So.... Today was going really, really well. My first client was a suuuper chatty woman, but also very sweet and kind. Then my next client was a hairdresser that needed a lot of work, so I was happy to spend the time on her, and wished we'd had more. And my final client was nice, and wanted to lay for a few minutes.
Then the reception manager came in, and when she saw me, she said she needed me to come see her in a few minutes. My stomach dropped. I didn't understand why she would need to see me, since I hadn't done anything 'wrong'.
Turns out that a 'super important potential client' that I worked on on Saturday was very unhappy with the massage. I'll get the list of what she found wrong tomorrow, as well as a written warning so the next time we have a client that dislikes my service, I'll be out.
I'll be honest here. I'm COMPLETELY baffled. I did a good job, and gave her extra time, and did my best. The only complaint she had that I felt could have a basis was that I 'seemed tired'. I think that was the day I'd been woken up five times before my alarm went off, so it's entirely possible that I was tired, but that doesn't mean my massage was BAD and worth complaining about for THIRTY minutes. She said my chair was great, but my facial needed work, and that I didn't give her the full time on her Thai. That is NOT true. I even gave her extra time on her Thai.
After the shock of this, came the anger. I had just finally gotten over the last shock and upset that my last reprimand gave me.
It took weeks for me to stop having panic attacks every time I worked on a client thinking 'Will this be the one? Is this the last client for me?' It took even longer for me to stop feeling like I needed to cry during every massage.
Frankly, I don't want to deal with the pain of it again. I think it's ridiculous that I've worked on over 1,000 people, and had maybe 10 complaints. Yet those ten are close to getting me fired, and I will always question myself, my massage, and my clients because I'm never sure when the axe will fall. I could understand if it's an overwhelming majority saying there's something wrong with me, but I still send home a good number of happy clients every week. The only person working as much as I am is the Massage Manager (or Lead Therapist, whateves).
So, while I'm not sure if I'm going to outright quit, I *am* certainly going to start looking around, and it looks like a good number of places are hiring right now. I'd like to give 2 weeks notice, because we're all very aware that we're understaffed, and I don't want to leave them in the lurch. On the other hand, I feel that if they didn't need me, they would happy cut me loose to retain another client, and it's rather cutthroat. Hubby's been saying that my company is cutthroat for a while now, and he doesn't have a good opinion of it (I don't want to put words in his mouth, so sweetie, feel free to write your thoughts on my company down as a comment, or I can add it here later), but I never fully agreed. I'm starting to though.
So basically: I'm on my second reprimand, I'm pissed, and I'll likely be finding another job soon. It's not going to be easy finding one that fits our schedule as well as this one does, but we'll manage.
2 comments:
As soon as you told me what happened, my first thought was that my comment would be to urge you to find another job. I'm glad you have already thought about yourself. They aren't treating you like the great massage therapist I know you are, and you deserve better. Honestly, if I didn't think it would get you fired, I would have a serious talk with them myself.
So PLEASE, please apply to other places this time and move on as soon as you find something good. You aren't putting words in my mouth at all, they are cutthroat to the core and have a fucked up way of treating their therapists, and they are pretty much setting you up to be fired. It sucks and it's not fair, but it's pretty clear to me that that is what they are doing. Documenting that they gave you fair warning and all that crap before they actually do it. So please apply to other places as soon as possible. I supported your decision to stick with them, and I know you wanted to stay with them for a year if you could, but I think that now it's not worth taking the risk of being out of a job because you aren't this impossibly perfect therapist who satisfies 100% of your clients every single time no matter what. Work somewhere happier, where they don't threaten to take your job away every month because one person decided to be a bitch and complain. I love you!
:( Good luck with your job search!
Post a Comment