Our Worst Review Ever From A Client

We launched Graceful Touch LLC last November after graduating from massage school.

9 months later we receive our first negative review which I will share with you in one moment.

First, let me tell you what is ahead in this article.

  1.  The negative review
  2.  Our response

That said, let’s get started.

Our First Negative Review Received

No one likes to receive them.

However, they do happen.

After 9 months with Graceful Touch LLC open one happened to us.

Here it is:

Very weird overall. It’s located inside the water store which was super odd to me. Had me leave all clothing on, lights were on, weird sound blocking foam all over the door and walls, wanted to have a conversation for the first 10 mins which I was not into, very hard to get relaxed because the atmosphere and frankly the fact that the massage table was in a storage closet of a business was just creepy. After massage they tried to sell me water. Not like a water bottle but they legit sold water and once again, super odd. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

It was left by:

by Anonymous on Jul 2019

Before I begin responding to concerns brought forth I would like to suggest that if one is going to be bold enough to leave a bad review they should at least be willing to put their first name with it.  At least in my book, that’s how you stand behind words written.  However, not everyone is the same and I appreciate that.

Therefore, I will move forward with exploring the concerns of this writer.

Answering Negative Review Concerns

Very weird overall. It’s located inside the water store which was super odd to me.

Yes, we are located inside The Fountain of Youth Water Store.

It is one of many reasons that we offer such a phenomenal deal on Groupon which this writer opted into.

With our Groupon special people pay only $39.99 for a $60 massage.

After everyone takes their cut we end up with about $20.

Never-the-less, the quality of our work remains top notch.

Apparently, even this writer thought so as the quality of the massage itself was never brought into question by the contents of this review.

Had me leave all clothing on,

What we have here is a failure to communicate effectively.

Many people ask us if they are to undress.

Our answer is always kin to “it’s your choice,” we can work effectively either way.

That’s why we provide hooks for people to hang their items on as is represented in the following picture.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 1

Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Office Clothes RackThen we leave the room and wait for the signal that they are ready for us to reappear?

Why would we leave the room if we insisted that all clothing was left on?

However, apparently, this writer did not receive that communication and we take responsibility for that.

In the future, we will strive to increase communication regarding this being the clients choice.

Some people avoid getting a massage because of the very fact of undressing.

We desire for you to be well within your comfort zone at all times during your massage.

After all, it’s your massage.

lights were on,

Yes, there were 2 lights on.

One belonged to the diffuser we use for Young Living essential oils to increase the enjoyment of your massage.

The other belonged to a side lamp we use so we can see in the room.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 2

Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Office LightingWe believe it increases everyone’s comfort level to be able to see in the room where the massage is taking place.

The overhead fluorescent lights are always turned off while a massage is in session.

weird sound blocking foam all over the door and walls,

Yes, the beginnings of Graceful Touch LLC are very humble indeed.

Without those sound barriers in place there is a significant noise bleed through into our room.

These egg-crate foam cushions extensively block the noise from the other room leading to a much more pleasant massage for you.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 3
Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Office Door Sound Proofing

I’m not sure how foam cushions that are designed to enhance the experience of a massage negatively impact the receiving of a massage.

However, for this person, it was an issue.

We respect that.

wanted to have a conversation for the first 10 mins which I was not into,

Again, I believe we have a failure to communicate here.

We are very much open to having a conversation and make ourselves available.

However, it is not required.

At least not during a Swedish relaxation massage.

If the client wants to talk we will be more than happy to do so.

However, it is not necessary nor encouraged.

The conversation is driven by you, not us within the Swedish relaxation massage.

That is what this client received.

A Deep Tissue massage is entirely different when it comes to communication.

We customize each Deep Tissue massage to where the client is in their pain tolerance level.

We believe going beyond the pain thresholds of the client to be a serious issue when doing Deep Tissue massage.

Other therapists in the local area do not appear to have the same concern.

We have had numerous clients come in saying they can’t handle Deep Tissue massage for this very reason.

When they see our way of doing Deep Tissue massage they are typically more than willing to give it another go and leave being very thankful for having done so.

very hard to get relaxed because the atmosphere

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 4

Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Office WallWe have therapeutic classical music playing in the room.

We have done everything we can possibly do to resolve the noise issue.

We have numerous raving clients who have left glowing reviews like this one for me.

Guy was wonderful and very informative. I’ve had ongoing back issues, and he was able not only to help me stretch things out to where I feel better, but also educate me on what I can do at home in order to stay healthy. Great experience, and I will be a repeat customer!
And this one for Irene:
Irene has an expert touch that was not too rough or too gentle. It was very comforting that she prayed before beginning her work. She truly has the skill for finding all the sore/tight spots and providing relief.
Not sure what else we can do to enhance the atmosphere beyond everything that we have already put in place but we are more than prepared to step up to the plate and do so when actual concerns about the atmosphere become known to us.

and frankly the fact that the massage table was in a storage closet of a business was just creepy.

Wait!

What?

Storage closet?

Where did this come from?

Our room in The Fountain of Youth Water Store is not a storage closet.

Here is our room.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 5
Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Massage Room

Here is the storage closet.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 6
Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Back Office

I will agree that the room is small.

But it is not and never has been a storage closet.

The room did not exist prior to our becoming part of The Fountain of Youth Water Store.

It was built specifically for our massage practice.

It provides ample room for people to get prepared.

It provides a full-length massage table.

It provides enough room for my wife or me to navigate around during the masasge.

The individual receiving the massage is stationary on that table the entire time with 50% of that entire time laying on their stomach.

I’m not exactly sure how increasing the room size would matter in that case but respect the fact that for this individual it does.

After massage they tried to sell me water.

As stated above our massage room is indeed located within The Fountain of Youth WATER Store.

This I can agree with.

But sell water?

Absolutely not.

It would be illegal for us to do so.

Water is considered food.

To sell it we would need a food handlers license.

We don’t have one of those.

We do however provide a free 30-day water trial for those who are serious about seeing the power of alkaline water in their lives.

We don’t sale water.

We give it away free.

If at some point the recipient wants to investigate the idea of purchasing a water machine we certainly wouldn’t turn that conversation away.

But sell it?

Nope.

Not like a water bottle

Actually, we do have water bottles for sale while they are in stock.

Best price in town when it comes to that.

This client would need to pass right by them upon entry and exiting.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 7
Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Office Water Bottles

So, yes, we have water bottles.

Want a nice one for $10?

Stop by, we’ve got you covered.

but they legit sold water and once again, super odd.

Once again, nope.

It’s illegal.

Unless we had a food handlers license.

Which we don’t.

We give it away free and have a happy stream of customers coming in daily to get it.

I wouldn’t recommend this place.

Our Worst Review Ever From A Client 8
Graceful Touch LLC Massage Therapist Front Office

I am sorry this is the case.

We do strive to do the very best with what we have even though we understand that we cannot please everyone all the time.

Perhaps this person is looking for the lap of luxury within their massage?

I would suggest that for that type of massage one would pay a much greater price than $39.99 for a 60-minute Swedish relaxation massage.

However, if you are looking for the most affordably effective Massage Therapist team in all of Rapid City.

We personally believe the only answer available is Graceful Touch LLC.

The vast majority of our clients seems to echo this sentiment.

We are glad they do.

Guy Siverson

The following two tabs change content below.
Guy is a dedicated vegan, who prefers natural remedies to treat root causes of physiological problems, instead of turning to medication to merely treat symptoms. When he learned in December 2017 he was suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension), he turned to massage as a potential answer for his problem. Rather than engage massage as a client, Guy chose to become a massage practitioner and enrolled in the Black Hills School of Massage in Hermosa, SD. He is now licensed to provide Swedish, Deep Tissue and Trigger Point massage among other modalities. He, and his wife Irene who is also a massage practitioner, have joined forces with the Fountain of Youth Waterstore in Rapid City where they provide clients with comforting relief from body aches and pains. Be sure to ask Guy what happened with his blood pressure when you see him for your initial treatment session.

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