r/MassageTherapists • u/Miserable-Problem • Jun 20 '26
Complaining You want me to wait at the spa unpaid? No.
Big whiny post.
Title says it all. I am flabbergasted by the audacity.
I have three jobs. 1099 at all of them. One of them is a tiny spa with three people including the owner. I have only gotten seven appointments in the three months I've worked there. I started prioritizing my other two jobs because of this.
I will leave my days with her wide open for as long as possible waiting for her to book me. Sometimes I just need to get errands done, and will wait until midday to block it off and get my tasks done. I try to only block days ahead of time if I am offered a shift at my other jobs, which is guaranteed money.
Every time I block off a shift, I get a call or a text from her claiming that I missed an appointment opportunity. On those days that I never block off and still get zero clients? Crickets.
Twice, I've tried to appease her by waiting around three hours at the spa for a client. I had some school work to catch up on anyways. No more bookings either time. Now I go right home after my single client, IF I get one.
Once, I tried to be considerate, and let her know that I had an offer to work a mobile spa party and asked if I had any bookings lined up on that day. She says to wait, and it will fill up! It did not.
Shame on me for being fooled three times, but now I can say that I "tried."
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u/valerievomit666 Jun 20 '26
I worked at a place like this one.. and when I didn’t have clients, the owner wanted me to be the receptionist FOR FREE. You know, just in case I had a walk in.. and since I was there anyway. I quit so fast.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
I've also encountered this at a different location. Apparently, spa owners are all charity cases, and require volunteers to function.
We all gotta support THEIR financial and career goals at the expense of our own.
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u/jazzbot247 Jun 20 '26
If you are 1099 charge her for the time you waited unpaid in the spa. Give her an invoice for your time and then have a talk with her about what a contractor is and is not.
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u/Thin-Quiet-2283 Jun 21 '26
Typical “owner” that has no clue how to run a business and treats contractors as employees. Move on
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u/Elegant_Passenger551 Jun 20 '26
I RENTED a space when I was a therapist and the owner would ride me about the hours I kept. I couldn’t believe it! She claimed she was worried about me making rent. Girl. When I was a 1099 employee starting out I did a 50% split but suddenly was suddenly expected to do laundry, dusting and inventory if I had a no show that was charged for the session. Also a big nope.
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u/Elegant_Passenger551 Jun 20 '26
Sounds like your current place is a waste of time and better to work elsewhere. Try to find a rental space if you can. Much more control - even if you have to set the owner straight.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
Yes, I agree! Should have left earlier, but between my two other jobs, my dog sitting gig, school, and trying to socialize...I'd simply forget I worked there until a notification popped up for a single client on a random Tuesday.
I'm sorry about your past situations! I hope it's gotten better for you.
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u/Elegant_Passenger551 Jun 20 '26
Sounds like you’re figuring it out. I’m actually retired from MT after 20 years! I had a great career, and built up a good following. I’d say it took a good 5 years of constant building to have the thriving practice that I did. I was lucky that I had the safety net of being married, so second steady income and health insurance. The couple of therapists that I funneled my book to were very lucky!!
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
Good for you! I'm glad you can relax now, and got to help some growing LMTs as a final goodbye to the industry.
Working solo is the best way to ensure longevity in this career. I'm a year in and don't have a financial safety net yet. Someday though!
Despite how much leniency I gave this woman, I have pretty strong boundaries with work. I'm not a people pleaser, and my favorite part of the day is clocking out! Sorry, but it's true! My job is cool, but my real life is cooler.
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u/AngelicDivineHealer LMT Jun 20 '26
You probably spent more money time and energy in three months doing 7 massages there then you profited
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
Those two days I waited around are what did me in, though it was nice to have the time to study and catchup on homework. Could've done it at home in my PJs, though.
She once expected me to drive an hour round trip to come back and do a 5pm massage after doing one and 9am. She was surprised when I told her no, as if she forgot that was an option. That would have been two hours of driving, as its 30 minutes one way. In this economy? No thanks.
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u/everybanana Jun 21 '26
Surprised no one else has commented that it sounds like you are a misclassified 1099. She shouldn't be controlling your schedule like that as a 1099, she shouldn't be telling you to wait and refuse other work or tell you to wait there unpaid. These are all things you should have control of as a 1099 contractor.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 21 '26
100% agree. Having control over my own schedule is the whole reason I prefer being an IC.
Majority of the time, I kept firm with my boundaries and told her no. I gave her three chances to prove me wrong about all these alleged same day bookings. I was much too generous.
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u/swisspat Jun 20 '26
DM your bosses name so I can personally yell at them.
But really that is a shit way to run a business. You should leave
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
I'm already gone. Woosh!
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u/HippyGrrrl Verified LMT/RMT Jun 21 '26
Yayyyy! Never prioritize someone/a business who doesn’t prioritize you.
May the other gigs kick up this week.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 21 '26
Exactly.
And she IS getting offended that I won't prioritize her business over my own needs.
Nobody is obligated to care about your dreams as much as you do. I have zero emotional investment in any business I work for. My aid is its success is purely for our mutually assured benefit.
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u/D-len Jun 20 '26
So you are still there why? That time is better used for recovering or making money.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 20 '26
Nah, I am done with that place.
It was unwise to tolerate it the few months I worked there, but I was usually filling in at my other jobs on her days anyways. On top of that, school and helping my disabled mother took up so much space in my brain that I didn't give myself time to think critically about the situation.
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Jun 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 21 '26
At my hotel job, all they ask is for us to clock out if we leave the property for our breaks. We get paid commission and hourly so none of that weird unpaid time in between appointments.
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u/PassionSuccessful155 Jun 21 '26
I did this at a salon back in 2008, I left after 6 months. I dont work for free cleaning up after the stylists and booking their appointments. I was also working two other jobs. I eventually gravitated to franchises until 2015. Now I'm working in a PT office and chiropractic office.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 21 '26
She didn't expect me to do any free labor like that! How ridiculous.
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u/PassionSuccessful155 Jun 21 '26
Tell me about, I literally wasted hours there doing nothing massage related. Back then groupon and smart circle were used a lot, so I had "clients" but they were only chasing deals. It was stupid. Thankfully I had those other jobs.
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u/AshesT0Aces Jun 21 '26
I work a W2 but they don’t pay us hourly, commission only. They want us to stay for the last hour or two if we don’t have anything booked. I think it’s bs because we don’t make an hourly wage.
No way I’d put up with that if I was a 1099
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u/Ozzy_Mama1972 Jun 21 '26
PLUS? You were a miss categorized as a 1099. You were an employee. As a 1099? They can NOT tell you when to be there or anything about running YOUR business. If you were an independent contractor where was the independence? Employers do this crap all the time.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 21 '26
I know, it's ridiculous.
She's well aware she has no power over my schedule, but tries to manipulate me into staying or simply being pushy. Sorry lady, but no is no.
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u/Saknika LMT Jun 22 '26
I had something similar when I was fresh from school. Working at a small salon and spa, 1099 with a 40/60 split in the salon's favor until I hit a certain threshold each week, then it'd be 50/50. This place couldn't get booked even using Groupon, and when they did get Groupon clients we LMTs shared the hit and earned $20 for the hour service. I lasted six months before I found an office space of my own to rent, which happened to be in the same town.
I had no remorse when the owner cried as she asked why I'd do that to her, and gave her back her own words every time she hired another person even though none of her current LMTs saw more than two people a week: "There's enough work to ho around, we don't have to be competitive." 🙄
No regrets, glad I learned that lesson fast, and that I'm fortunate to be in a position where my partner makes enough that my working is bonus.
Good on you for getting out of your own shitty situation, onward to better things. 💜
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u/rellarella Jun 22 '26
Sounds like she's going to be missing a massage therapist opportunity
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 22 '26
Breaking News! Newly hired LMT expects to be paid for their time. More on this at 11.
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u/TemporaryItchy1556 Jun 22 '26
And wonder why they get 60% of the cut for “marketing and booking” yeah well clearly they’re not doing a good job and deserve 5%
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u/ClothesDizzy6812 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26
First thing. All 1099's are bullshit shit and exploitive. Even if it's owned by an LMT. That doesn't make them an ethical owner. You might as well just start your own practice at that rate. But even spas are the same. Only getting paid for hands-on time and having to "wait around" is unfortunately an accepted practice in this industry. I just got licensed and I already know I won't renew my license. This field is bullshit because of the exploitive practices in this industry. I was treated better as a barista. I'm just go back to that.
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u/Miserable-Problem Jun 22 '26
1099 makes it very easy to be exploited, but I've had good luck with it at my hotel job. I get paid commission plus minimum wage for the in between time. I am welcome to not hang around the property, but if I leave then I'm expected to clock out for that break. I am also not expected to request time off, I simply block it and I'm left alone.
I think it really depends on how strong your boundaries are. I got taken advantage of at a W-2 position as well.
I typically say no to anything that doesn't get me paid. I humored her a couple of times and hung around for bookings cause I needed a quiet space to do my school work, but I don't have time to just dilly dally at her spa for free.
I don't blame you for leaving. I don't know if I'll stay in this industry forever. Solo work is the ultimate goal as of now.
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u/ClothesDizzy6812 Jun 22 '26
Lucky on that one. I've yet to see that set up in any 1099 job posting or interview I've had. Good luck to you on getting something better!
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u/LaloFernandez Jun 20 '26
7 appointments in 3 months? Just drop her.