Where to begin! This used to be a part of my monthly self-care routine. I enjoyed coming to this place almost monthly. I had several different staff massage me, there was a female who was excellent but didn't see her there much after that. I had a terrible experience here the last time and I have not returned back there since. After a great massage, I was paying and realized that I left my cash in a different bag at home. I don't carry cash often. I did have $4 in cash and although I would've given him more if I had the cash, I didn't want to use my bank card for a few dollars. Mind you, I had been here before and had never had an issue, although I've never really been able to communicate with staff since they've never spoken to me in English other than to tell me to sit down. Which is not a problem.
The issue is that when I gave him the $4 in cash, as I paid, I also apologized and explained that I didn't have any extra cash because I had left it in a different wallet. He took the $4, counted it, and started yelling at me by yelling, I mean he was very loud speaking in a different language, so I couldn't even understand what he was saying but I could tell by his body language, facial expression, and demeanor that he was angry. He even turned red! Once he was done, a few of his co-workers came to the register where he and I were at, and were attempting to calm him down and even stood between he and I. He was then able to clearly communicate that he did not want the $4 and wanted more than that and would not accept what I had.
In the moment, I was in shock and didn't know what to respond or how to respond. There were other people there getting a massage staring at me and the situation and it was very uncomfortable and embarrassing. At the end of it, I asked him if he wanted the tip, that's all I had and would leave it, if not then I would take it with me. He communicated that they have a $5 tip minimum per massage, which I did not know since I usually would tip them more than $5, so perhaps that's why I hadn't had an issue prior. He grabbed the money from my hands and walked away, never said thank you or even acknowledged me after that.
Needless to say, my relaxing 40 min massage, turned out to be horrible! And I have not returned here since then, it has been over a year since my last check-in here. I am always tempted to try other AAA locations but I'm worried about seeing him or having another terrible experience.
Emotions aside, the massage was pretty good. But I won't compromise my comfort and safety just to save a few bucks on a massage. They've had a lot of turn around there and maybe he was having a bad day or there were other issues happening that I was not aware of but I won't justify the disrespect I experienced for a service I paid for. I'm not sure if he still works there or at any other AAA location. I do not plan to return.
I'm not sure if it is their policy is that customers must tip minimum $5, I don't see this posted anywhere in the location or on here. Not sure if this is still their current policy but wanted to make the community aware in the event that they were planning to give them a shot! It took me a while to post this because the whole situation made me uncomfortable but after speaking with some friends who always try new massage places out, they encouraged me to share my experience in the hopes of helping to inform others. Hope this helps :-)! read more