me laugh

Well I've done about 4 massages for him so far and there are a couple of reasons that I don't feel comfortable with him.

First off - while this customer hasn't made inappropriate suggestions he recommended a friend for massage who did ask and I subsequently didn't treat. Intially I didn't want to tar this bloke with the same brush but he becomes increasingly strange and my instinct is making me feel uncomfortable.
Second off he'sa big big guy, tall and very large so I'm a little concerned that he may break my couch. He's prob over 20 stone.
He's also a little bit odd. This comes across in some of the stuff he says during his massages, the only way I can really describe is that he's appears terribly random and doesn't seem to have any grasp on general social ettiquette.
Another thing that seemed strangewas when his wife called to book his second appointment she said I'd worked wonders for him and he's sung my praises all month etc etc. But when he came along for his second appointment and I asked how his back had been he told me he'd been in agony and cursing me. I thought this was a little odd considering what his wife had said. So, concerned about him I went through his consultation again and asked about where the pain had been in his back, he said 'all over really', when I psuhed for specifics they weren't forthcoming. And since his original massage had been quite light I must admit to feeling he was making it up. Why who knows? But he is so random who knows.
These things probably don't sound much but that's why I've put lots of detail here, it's like an instinct of all these things adding up and I just don't want to treat him anymore.
I was thinking about calling and saying I'm not treatment men anymore. He may find out I was lying though at a later date. I do think Jabba's idea is good but I already tried not replying to answer phone messages in the hope that my 'bad customer service' might send him elsewhere but no such luck he's quite persistent.
My husband is usually home when I treat men but I still really don't want to treat him ... does that sounds really unfair?

Sally

 

[Haley]

not at all! It's your business who you choose to treat (or not). If you are uncomfortable, trust your gut instincts - it is almost conditioned out of us through politeness. There is probably a very good reason why you are picking up negative vibrations so listen to your intuition, and don't book another appointment. He has given you the perfect excuse; his first treatment didn't help him (so he says) so just tell him you do not want to waste anymore of his time or money, and don't rebook.

x

 

[Davicaulke]

Hi again Sally,

I don't think your making a fuss at all, and from what you say I can see why you feel a littleuneasy. If it was me, I wouldn't try ignoring his calls and delay his appointments, because that's probably not the most effective way to deal with the situation, and if he's persistant then things could get even more uncomfortable[&o]However, because he isn't exactly acting out of line it is slightly more difficult to deal with. How about this: next time you see him you can say that after the initialfew treatments with your clients you like to do a quick review to check how the treament is progressing and whether they are happy with how things are going. You could just ask general questions such as 'do you feel [the condition that he came for] is improving? ' etc. If he mentions the bad back thingy (and it sounds very like he was making it up to me!!) then you could act quite concerned and say that it might be worth you consulting the doctor to see if any alterations to treatment could be made. This tather strict no-nonsense approach might just be enough to scare him off.

If you still feel uncomfortable, then you have every right to stop treating this client. The standard professional procedure is to refer him to another therapist.

Good luck!

 

[Wulfheasto]

EDIT: accidental duplicate post.

 

[nwefguvjiqeiometu]

Hi Azalia,

thanks for the support I feel better that someone can see why I might be concerned. I can't help but question whether I'm doing the right thing.

Can you recommend what to say to him to refer him to another therapist? I wish I could come up with something direct and non-negotiable. I know that if I just recommended someone else he wouldn't go anywhere. I also think that if I suggested treatment wasn't working and therefore a waste of his money he wouldn't go away either as at the end of the day massage is wonderfully relaxing so even if he felt it wasn't 'curing' him he'd still want one.

Also if I refer to another therapist isn't that a bit mean on them? I mean I'm quite sure no-one would want him?

He currently has an appointment booked in for 2 weeks away and I'd feel so much better if I didn't have to do it.

Sally

 

[Allstar Weekend ?]

Sally - you sound in a fix and I have been thinking to try and come up with something plausible. How about saying that you are cutting back your working hours at the moment to do some studying, but refer the client on to a professional body for a list of local therapists? I had to refuse treating a client last year although for different reasons. I was working with a really big chap and I was suffering at the time with repetitive strain so referred him on to another therapist. I have to say that I found it very difficult to do, but at the time I had to for my own sake. Anyway, I hope you find a solution to your problem. Good luck.

Vivien

 

[Ziona]

[sm=dance.gif]

 

[Kerisaurus]

Heya Sally,

Having met you I have to say that you'regood looking, but even so I certainly wouldn't try anything with your hubby around cos he looks like he could easily flatten me (not that I'd try anything anyway but you know what I mean).

If you've already given this guy four massages, you could perhaps say to him that really he should be noticing a great improvement in his problem by now; and perhaps your technique of massage is not the one that is suitable for his complaint. Say that you don't think any more massages will be of any benefit to him and you wouldn't want to take his money just for the sake of it, and if he likes then you can find him some other massage therapists in the area who he could try out instead. Say you'll get back to him when you've managed to find someone who you think would be suitable.



Love and Reiki Hugs

 

[Eriugjksflv Egiojrfks]

Or why not just say that you'verecently had a bad experience with a male client, and you're REALLY sorry but you've had to stop working with men? It would be the truth - you don't have to tell him HE is the man...
Point him in the direction of a list of therapists, so you needn't feel bad about pushing him towards anyone particular.
And don't worry about him finding out if you have any other male clients. Hewill accept your word, go elsewhere and forget about you. Unless, of course, he's a stalker - in which case you were proved right in the first place!

 

[corvette!!]

Hoping the above suggestions are of some help?

 

[Malory]

Hi all,

Sorry for late reply I've been away for a few days.

Wow some really great posts and ideas, thanks so much. Piglet that sounds like a brilliant idea thanks so much for putting thought in for me. I really think a) that would work and b) I wouldn't feel uncomfortable doing it.

Hi Giles .. thanks for your post it made me laugh
Could really do with some reiki if you fancy a massage?

Supersub, this is another great idea as it's actually telling the truth and although I might feel a bit uncomfortbale saying it at least it is the truth. It just happens to be some men as I have quite a few male clients who are lovely.

Really chuffed with all your advice ... I'll let you know how I get on.

Sally x

 

[yvcdbcpc]

Hi there

Was reading your thread with interest.

When I rented a room I was quite happy to wax a male client's back, nice guy etc. I left the room and am now doing mobile for a while, he rang me to make an appointment. Although I didn't want to let him down, I felt uneasy about going to his house, even if his wife/girlfriend could be there (didn't know her). So basically I rang him and apologised and said I can't do men at their homes. He was very sweet and understood completely. Someone suggested to me that she only ever did male clients if she knew the family.

You can either be honest and say your not doing male clients now, or say you have a repetitive injury which needs resting andthere will be no more massages until further notice.

I don't think I would feel comfortable about having a male client come to my house either.

Regards
Deb379

 

[Karina Barcelona]

This thread is probably worth re-reading, since Gussie has just launched a very similar thread on the 'general therapies' forum:

[link=http://www.healthypages.net/forum/tm.asp?m=367137]Sacking a client[/link]

Alan

 

[chandni]

Hi guys, know this is an old thread but thought it might be useful to others as well as to myself.

Just wanting some advice really about how to pass on a very demanding client. I have been working with this client since February and even in the beginning he was demanding! He got annoyed if he couldn't have the exact time he wanted, even though it was because he had picked a very busy night of which other clients were on that night and it had been their regular night for years. He was willing to compromise and have that evening but have it at half an hour later than he would like.

He has a variety of problems with his back and we have been using remedial massage techniques to break through the many layers of tension. The muscles have begun to break down and are less tight but there is so much going on in there due to how bad his situation got before he decided to see someone. Anyway, he tends to focus on the negative and keep going on about how tight he is, failing to notice that they are getting better instead just focusing on how their not right yet, so i have tried working with him about getting him to look at what he feels has got looser. He says oh everything feels looser and its loose till i keep thinking about it, but its not right and you have to fix me and you need to sort this out.

My last straw came with this client yesterday, when after pre warning himlast week at his appointment that i wouldn't be available this coming weekend due to spending a weekend with my family who are coming to visit, he got annoyed about this. I invited him to book a different day in the week, but he stated that it had to be the Friday. He also got cross that i would be going away in a few weeks and couldn't believe i was going away again, not when he needed me to work on his back!

Yesterday he got in touch to say he could do something now and he needed me to come round either yesterday or today from 6pm. When i told him that i couldn't as i was fully booked up, he rang me and said that i needed to be able to come round and had to, that i needed to loosen him up as he was tight. Again he asked if i was sure that i couldn't do Friday. He said he couldn't believe i couldn't fit him in as he needed me. I firmly said that i did tell him last week that he should have booked in like others have done. He was in a huff about it but said fine and that he would see me next week.

I would refer this client on but i really doubt whether he would actually go. He had surgery last year and he is still dissatisfied with the surgery and feels the surgery has messed things up for him. He doesn't like chiros or physios either!

Basically i'm wondering if anyone has any advice on the way forward, as i don't feel able to continue working with this client any longer. I feel his demands are making me feel uncomfortable working with him and i don't appreciate the way he speaks to me and feels he is expecting me to put him first before all others, including family that live 200miles away.

I am wondering if dropping him an email explaining to him that i was offended by the way he spoke to me yesterday and reminding him that this is a professional service and as such its often hard to get an appointment at the last minute, encouraging him to maybe pursue other services if he isn't happy with the one i am providing.

All advice greatfully appreciated as ever!