Massage Membership
After having a massage membership at Massage Heights for the past two years, I finally decided to cancel.
You would think one would enjoy a monthly massage, but I found that once I missed one massage, a snowball effect took place. One massage turned into two, which turned into six – and now I have to pay an extra $49.99 per month in order to keep those pre-paid massages on my account. Ryan paid for my membership in full at the beginning of each year, so it turned into the Christmas gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. I loved it when I was pregnant because my back needed some extra time and attention. But now that the Big A is in my life, my Saturdays (the only day I usually have available for massages) is now spent with him. And you might say, “You can’t make time for a 1-hour massage?” It actually takes two hours out of my day. One hour for the massage and then another hour when you factor in the transportation, showering at home and getting all cleaned up after an oily rub-down.
I got a call from Massage Heights last week to tell me the credit card on my file had expired. I was confused – why did they need a credit card on file? My massages were all paid in full at the beginning of the year. They asked if I wanted to cancel my membership and I was still confused. Why would I have to cancel? Apparently, after the year on your membership is up, your account defaults to bill you the monthly rate of $49.99. This is in fact a good deal because non-membership pricing gives you a 1-hour massage for $99.99 – but it’s just not something I find value in any longer.
So I confirmed that yes, I wanted to cancel my membership. What does that mean for my six pre-paid massages? If I don’t use them in the next 30 days, they go away – POOF!
I was livid. “Are you kidding me?!” I exclaimed. I know I shouldn’t take it out on them, but seriously – that’s just absurd. I refuse to watch that money go down the drain, so I am combining my six massages into three 2-hour sessions and booked the next three Saturdays. I’ll end up using them all just under the 30-day mark.
So my advice on massage memberships is this: if you are a baller, can afford to pay for it monthly, and find time for the 1-2 hour escape each month from your every day life – by all means, sign up.
