Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/365665
TEN FOR TODAY Langenderfer says opportunities at her small chain are open, and she likes to promote from within. "As we grow, we're defining roles," she said. "I have one esthetician who has become our corporate trainer, training the lead esthetician at the new sites. We'll do the same thing on the massage side. We'll do it for someone who handles a lot of our software, someone who does our marketing. As we grow, we'll define new roles as needed. We're small, but I think we'll grow rapidly." Myth 5: Franchise employees have to do extra work such as cleaning the building This assignment depends on the franchise owner, but in general, yes, expect to do some light laundry and supply sorting between clients. Janitorial work? Not so much. "We ask our therapists to maintain their rooms, but nothing that wouldn't be normal at any place you would work," Stracci says. "You obviously need to have supplies ready to go for the next client. But our laundry service handles 95 percent of our laundry, and we have a professional cleaner who comes weekly." Myth 6: Franchise employees are limited to simple, company-approved, cookie-cutter massages "Nothing could be further from the truth," Funk insists. "Franchise owners are very interested in maintaining therapists' individuality in regard to treatment, just from the vantage point of being able to address a wider demographic of therapeutic needs." "Everybody's massage is different," says DiCioccio, who does all the hiring and training at her Massage Envy spa. "And we encourage that. We customize the massage to the client's needs. We don't just offer Swedish or deep-tissue or trigger point. We always combine styles according to what the client needs—that's why we have so many clients!" Myth 7: Tips are smaller at a franchise Truth is, there will always be clients who leave a miserly tip, no matter where they get a massage. But, Stracci points out, when clients join as members at a franchise, they get educated about what an appropriate tip is. "We give examples of appropriate tipping," he says. "A lot of people don't want to do the math after they come off the table, so to simplify, we make suggestions for them. But they leave what they're comfortable with." I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 23 Myth 8: Franchises attract a lower quality of client Only if by "lower quality" you mean "more like the rest of us." "High-end spa prices are insanely expensive," Stracci says. "The people who walk through the door at those places are high-end because middle- and lower-income folks can't afford that. The stereotype is that a lower- income person might not tip as well, or might not look as nice. Some people think at a franchise you get a clientele you won't want to work on. But I love our clientele. All different types of people come to our spa." Amanda Murphy, lead therapist at Elements Massage in Belmont, Massachusetts, says the broader range of humanity she sees at her franchise location is a plus, not a minus. "I've seen geriatric clients, youthful clients … I've seen it all," she says. "This is a great way for new therapists to get their feet wet, to figure out what direction they want to go with their career." Myth 9: Franchises are mostly training grounds for novice massage therapists Working at a franchise is a good first job for therapists who want to master the basics of their craft before tackling the nonclinical side of things, like running a business and marketing themselves. It's also a good way to build clientele. But most locations have a mix of newer and seasoned therapists. A survey of Massage Envy therapists, for instance, showed that the chain's average therapist had more than two years of experience in the industry, Funk says. Myth 10: The public believes franchises offer lower-quality service Maybe this was true at one time. "But we've changed the mind-set of thousands of clients," Stracci says. Massage Envy has inspired 1.5 million customers to join. Their therapists give 50,000 treatments every day. "And people who use our services say they're happy with them," Funk says. "If we ever hear complaints, it's usually because of something that happened at the front desk. We almost never hear complaints about what happens in back." Rebecca Jones is a tenured Massage & Bodywork freelance writer. She lives and writes in Denver, Colorado. Contact her at killarneyrose@comcast.net.