Wendy's Massage

Wendy is amazing and very professional. She puts so much love and care into her massage. The hot stones and Chinese herbs are just divine. Every time, I leave feeling completely relaxed and wonderful.

I have been receiving massage therapy for 5 years due to chronic pain and have seen many different massage therapists. When I went to Wendy's, unfortunately I came out with much more pain than I came in. My therapist didn't introduce herself to me or ask where my pain was. In less than 12 hrs, my shoulders and neck feel bruised to the touch because of how rough she was with me.

She "massaged" my neck with a pinching motion so one side had her thumb digging in, and the other side had 4 fingers. The spot where her thumb was, was sore the moment I stood up. At one point she left the room without telling me where she was going (she got a nice hot towel) and at another point she straddled me on the table! Being face down with half my bum hanging out on the table without knowing the name of the person touching me is an incredibly vulnerable situation and having her leave the room without saying anything felt unprofessional amongst all the other things. I understand there are different practices for massage therapy. Perhaps straddling clients' backs is normal in other practices, but of the many therapists I have seen, that was shocking. Please at least warn clients before sitting on them. Additionally, there were multiple points when she was pushing way too hard on the back and sides of my waist and it hurt my stomach bad.

I should have spoken up more and that is on me. However tools to minimize language barrier, a better bedside manner, and establishing expectations before being face down would have made that easier for me.

Here are my suggestions to Wendy's massage:

- take a moment to ask the client:
1. If it is their first time
2. If they would like soft/medium/firm pressure
3. If they have any sensitive spots.
These 3 questions can be put on a paper form where clients can circle answers to help language barriers.

- say "I'll be right back" when you leave the room

- warn clients before sitting on them

- don't pull clients' underwear down so much... it is normal for them to be pulled down a bit but my bum cheeks weren't the part being worked on. Additionally, make sure to warn first timers of what you are doing before you pull down their underwear.

- be more mindful of vital areas like neck and organs

There are many many good reviews of this establishment hence the reason I'm spending time writing this... perhaps I came in on a bad day but either way I'm hoping someone will see this and these things will be taken into account so someone else can avoid what I went through.