Consultancy for massage businesses
Clients who have a poor massage rarely complain. They are undressed on a table with the therapist’s hands on them, and research on hospital gowns links being undressed in a professional’s care with feeling exposed and disempowered, women more so.1 Most pay as normal and don’t book again.
Friendly staff make this harder to spot. A client who liked the therapist won’t raise problems with the rest of the visit. A year-long study of restaurant customers found the same.2 The feedback you hear is positive. The lost repeat business doesn’t show up anywhere.
The audit finds it. I book an ordinary appointment and score the visit against 71 fixed checks. You get each fix ranked by the repeat business it should win back against its cost. Many cost nothing to put right.
Why it pays
Most of a client’s value comes from repeat bookings. A client who doesn’t return costs you far more than the takings from one session.
What gets measured
Each check has a written pass mark and is scored the same way at every venue.
- Timings are logged during the visit and compared with the booking.
- Anything countable is counted.
- Room conditions are measured with an instrument.
- Everything else is pass or fail against a written standard.
What you get
- The scored sheet.
- A written report within a week, with fixes ranked by value against cost.
- Larger investments listed separately, each with its payback in returning clients.
- A one-hour debrief.
Massage technique is not assessed. Everything else about the visit is.
Staff training is available afterwards, priced separately.
Results are confidential. They are not processed or shared for any other purpose.
Fees
From £499
The fee covers one visit to one site and everything listed above. Travel outside the Preston area is charged on top.
The session itself is paid to me in advance at your normal price. I then pay for it at your desk like any other client.
Questions
Will my team know?
Your decision. I won’t announce it, but I may be recognised.
What if we pass most checks?
The report confirms what is working and ranks what is left.
How far do you travel?
Anywhere in Lancashire. Further by arrangement.
References
- Morton, Cogan, Kornfält, Porter and Georgiadis, Baring all: the impact of the hospital gown on patient well-being, British Journal of Health Psychology, 2020 (online survey, n=928). The gown is “often leaving patients feeling exposed, self-conscious, vulnerable, uncomfortable, cold, embarrassed, and disempowered. These findings are exacerbated for people living with a long-term health condition and women.”
- Martin, Vernes, O’Gorman and Sandstrom, Staff interactions and individual influences on complaint behaviour in restaurants, International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 141 (98 customers followed across 994 restaurant visits over a year, plus a survey of 790 diners). Staff “empathy reduces both the likelihood of perceived dissatisfaction and willingness to raise issues verbally”, and friendliness reduced the tendency to complain.