All right, it’s only five days into the new year, and already time for the first rant. I ask you, why do people have to be so ignorant?
Being a male massage therapist is harder than being a female massage therapist because of what people feel comfortable with. That goes without saying. Some women and most men are more comfortable with a female therapist. This is why I was told that it takes longer for a male to get his business supporting itself. But what I don’t understand is the games that people play when they could simply be honest. (If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m a big fan of honesty where possible.)
A few minutes ago, a man walked into the shop and asked if there was any availability today. I told him that I could see him anytime, including ‘right this minute’. He asked about 4:00. I told him that I could see him then as well. He took a business card, then told me he would call me and be back. I told him that he needed to call before 4:00 to let me know he was coming. He said he would be back, and walked out.
Now, am I expecting to see this person again? Let’s put it to you this way, I’m not holding my breath. He was obviously out looking for something, and had the time to be looking. Having the time to be looking he probably had the time to get a session. If he truly didn’t have that much time, and he knew what time he could make it, he would have made an appointment. I mean, maybe he saw the sign on the way back to work after lunch, and thought he would check it out. He never asked any prices nor did he take any pricing information. (That’s another clue that tells me he won’t be back. If he truly was interested, he would have asked how much. I could be charging $200 an hour for all he knew.) And who knows, I could have that time slot booked when he got around to calling or coming back. I do take walk-ins, but if someone is planning on just walking in, they run the risk of my not being available when they get here.
No, I don’t expect him back, nor am I leaving that time space open in case he calls. The question I have is why couldn’t he just have said he would prefer a female therapist. There have been men through here that have admitted that. When they do, I send them down the street to Emily’s studio. There are three female massage therapists there that could work on him. This is what I will continue to do until I have a female therapist working here. And they do the same thing. If they have someone wanting a male therapist, or are simply filled for the day, they refer those people to me.
I had a phone call the other day that was similar. When I answered the phone, a male voice on the other end told me that he had dialed a wrong number. Uh huh. Sure. Rather than just let him go, I asked who he was looking for. He got very flustered and said “uh… uh... it’s a wrong number!” I felt like replying “wrong sex you mean”, but I refrained. I guess I need to start keeping count of lost opportunities for female therapists to show prospective employees.
If someone is polite about it, I will gladly refer them. If they are rude, or play games, well they can find one without my help. I guess I’m just tired of all the games. C’mon guys, you have the balls, now why don’t you have enough balls to ask for what you are truly looking for? (Wow. Did I say that? I guess I did.)
Why do you need to play games?
Seeing as of this writing, I have not had my first client of the new year, playing games is not what I want to do. This month is looking like it will be slow with people recovering monetarily from the holidays. I just hope that it picks up enough to pay expenses.
Oh well. Rant over. Go back to what you were doing before you so were rudely interrupted.