Office Policies of Massage Therapists
Understanding the Business Side of Receiving Massage Therapy
Apr 15, 2009
When a massage therapist sets up office policies for his practice the goal is to protect the practitioner and the client. Some policies will guide the business towards goals set forth by the MT.
Common office policies in a massage practice will cover business aspects related to scheduling and canceling appointments, gift certificate purchases and usage as well as protecting privacy of the client’s information.
Massage Therapy Cancellation Policy
One of the most common of massage policies, the cancellation policy protects the practitioner from unkempt appointments. A practitioner might request a day’s notice if the client needs to cancel, this usually gives him a chance to fill that slot with another appointment.
Language of a cancellation policy might read something like this “we request 24 hour notice for all canceled appointments. No show clients will receive a bill for the full rate, less than 24 hour cancellation notice will be charged 50% of the appointment fee.”
Appointment Scheduling Policy
In today’s age with modern technology some practitioners welcome any form of contact to schedule an appointment. Others may wish to rein in some forms of contact and have a strict policy on not using SMS or text messaging to schedule or cancel an appointment.
Payment and Gratuity Policies
Most small massage practices are setup only to receive cash or checks as forms of payment. If other forms of payment, including credit cards and barter systems, are available the policy will reflect this.
Tipping is a somewhat controversial topic in the bodywork community – some are quite comfortable and encourage or anticipate a tip added to payment for a session. Others have strict no tipping policies to reflect a more clinical approach. Some accept tips and turn around and donate said tips to a charitable organization.
Minors and Children
When working with minors some states require certain practices. It is not uncommon for the massage therapist to request that a parent or guardian be in attendance for the duration of the massage when a minor is involved.
On the flip-side some practitioners will only act as a consult with regard to children and do not actually treat or work with pediatric clients.
Gift Certificate Policies
Any business policies on gift certificates must meet the guidelines and laws set forth by the State, if any exist. This includes the expiration or use-by date, how the money should be handled and so forth. In addition to state mandated rules the business owner may have his own policies relating to:
- Transferability – who can use the gift certificate besides the person named at the time of purchase.
- Values – usually do not have a cash value and cannot be used to purchase another gift certificate.
- Service – statements such as “such and such business reserves the right to refuse service or reverse a gift certificate purchase for any reason” help protect the practitioner under certain circumstances.
Other Massage Office Policies
Other policies that a client may encounter at a massage office include:
- Information practices – privacy and rights to client file
- Appointment timing
- Office hours
- Referrals
- Insurance
- Late arrivals
- Attire, clothing and/or draping
- Cell phones and distractions
- Illness or cold and flu season
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