Franchises

During this time of year, I start seeing a lot of billboards along the highway from the massage franchises competing with each other for massage gift certificate sales. The thought occurs to me that, while they may be able to compete with each other over price, they cannot compete with us when it comes to quality. I began to think of all that we're able to offer our clients that the massage franchises cannot.

Over twenty years of experience and expertise

Most of the franchises are staffed by therapists recently graduated from massage school. There's nothing wrong with that; everyone has to start somewhere. However, after twenty-three years of practice and an uncommon level of training achieved by few therapists, we can offer a quality of experience that an unseasoned therapist cannot. Whether you are coming for relaxation or pain relief, prenatal or sports massage, we bring a depth of experience to the table that few can touch. And even after all these years, we have not gotten bored yet! In fact, we spend hours every week reading research and academic papers, discussing pain rehabilitation and related topics with a variety of other informed professionals. 

A few years ago, Massage Therapy Journal published an article, "Get Ready For Massage Envy!" The article, based on interviews with the founders of the franchise, painted a glowing picture of a business where happy massage therapists had 401K plans, were paid for empty appointments during their shift, and were well compensated for their work. I couldn't help but feel, though, that there was a slightly ominous warning in the title. How could a franchise offer all this to the therapist and only charge $39 for an hour massage?

Not long afterwards, the first six massage franchises opened in the St. Louis area, with four more soon to follow, each with ten or twelve massage rooms. I was curious about what it was like to work in such a place and eventually had the opportunity to find out from an experienced therapist who took a job in a franchise for about a year.

First, let's get one thing clear: for $39 you get a fifty minute massage, not a one hour massage. Still, it sounds like a good deal, right? But is it really as good a deal as it appears?