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What makes a good spa therapist?
How much you enjoy your trip to a spa can swing almost entirely on how good the therapist is who gives you your treatments.
"I believe that relaxation... should not mean listening to some school-leaver witter on about chakras to a panpipe refrain." Hannah Betts, The Times.
When people have bad experiences or impressions of spas, it is usually based on either how phoney they were, or how lousy their therapist was.
Common complaints about bad therapists include:
* "They were too young and/or inexperienced"
* "They talk too much - to you, and to each other"
* "They didn't tell me anything about the treatment or what they were doing"
A good spa employs well-trained, professional therapists. A good spa therapist should:
* greet you, and introduce themselves
* be friendly, polite, attentive and professional at all times
* be clean, fragrant, well presented and appropriately dressed
* ask you if you have any questions, concerns or worries
* tell you about the treatment beforehand, and ask how you are during it
* be sensitive to how much or how little you want to chat during your treatment
* check on you during the treatment; for example, ask you if the pressure is okay if they're giving you a massage
* tell you what products they are using, or have used
* advise you to drink water after any kind of body treatment
* give you some advice on future personal skin/body care
A good spa therapist should not:
* be snotty with you
* smell strongly of anything including perfume
* be dressed in a sexy way at all, or reveal loads of cleavage or underwear anywhere when they bend over... we don't list or review that type of "spa"...
* say things like "Right then, let's get on with it!"
* present themselves as any kind of counsellor, or ask you much about your personal life beyond what is relevant to the treatment - they don't need to know about your holiday plans or your Christmas shopping
* tell you all about themselves and their problems, likes and dislikes
* do any kind of hard sell on any of the spa's products
* linger obviously at the end of your treatment waiting for a tip
A good spa therapist can really make all the difference between a fantastic experience and a very mediocre one, or even a terrible one! A good spa therapist combines the skills of sensitivity, calm and competence. They have to be responsive and consistent, no matter what is going on in their lives and how many clients they've seen that day. Appreciate the good ones!
See also:
* How can I avoid the sales pitch?
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