massage therapist

esthetician

front desk agent

sales associate

customer service representative

Massage Envy

I started officially in 2013. Took about a 4 month break from them to try something else and then decided to go back when I shouldn't have. I started out with low pay and didn't get much more during the 7 years I was there which was disappointing. Obviously the more you were trained in, the more you got paid such as pre-natal and hot stone, ect. but I shouldn't have to be trained in specific modalities just to be able to make a good living.  

I was burned out on 90 minutes so I asked not to be scheduled with them and I was told that I only had one option to remove from my schedule and I already had deep tissue that I wasn't offering so I couldn't also take away 90s. Last time I checked, deep tissue (deep pressure to the client) was not exactly a physical choice. You can either physically do it or you cant. So because I couldn't physically go deep on clients, I had no option of taking 90s out of my schedule unless I did my schedule a certain way. So that's what I did. I made it so they could only realistically book two hours in a row and then I would get a break. Yes I still got 90s but not as much. 

You have to pay attention to your tips because sometimes the girls up front don't pay attention and they put it in someone else's tip folder and not everyone is honest. 

We use to get paid a couple bucks to do enhancements but no longer do. 

They recently put in a "bonus" system which is realistically unattainable unless you are a perfect person who never gets sick and is always on time. They would reward you with a monthly bonus if you clocked in 15 minutes before your shift every single day, if you are a minute late, you loose your bonus. If you call in sick you have to choose a day to make it up right when you are calling in or you loose your bonus and it also has to be within 7 days or you loose your bonus too. You can't call in and make it up at the end of the month or call back later and pick a day. To pick a day as you are calling in sick when you don't know when you will be better is absurd. And you also cannot make any schedule changes less than 30 days because you will loose your bonus. 

So yea, the bonus sounds great but they make it very hard to attain and that is coming from a person who is very good with coming into work and getting the job done right. 

They did start to offer health insurance to full time people but the catch is that you have to maintain a certain amount of hours PER QUARTER to even get it for the next quarter otherwise you are kicked off. That was a stressful aspect of the job. I was just a few hours short for my first quarter but luckily I had PTO I could use otherwise I would have to go into work and work the hours I needed. They should count the hours you are there total, not just the hours you are doing hands on massage. Too stressful. 

The only good part of the job was getting free state fair tickets every year and the 401k. 

I considered myself to be a trustworthy and respectful employee and thought I meant more to the company but I quickly learned that was not the case and that I was just a number to them. First, when I left for that short time the manager was telling me to come back and that she missed my humor and that if I came back before a certain amount of time I would get the same pay as well as seniority. That was only if I wasn't gone for an extended period of time which I think was maybe 5 or 6 months. This was nice to come back with that security plus it made me feel valued. Then when I started using the PTO that was showing on my checks, they told me that it was a mistake and that I would have to earn back all the hours I took (about 40 hours or so) before I could start earning for myself. They told me that my PTO should not have stayed on my account from the first time I was employed there. 1. If I was coming back with the same seniority and pay, why wouldn't I have the PTO that I earned previously? and 2. If they didn't want me to have that, then why didn't they take it off my account when I came back? Not my fault. After discussing this with the clinic manager she finally managed to get the owner to let it go. I don't know the details behind that conversation but I was happy that it turned out like that. I would of had to work months to even earn that back before starting to earn PTO for myself again and that would have been ridiculous.  At first it was a "too bad so sad" situation but in the end it was their fault 100% and I am glad they actually owned up to it. 

Then this whole COVID19 thing happened and we had to be out of work unfortunately. Upon reopening they said they would be bringing full time people back first, which I was, and going by seniority. It took forever for them to call me and the reason was because they counted me as a new hire because I came back in 2019. They did not count my 2013 start date. When I came back they told me I would have my seniority so what happened? I worked so hard and tried for so long to get the hours that I actually wanted and they called and gave me later shifts than what I had been getting before. I knew this wouldn't change even after the whole virus thing was up and I couldn't just stay there full time and do that schedule after putting so much time into getting the hours I wanted.

 That is when I knew my true value and in all honesty it hurt and it broke my heart that I was nothing but a number so I decided to apply at a different massage place. That wasn't my plan at all though. I wanted to find a different job in general and still work part time with them but a different opportunity arose. I didn't do it to spite them, I did it because they made me feel worthless. I thought I had good relationships there. I got there 30 minutes early every shift, always on time with the clients and precise with my sessions and helped with the sheets. A lot of therapist can't even do that there. 

I let the manager know not to continue to book me because this was such a sudden thing for me to be taking a different massage job and I was trying to gather myself. I didn't want them to have to schedule people and then cancel on them and reschedule. I was trying to be nice and accommodating. I asked them to block any openings because I figured I could leave a little early if they let me. When I put my two weeks in, I had the intentions of working every day that they had clients for me and just have them shorten the days that were remaining but they emailed me back in less than 12 hours and told me effective immediately to not come in. They did not tell me why until I went to the clinic. She told me that they didn't want to pay me the "minimum guaranteed pay" they were giving people in case they didn't book in and they didn't want me telling people about my new job at the other massage place. I would have gladly forfeited that minimum pay and had them just pay me for the work I did but they didn't give me the option. They literally took me off of everything massage envy related. I couldn't even see my pay stubs on ADP anymore, or have access to the clinic facebook, bamboo or MEU. I wish they would have talked to me first before doing this. If I had known they were gonna just throw me out like garbage then I would have just not shown up to work and given no notice but I was trying to be respectful. When I went to return my shirts and clean my locker out, she was extremely hesitant of me even saying hi to my co worker in the back. What am I possibly going to say to her that could jeopardize the company? I just wanted to say hi to my friend who I haven't seen in almost three months. They treated me as if I had caused so many issues and was a horrible employee that was out to get them and destroy their company. That is how it felt. 

Overall, very sad to work at a place for so long just to be treated like a number.

If you enjoy low key office front work and helping people take care of themselves, this job may be a good fit for you. However, there is also extreme pressure to sell memberships which can be stressful. There are no benefits, you get paid 9 bucks an hour, you get a miniscule commission of 10 on every sale,  and you will not be given full time(no matter what they tell you and if you don't sell, they will slice yours hours by more than half). There are also some lulls in the day and it can be insanely boring. There is absolutely nothing to do at all but dust and wait for the phone to ring, which can make the day drag on like nobodies business. The schedule is usually made weekly if you're lucky or if it is made weeks ahead it usually changes so you're schedule is not consistent. It is difficult to make any plans or have a part time job with this schedule when they don't have the schedule 4 days before you work next. Plus, there are meetings scheduled with only days notice that aren't even written in your schedule that you have to go to whether you're working or not. Which isn't a huge deal it is just frustrating coming in for a 30 minute meeting when you already had other plans or have to come back later that day. That was the least of my troubles though. There are several scripts you have to memorize as well which will make you feel like a robot and completely devoid of any personality. If you deviate from the script you'll be criticized but if you manage to sell a membership, they may not come down on you as much. However, even the leadership doesn't follow the script to a tee or even know it verbatim. I think this job might have the potential to be great depending all on the leadership, staff, and your ability to sell. However, the membership in Portland is extremely juvenile and harsh, I'm not sure they were trained on how to coach their staff. The district manager will publicly slander and debase your character in front of other co-workers and customers. I wasn't great at sales and struggled. Instead of the management telling me I wasn't working out, I believe they bullied me and cut back my hours until I left. They told me I would lose my job if I didn't sell and I then sold several memberships. I also pitched to several people trying to sell a membership,  I gave them a card with my name on it for them to call me back and my boss informed me she had to steal my sale because she was doing poorly. It was frustrating for me because I had taken care of them and I also needed the sale for my hours/commission. I also had to wonder how often this happens, I heard from other co-workers she did it to them as well. I heard this was due to not turning away a sell, but honestly I don't know why it wouldn't go to the original seller. This is ridiculous to me that the boss can't make enough sales on her own, she is taking her staff's, she should be the example and expert.  I was being watched non-stop which stressed me out and I was reminded often I would lose my job because of my sales. I was given instruction on every negative thing I did and all I didn't do. I was told by my assistant manager and overheard my boss saying in their pitch to ask, "So have you thought about doing massages on a more regular basis?"  So I applied this method and then I was told by my boss never do that, yet it is something she applies in her every sale.  At a business meeting, which I feel like the word business shouldn't even be used in the same sentence because it was extremely unprofessional, the district manager took turns humiliating everyone and pointing out their flaws. She also called us droids and said we repeat ourselves, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY TRAIN YOU TO DO!!! She also criticized us for bringing home to work and I personally never heard my lovely co-workers do that from my knowledge. We were also told our conversations were inappropriate which is entirely hypocritical because the district manager would regularly talking about sex, how hard her life is being a lesbian, etc. They also cut my hours extremely with out even for warning me and I couldn't pay my bills. It felt like the district manager enjoyed attacking people's character on a regular basis, especially if your sales were poor. I'm not sure how this strategy works, I think you'd get better results being positive and noticing improvements. I have never worked for a place where my feedback was based on my personality and not my actual work ethic. I did everything they suggested and tried to be a "yes man" as much as possible but I still didn't satisfy their unrealistic expectations. In a matter of months, I was told from management: I was boring, I didn't have a personality, I laugh too loud, I don't laugh enough, I am unfriendly to the clients(which couldn't be further from the truth, absolutely a lie), I have horrible verbiage, and etc. So much of what they told me was not truth or it was down right rude, it wasn't tactful at all. If you can handle being browbeaten and for your self confidence to completely be obliterated, then I would suggest you apply. If you can sell then you might be safe here for awhile or if you're capable of letting condescending comments roll of your back, you might survive. However, if you can't or you aren't sure you can sell, I suggest you run fast in the other direction before your spirit is broken by a bunch of number driven micro-mangers who don't know how to give people kind/courteous feedback. My feelings were hurt by their treatment because my effort was always 100 percent and I can take normal constructive criticism. I write this because there is absolutely no way for me to get ahold of the owners or HR to warn them that their management needs some serious guidance. I watched 5 or 6 employees quit in the short 2 months I was there, their turnover is high.  I think the owners should know this is harassment and slander; someone that wants to go to the trouble someday will probably file a complaint or possibly sue. I also write it because I honestly think if you're desperate for a sales job, I would strongly encourage do yourself a favor and go to a place where your leadership will treat you with respect.  Make sure you interview the leadership, i.e. the district and clinical administrator as much as they interview you. However, I'm not certain anyone would be able to know what to expect from a few interviews because you don't see how harsh they treat you until you don't meet their standards. The staff as a whole is nice but the leadership just needs a lot of help with training people and with their verbiage to their staff concerning appropriate ways to talk to your staff. If you simply need a job to pay the bills, go to Mcdonald's, you'll probably will get way more hours, perks, and hopefully better treatment where they build you up, not tear you down.

I finished my job at Massage Envy on a very disappointing note. When I started, I was told the position involved sales of retail and memberships as well as basic reception duties. What they didn't tell me is that as a Front Desk Associate, every responsibility of the business falls on you for $10 an hour. 
     Not only are you in charge of cleaning the entire clinic, booking appointments, making emails/phone calls, etc., etc. You basically do the therapists' jobs as well. It was my job to have a very detailed consultation with each and every non-member client. Sit them down, ask them questions about everything from daily activities to concern areas to health history. Mind you, I am not a massage therapist nor were any of the other FDA's. Therapists HARDLY ever talked to their guests before or after sessions. I always found this to be a huge disservice to the customers. After sessions, therapists would grab their clients water and say some watered down statement like, "You had tension in your back. Drink water. Bye." and then disappear to the break room. It was then OUR responsibility to corner the client, sit them down with an iPad, and explain in hyper detail what the therapists found and recommended based on the session. Mind you, I have no education or certification on anatomy, massotherapy, or any physical treatments unlike the therapists who do. Why where the FDA's the people who had to explain massage techniques, targeted muscle groups, or the things that the therapists with specific education in that area should? 
     The therapists where never held accountable for bad performance, bad customer service, and not educating their clients on why massage is beneficial to each individual. (Not every therapist, but the majority.) It made it extremely difficult to sell memberships which is basically the priority of Massage Envy. The sales pitches were the worst part of the job. Trying to come up with some angle to sell the membership based off of the pre-chat and service quality they received. Not every client wants or needs a membership. Massage Envy does not agree. And based off of the countless conversations I've had with guests, the quality of service was almost never the selling point. 
     My coworkers and I always joked that we're selling massage memberships like car dealers con people into buying cars. It's a hard, pushy sales environment where you have to trick guests into thinking you're pulling strings for them. It's silly and honestly a disappointment to this industry based on helping people. When guests didn't sign, it hurt the FDA's only. Our sales were kept on a board for everyone to see. We would be told to act like a team, but then these charts set us up to compete with one another. I just never agreed with structure of the sale here or the motivation behind it. 
     There was little consistency with expectations. They changed every day. Some days you'd come in and the manager would be sharing gummy bears with the employees and singing songs in the office. Laid back, silly stories, employees hiding in the office avoiding work. Other days there would be a drawing jar with chores for employees to do. Strict, constant berating, everyone in a bad mood. I never knew what kind of environment I was walking into each day. 
     There was some turnover during my time here. Usually it was employees quitting or leaving. One employee quit with no notice. Our manager spoke to every FDA and pled to us how much it hurts when people quit with no notice. She asked that if anyone was unsatisfied with their job or was looking elsewhere, to PLEASE put in notice and be respectful. She reiterated the importance of that to us and how it emotionally impacted her. On my final day, 5 minutes into my shift, my manager pulled me into her office and told me that she believed I should be pursuing a different career path that they couldn't offer me here. She felt as if this job was holding me back from doing what I was meant to do. Told me I was a great employee but the location was making big changes and felt we needed to part ways. I was told I wasn't being let go for behavioral, performance, or any other reason besides that they felt they were holding me back. 
     I was laid off with no notice. This literally turned my life upside down. I'm single, 22, live alone, and financially am independent. I just moved in to a new apartment. I had been having severe medical issues. They couldn't have done this to me at a worse time AND with zero notice. Double standard clearly when it comes to notices. Because of this, I have zero respect for this company and franchise. 
     Also while I was employed at Massage Envy as a FDA, the location was preparing for a VERY needed renovation. (I'm talking torn up carpets, chipped paint, stained chairs, outdated decor, etc) We would be expanding from massage only to massage plus skincare. The location needed estheticians for the new opening. I have an Advanced Cosmetology license under the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology. That is 1800 hours plus 3 years of continuing education and countless certifications. 
     I had made several calls to the board verifying that my license covers the ENTIRE Managing Esthetician License. My manager offered me this position because she saw my talents and good work ethic. After talking to the owner of our location, she said he "can't" hire people with any license other than ONLY a managing esthetician license. This is a joke. My license IS this license, plus more. I was denied the job basically because I was over qualified. My manager agreed with me however, when letting me go, she said ultimately this led to their decision of parting ways. 
     It makes me sad thinking about how much I believed in this company when I first started. It let me down. It lets it's customers down. In many ways, this is the most disappointing job of my career. I wish my coworkers the best and hope they find a job that appreciates them and offers them the accountability Massage Envy fails to do.

Massage Envy varies from location to location, as it's a franchise. Many of the employees at the Glendale location, which is the flagship of Los Angeles and one of the oldest locations in the area, had come from other locations with better stories of the work environment. The work is fairly consistent - sometimes, too much so, where you will be overbooked with barely any time to rest or recuperate in between massages. You are able to set a limit of how many hours in a day you can work or how many hours in a row, but oftentimes I was booked over my limit without even time to rest or eat. 

When I was hired on, it was with the idea that healthcare benefits would eventually be available. In their job postings, they list healthcare at some locations as a benefit, even though it is not the case (Specifically the Glendale locations lists this in their employment ads even though they don't offer it). They hire people through intentionally misleading posts and interviews. We were also led to believe that we would be making minimum wage at 8/hr when we are not massaging, in addition to the 15/hr when we are working. This was also not the case. As soon as I was hired on, management changed and we were forced to sign tons of new paperwork removing the small perks we had. They offered very small incentives like free massages for doing 12 enhancements, then abruptly changed the way they are handled and people who had earned (EARNED, by WORKING, very hard) these perks then lost them all. Front desk staff gets a free massage once a month although the massage therapists and estheticians do not, even though they are the ones doing the physically demanding work. There is no pay difference between doing a Swedish massage vs a Deep Tissue massage, so most days I was doing back to back deep tissue massages for 15 dollars an hour. Most people tipped ok, but some people did not. It changed from day to day, and I think many of the clients do not realize just how essential tips were to our livelihood.

Other Massage Envy locations offer benefits such as commission bonuses for signing up clients (ours did not) and bi-yearly evaluations with raises (ours did not). There are people who have been working there for years upon years and are still making 15 dollars an hour. Therapists are considered very replaceable there which does not make for a good working environment. There is the hanging fear over your head at all times that you might be let go, and people are fired or quit often because of the working conditions there. 

The coworkers and clients are for the most part very, very nice people. Even the managers are very nice people, but are rarely at the location so do not get to see the impact of their rules and regulations on how the location operates and the effect it has on both the clientele and therapists. You are told it is not a sales position, but you are pushed to upsell clients even though you make no commission off it, and clients usually leave smaller tips when they do enhancements because they are paying extra for the services. 

You are required to go through their training programs to do pregnancy and hot stone massages. You will be required to perform 6 practical massages for each of these modalities for no pay. They also do not tell you this in advance. You don't even get the 8/hr minimum wage for these. 

Massage Envy renews their contracts with clients behind their backs and forces them to come in and sign paperwork in order to stop their contract. They make it purposefully difficult to cut ties with the membership fees.

Often there are more therapists there than there is work, and you will spend hours sitting around making no money. Until people start to get frustrated and quit, then it picks up again for a bit, until they hire on more therapists again...rinse, repeat.

But really, the thing that bothered me the most about working there was how little they care about the safety and comfort of their clients and therapists, both. I had one very creepy client of the sexual harassment type. I requested that I not work on him again, and when looking through his paperwork saw that 3 other therapists had already complained about him. I asked them what it takes for a member to be dropped from Massage Envy, or if they just keep passing the creeps around from therapist to therapists. Their response "Yeah, that's true..." - I did not feel like they cared about my safety or comfort and that the client's 50 dollars a month was more important to them than their therapists not getting molested or harassed. I mean come on.

• a typical day at work

Nothing out of the ordinary - you show up, you massage people, and collect cash tips at the end of the day. My biggest complaint is not being booked some days. I stay booked for the most part but on the days/slow seasons I’m not, it is an utterly dreadful experience. If you are not booked, they still expect you to: show up, wait in the break room in case you get booked by some magic miracle (and you won’t, I promise), and stay until your shift is over. All with no pay. It’s understandable that you can’t be fully booked 100% of the time, but Massage Envy does not have a single care about your financial needs or how your time is spent when you don’t have clients. If you plan on working here, expect some days to feel like a nice, big “nothing burger.” 

• what you believed you learned 

I learned the routines for their enhancements and how to stuff my face during a “30 minute lunch break.” I used quotations for that because if you have a client right as your lunch break ends, it’s a good idea to cut your lunch break short so you can get it started on time. On fully booked days, expect about 5 minutes of that time to actually eat. And yes, management WILL bark at you for utilizing all of your break time. 

• management 

The management is a mess. At the location I work at, I’ve worked for less than 3 years and have undergone FOUR managers. They can be hit or miss but most likely a miss, considering only one of them seemed adequate for the job. The managers this company hires are money starved dogs with no knowledge or passion about massage. They will give suggestions or “advice” on how you can grow/make the experience better for clients. It sounds good in theory but when executed, it could not possibly be more transparent that these managers have never worked a day in their life as a massage therapist. 

• workplace culture

Surprisingly enough, the culture here is great for the most part. Just about all of the employees I’ve worked with have been great. However, there has been a few bad apples that have made it an uncomfortable environment in the past. I’d go as far as saying there have been times where it has borderlines verbal abuse. When these people get hired, the last thing Massage Envy will do is educate them on the proper etiquette of being a massage therapist and even general employee of a work place. 

9/10 of the clients are excellent to work with but when they aren’t pleased, your word means nothing. You can give the managers the most logical explanation as to why your session went the way it did, and you’ll essentially get a “that makes sense but you still need to do better” response. You can put in 100% effort to do your best, but every good aspect of you is overlooked the second you receive a minuscule/irrelevant complaint. 

• the hardest part of the job

Where does one even begin? I suppose the salary-to-work ratio. You get paid a measly 20% of the service and fully booked days can be an absolute nightmare. You are expected to breeze through back-to-back appointments (often times with ZERO time for a room flip) and in a timely manner. Expect some back breaking days for what feels like literal pennies. 

The “enhancements” are another big complaint. You’re expected to attempt to squeeze as much money out of your clients as you possibly can - and none of it goes towards you and your hard work. Enhancements should be treated as a luxury to sessions, and should be recommended when appropriate. Not here. Oh, you don’t think the enhancement is necessary for the session? Well, too bad because your knowledge, education, and input is reduced to dust. If you’re good at what you do, your hands are more than enough to satisfy clients and have them rebook. By applying here, you are discreetly replacing your “massage therapist” title to become a glorified salesperson. 

So much more can be written about things I don’t like about the job but I’ll leave it at that. 

• the most enjoyable part of the job

Clocking out. 

Finally - the only person I’d recommend this company to is new massage therapists. It’s a good place to work with different bodies/gain hands-on experience, and enables you to see what the worst of the worst in the career is like. Staying at this corporate dungeon disguised as a spa has been my biggest mistake as a massage therapist. 


I no longer work for ME.  I do not regret working for ME because I gained some experience.  

Pro's: Almost always busy.  Great clients.  Great co-workers!  I loved all of my co-workers.  We were really like family.  I made life long friends and I do treasure friendship with them!!  It was very humbling how much each of us cared for the other!  I may never have that close of a work "family" again.  That was the best part for me!!

Getting to choose how many sessions you do in a row.  

Hour lunch breaks.

Con's:
You only get paid per massage session.  If you are slow you can't go home and if you decide to you could get written up.  I understand someone may walk in...but sitting at work for an 8 hour shift and doing nothing and getting paid nothing sucks.  Thank goodness that only happened once...

High turnover for front desk staff.  With new front desk associates coming and going it's hard to learn them or get to know them.  Let alone work on them so they can see how we work and it's easier to refer us to a client who has never been there.  

Management was ok.  Our owner was awesome!!  I really respected our owner.  I didn't feel the front desk team new enough about massage.  Especially the owner and clinic manager.  There were times someone would come in and be booked to see us for massages we didn't personally offer (lymph drainage, reflexology, hot stone - examples) and we would be asked to fake it.  I wouldn't.  They didn't like to cancel sessions for any reason.  That would put our license on the line and I felt at times they cared more about money than they did our clients safety or our licenses. 

When it was time for review we wouldn't be reviewed by other therapists.  We could have a client, staff member, or another therapist do our review.  I feel only other licensed therapists should have been reviewing us for our massages.  How can an unlicensed person review a therapist when they do not have the training we do.  Front desk staff would often do a review and never even had a massage before.  They didn't even know what was supposed to happen other than the consultation and sales pitch....that is a huge problem. 

We weren't always allowed to do what we were trained to do.  Such as referring a client to a doctor or chiropractor.  We are trained to refer in school.  Almost all of the medical community refers clients to someone else if they feel what they need is out of their personal expertise.  We were not allowed to stretch a client.  

I feel money was the main motivator and numbers mattered more than anything to ME.  Yes numbers matter when you have to pay rent, staff, lights, and water.  However, it should never matter more than the clients safety or your therapists licenses.  

Pay was low for a massage therapist.  We are the ones breaking our backs so you can make a profit.  More money would be nice for us.  If you need to raise the price of a massage session to pay us more...do it...your staff will stay longer and be more loyal than you could possibly imagine.  

For a typical day  you would come in and set up your room for the day.  Check to see if you had any add on services/upgrades.  Get towels needed for those sessions.  Look over your schedule of services for the day.  Pick up your first client.  Do a consultation and get them on the table withing five minutes (not enough time here).  Go in do the massage end five minutes before the hour is up to allow the client to get dressed and you give them water; and get your next client for consultation and getting them on the table (again not enough time here either).  You are running back to back to back.  You barely have enough time to use the restroom.  If you get behind because someone takes longer getting off the table everyone gets upset.  Your next client for you running behind.  Management for you running behind....All they have to do is allow 15 extra minutes between sessions and this would be resolved easily.  Often times we would be overbooked.  We can choose how many we do in a row...and often times this would be overlooked...

Working at Massage Envy as a Front Desk Associate is not profitable, it will not grow your strengths in your career path, and it is unrewarding. During a normal day of work, you will check clients in and out, up-sell them extras, and handle customer complaints. In between the check-ins at the top of the hour, you will sit there and accumulate dust. If you aren't the only person working, you might be able to leave the desk and clean the facility that you're in. Depending on your management, you may also need to clean the clinic as well during the night shift. Anyone can tell you that simply spot treating a clinic where clients are handled physically is not very sanitary. At my location, it is up to the Front Desk to keep the clinic clean, and sometimes the massage therapists will clean their own rooms if they have a cancellation.
You will also sell memberships to clients who don't already have them. You will be trained online to say the correct scripting, and you might even go to a sales training. From my own experience in sales, the way that selling is handled here leaves something to be desired. At the franchise I work for, you will not receive commission unless you sell enough of the products/memberships. Their goals will be high, and you will be written up if you do not meet them.
You are expected to keep an image at Massage Envy. You will need to look chic and stylish in their scratchy uniforms. I personally have never been the girly girl type, but there is pressure from this job to appear perfect. There is a ban in their handbook saying that you may not wear scented lotions, perfumes, or wash your laundry in scented detergent. You may not have nail polish with chips, personal affects, (unless they look expensive) and you may not have "unnatural" hair. Massage Envy is a breeding ground for High-School level cattiness, so someone will let you know immediately if you breach these policies. 
During my time at this job, I have been subjected to at least four managers, all in the course of nine months. If my experience is at all normal, your entire job depends on these managers. Whatever they say, that is your job. I have had dress codes switched up at least five times, (never with any warning) I have had my job description change at the drop of a hat, fake promotions from managers later fired, fake raises in pay, loss of checks due to "errors" in the system, and hours cut. All while being smiled to in my face and promises of promotions. You will be assessed for promotions based on who your manager's favorite employee is. 
This is a perfect place if you are into micro-managing. If you enjoy telling others EXACTLY how to fold laundry, sweep, or speak on the phone. It's also a wonderful place to gossip and use your coworkers as rungs on the corporate ladder.
Now, Indeed has alerted me that this is "not the place to report illegal activities," so I won't. Just beware. Your hours are at stake every time you make a single mistake. Your working environment will change drastically day by day, manager by manager. Righteous employees quitting will cause you to work overtime, (whether you will get paid for overtime is another issue...) I have no respect for Massage Envy. I have been through two different franchises, each with their own problems. From not getting paid for the work that I've done already, to losing hours for no reason of my doing. And everything in between. And no, Massage Envy Corporate, I would not like you to reach out to my Franchisee. Every complaint I have made either verbally or submitted through your portals has achieved bupkis. I would rather not be hounded for retaliation by any more higher ups, please. 
Dear job searcher, search somewhere else. Unless your clinic is owned by awesome people who want to pay you what you're worth, and your managers agree. Every ME is different, but mine was this.

The work environment is very stressful at times maybe even hostile compared to other companies.

The therapist takes all heat but little of the glory. Massage can be very difficult to match up with the right Therapist. It starts with the Front Desk. However, often the therapist is given the client before any Forms have been filled out with 5 mins total for client prep and pre-evalulation/assessment can be very difficult especial with Clients that have medical issues.

Massage Envy has gone Electronic forms now..... The system isn't perfect and often errors.  Can leave a Therapist at risk and at the time the system doesn't let you change or correct the session and the client has no way of to initial changes. Clients often forget to mention in the 2 mins of pre-eval what was wanted or needed. Massage Envy  has a no add areas of focus policy once the session starts and even if a Therapist does add (and it happens trust me) no way to initial on the changes thus its the Clients word against yours so the Therapist is taking a big risk because Massage Envy generally backs the Client first. If the Therapist follows the rule to the letter, the Client then is unhappy and reports that the Therapist did not do what was asked. Often the Therapist is reminded about being written up more often than they have negative reviews and complaints

Back in the Paper days it took seconds to make the change on paper and the client initials.

Massage Envy takes a very structured approach to Massage which can be good for fresh graduates out of school but the spirit of how the structure is applied makes employees/therapist looking over their shoulders.  The bad is emphasized more than the good and even though there is only very small amount of actual bad apples, that negative energy is often shifted towards the therapist and employees that were not involved. The structure is so rigid yet open to broad interpretation that Massage Envy has a very High turnover rate for employees. I was the last to survive my group and the following group only had 2 left. There have been many groups of therapist and other employees that seem to vanish as fast as they were hired in all my years I never seen such a high turnover rate. Managers, assistant, managers, front desk  are all included in this. The high turnover rate especially in management makes it feel like your starting over again no matter how many years you have put in....

Massage Envy is growing fast it provides easy low cost massages that don't require a lot of thought or knowledge by customers/clients and despite the high turnover rate there are always excellent Therapist to choose from. However the Massage Envy of old is clashing with the new and Improved Massage Envy that is going paperless and adding many more services to the list of choices for Clients. People like to take their time assessing the choices, their added costs, and benefits. The Therapist must be ready to answer all these questions in the very short time in addition their own responsibilities since quality control is lost as soon as the Client enters the door.  There is no fail-safe should the session not go the way Massage Envy has envisioned it yet the Therapist is the one on the Hot seat should anything go wrong. Yes, a Therapist has the right to not start a session if not comfortable with how the session is starting/going but it will always come back to haunt that  therapist even if it was warranted.

Don't expect to be respected at this job. Not only do the customers disrespect you, but management does as well. Manager would act one way around customers but act totally different towards you, especially when no one is around.

You can do a good job and fulfill your long list of duties necessary, meanwhile; they'll continue adding duties, but not continue adding to your wage, only to fire you for no reason at all on the next day. In addition, they do in fact expect you to be perfect and will compliement themselves for fulfilling all the duties with their "eyes closed" but reprimand you multiple times for a single error that is usually fixable. You really have to submit yourself to management and customers to stay at this minimum wage position, meanwhile; you will be micromanaged while you play the role of receptionist, cleaner, security, bathroom janitor, debt collector, and salesman for an unfortunate wage. They stay looking for someone to take advantage of and if you are not that person, they will definitely fire you. Management won't take accountability for their poor training and will just fire you coz they're too lazy to teach, which is the reason for the high turnover rate. Even though you can learn from your mistakes, management won't care and move on to hire another employee, who they like as a potentential friend, only for it to happen all over again. 

Management pretends to be the most relevant in the clinic but they lack life experience because all they do is focus on work and not building relationships with their employees. Instead, they'll fire you simply because they don't like you. They desperately need for you to get up every time a guest walks up in the space. Management has a huge lack of awareness of ADA.

It's not surprising that you may have to skip your own lunch sometimes simply because they overwhelm you with work to do. 

The dichotomy between being a guest here vs being an employee is very obvious considering the constant disrespect that is fully allowed by management, simply for numbers, that'll reflect their personal resume and not help the employee much. Mental health is NOT respected here considering that cold- hearted management WILL fire you in this crumbling economy for not objectifying yourself to their micromanagement. From their capitalist lens, profit is what matters, people do not. 

Alot of free passes are given and disrespect by customers is rewarded with free enhancements. Certain employees who are liked more than others will get a free comp for a service, meanwhile, other employees who management isn't too fond get charged out-of-pocket. 

If you're the type who will fall to their knees for clients and not have any self-respect, you'll fit here perfectly. 

Because management bases their personal self-worth on how well they think they're doing their job, any criticism will hurt their ego and you will get fired if you're someone who speaks up for themselves. In addition, if customers make a front desk associate uncomfortable or even a therapist, they'll still allow them to receive their service with no issue just for profit. They really only care about customers who, more often than not, are *begged* to become members, not their employees, who actually bring in these very same customers. Really not a respectable establishment at all.  

Overall there's always a discrespeny between what you actually earned vs what comes out on your paycheck. Also,  you're *required* to do about 2-3 weeks worth of *unpaid* training/reading prior to you first day of work. Overall, this is truly a nightmare establishment with countless violations due to false and overinflated sense of leadership. 

A TYPICAL DAY:
--A ypical day at work looked like a 50%-75% schedule depending on how slow it is and the time of the year
--During more busy times (of the year) you will be 100% booked

WHAT I LEARNED:
--I learned that how to keep up with the average flow of the clinic while still adhering to my own scheduled appointments

MANAGEMENT:
--The Management is currently great
      --as long you effectively communicate your needs and generrously follow up they are on top of it
     --I usually hear that it varies from employee to employee
     -- also it depends on how well the employee does on following up with their unanswered questions, time off requests, injuries, and other general needs of the work place

WORK PLACE CULTURE:
--Your coworkers are very compassionate as you get to work around like minded people who share the same passions as you do
     --they understand joys and frustrations because they do the same job you do
     --it also depends on your personality but just like any place there are those you enjoy and some you unfortunately don't
     --however those problems with coworkes or therapist to management are easily avoidable if you make it a point to avoid them or are willing to openly express your concerns


THE HARDEST PART ABOUT THE JOB
     -- you will be scheduled a shift, and if you don't have a session you are required to report every half hour to make sure if they book you, you are present to perform the service

     -- also if you are not in a massage at work, you are not getting paid...massage envy does not pay you for your down time

     --if you are booked less then 50% for a full 2 weeks (general pay period) you get paid minimum wage

     --there is some micro-managing when there is too much down time and by this I mean that when there are general conflicts in the work place there will be papers posted all over as reminders to get certain tasks done, when in reality it comes down to only a handful of therapist that missed the mark that certain day

(I however do understand that they cant always directly address the people who missed the mark because its not always clear who is responsible and a general notice makes more sense)
(I also try not to take too much personal responsibility when it comes to something I KNOW I didn't do the wrong)



THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART OF THE JOB

     --the clients are so fun, you find your niche and your niche comes to you

     --if the front desk does a good job at matching with clients who are looking for your type of massage then you find you love the clients you work with

     --most clients are friendly and they post your reviews and are very good at making sure the front desk knows they loved your massage
     --also they provide ALL of your supplies and the therapist never have to do the laundry

I HAVE WORKED FOR MASSAGE ENVY FOR ALMOST A COLLECTIVE 4 YEARS
--I have seen employees in and out but in general it is one of the easiest Massage Therapy jobs because they provide so much for you 
--it can be repetitive but you get to work with great people who make it better to be there

-- I know people who have been there for a few months to close to 10 years and it all depends on your factors as an individual if you will last in this environment, its pretty simple


-- it takes open-mindedness, effective communication, and extreme amount of professionalism and A LOT of passion for your Title as a Massage Therapist
--you must take your position and your time but also Managements time seriously
--at the end of the day we are all just people and so communications is key

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