I have visited XYC Massage twice. My first experience was decent, but my second experience made me…read morepretty upset.
1st experience from a couple of weeks ago: 3.5 stars. I called ahead to make an appointment for a 60 minute massage, but when I arrived, the only person available to do my massage was the receptionist. Kim did a good job on the massage (excellent pressure and very relaxing), but she had to run out a couple of times to address her front desk duties. I was happy with the massage, so I tipped 20%, which came out to be less than $20 (this is worth mentioning for what happens at my next appointment), then was on my way. I should also mention that on my way out, a man next to me at the counter who seemed to be a staff member but very well could have been a customer was clearly staring at me but not talking to me--creepy!
2nd experience (today): 1 star. I made an appointment for a 60 minute deep tissue massage. I arrived a bit early. No one was at the front desk, so I waited until 5 minutes before my appointment time to ring the bell. A different receptionist help me get set up and into my room. My therapist, Amanda, started my massage 10 minutes late, but to her credit, she made up the time so that I got my full 60 minutes. Although the pressure was fine (I needed the strong pressure for my knots and sore muscles), she was a bit rough and sloppy with the massage. For example, she would grab my skin so that it felt like I was being pinched (I discovered a bruise from this when I got home), and she yanked my underwear around a lot (she could have done this with more care). As a result, I only wanted to tip the minimum 15%, but after she counted how much I gave her in front of me(!!), she pulled out a sign that the business requires a minimum of a $20 tip for 60-minute massage because she couldn't express herself in English and got her coworker to explain that tipping at a massage parlor is different than tipping at a restaurant as the therapists work very hard. There are so many things wrong with this. My initial complaint is that they should be more transparent with their pricing by posting this sign up with their prices, but guess what? That's illegal, which is why they showed me a sign after the fact. Also, asking for a tip makes it not a tip. Finally, I would sure love to hear what restaurant servers have to say about her response because I guess servers don't work as hard as massage therapists?
In all seriousness, if businesses need to provide a better wage for their workers, increase the massage price; tips need to be earned! Tips were traditionally meant To Insure Proper Service, but I definitely did not receive proper service.
Try at your own risk, but the quality of your massage is hit or miss and I wouldn't want to support the business practices and customer service that I experienced.