Hi everyone, just wanted to pick your brains again. I got some good advice from you all before regarding nerves and my first client, now I have another question for you...
I had my first phonecall from a man the other day and to be honest he sounded a bit shady and witheld his number and said he only wanted to be treated by a woman and not a man! So I said at this time I only treated women but I would be happy to treat him once I had a treatment room.. he wasent interested so that was the end of that!! I was going to stick to a No Men policy for safety reasons but now I'm not sure.
I have now had another call from a man who has recieved one of my leaflets through his door, I have not called him back yet but he sounds quite friendly and open (although hehas onlyleft a mobile no for me to call him back on)unlike my first male caller . I really do not want to turn work away and I would treat men quite happily by word of mouth or if I had a treatment room...BUT I could be turning away genuine people and I dont want to do this. I'm just starting out in this business and I love it and I dont want to put people off.
So if any of you reading this have any tips for me on ways around this problem, regarding saftey or anything...your thoughts on anything to do with this matter will be HUGELY APPRECIATED!! And if you are a man reading this I am not being sexist, its purely the safety aspect of things that puts me off going to a mans home if he has no family present.
I look forward to your replys.....Kim x;)
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
Hello Kim,
you must do what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I will only accept male clients in their homes if they have been passed to me via recommendation, or via a friend - in other words someone can vouch for them. I realise even this is not completely foolproof, but it is what I feel comfortable doing.
Yes, it means I have to turn down possibly first rate clients, I am in the fortunate position of being able to refer any to the clinic where I work.....it means less money for me, but safety is my first concern.
Good luck with whatever you decide, be safe
Karen
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
When I first started out years ago, I would only do home visits to men that called me on recommendation from friends (female or male). Only acouple of timeswas Ia bit dubious about the new 'client' at which point, during the consult, I said that I would do a reflexology treatment with them seated and fully clothed (rather than haul my couch in for remedial massage). Both were disappointed and did not invite me back. 
I did not lose any sleep!
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
this is a difficult one and it doens't really get any easier.
I generally turn male clients down, but I have accepted a few appointments when it has been for something like Indian head or Hopi ear. I also ask if anyone else is going to be in the house, and the male clients don't seem to mind me asking this (if they are genuine) and when I explain its for safety they ensure that their wife is in on the first few appointments.
Luckily I also have a clinic room now and ask them to book in their. Also, like the above have said, if its a recommendation, OR if its a husband and wife booking in at the same time, then I will go.
what you could do when you arrive at the male client's house, is text someone to say where you are and how long you will be. You don't have to actually text, but let the male client aware of what you are doing.
Another thing you can do whilst on the phone making the appointment, is ask if you could do a mini treatment plan with them there and then. Ask them a few medical questions and then what treatment they want. you will soon find out if they are genuine clients or not.
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
ORIGINAL: Jabba The Hut
Only acouple of timeswas Ia bit dubious about the new 'client' at which point, during the consult, I said that I would do a reflexology treatment with them seated and fully clothed (rather than haul my couch in for remedial massage). Both were disappointed and did not invite me back.
I realise that you were already feeling cautious in these instances, so I understand your decision fully, but if I had booked for a massage, and the therapist decided on doing reflexology, I would be more than disappointed, I would be properly hacked off! And I certainly wouldn't book that therapist again... in fact I would probably decline the treatment.
Anyway, back to the original question.
Maybe I have been lucky, but I have never had a bad experience with a male client. It is up to the individual to decide. What I usually do with male callers is ask a few questions in advance as to what they are looking for, why, have they had massage before, and if so, who with, what type, what benefits they got etc.
Then, if you still don't feel confident, you can say 'I'm not sure that what I do is suited to your needs, why not try 'name of therapist or salon' - they specialise in 'treatment type'. That way you can say no and save face.
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
I've posted this link in one of the safety for therapists threads, but in case you've missed it [link= http://www.massageandbodywork.com/Articles/JuneJuly2000/outcall.html ]http://www.massageandbodywork.com/Articles/JuneJuly2000/outcall.html[/link] It is full of lots of great info, including what to watch out for in verbal manipulations. (also lots of good info for a practitioner working alone)
Listen to your gut, don't let your need to pay the electricity bill make you lower your guard, listen to your gut, let someone know where you are and preferably let the client see/hear you let someone know (call someone, even if it is your own home answering machine, with "hi, I've just setup/arrived at <this address> , I'll be here for the next hour, thanks" or have them see you texting someone, and tell the client "I've just let them know I've arrived on schedule"), listen to your gut.....
I hardly ever bother with the calling in front of the client now, my phone screening pretty much filters out any concerns I have (no appointments with new clients within 48hr of initial phone call, if they want something other than a massage, they usually want it now, or at least today, I miss out on clients with scheduling challenges, but I don't want clients with scheduling challenges, I want ones that rebook at the end of the appointment) Obviously going to an unknownmale client is more of a concern, but I've had females ring up where the conversation has been a bit odd, and I have let someone know where I am in front of the female client (the odd female ones really were odd, nothing inappropriate, but very strange atmosphere, I didn't ask if they'd like to rebook...)
And listen to your gut. Clients looking for more than a massage are not always after the obvious extras, they can be after someone to stroke their ego, even from the fairly innocuous showing off their house that you have to say "what a lovely place" through each roomto bragging about their golf scores (means nothing to me), but it can get to a point where it is an energy drain for you, but your gut has probably been screaming for a while..... Listen to your gut.
RE: Mobile Massage Therapy and Men ? ?
I realise that you were already feeling cautious in these instances, so I understand your decision fully, but if I had booked for a massage, and the therapist decided on doing reflexology, I would be more than disappointed, I would be properly hacked off! And I certainly wouldn't book that therapist again... in fact I would probably decline the treatment.
As I said - I didn't lose any sleep! I simply felt unhappy in the surroundings, so recommended a therapy that I felt appropriate at the time(this was 30 years ago!). Since then I have become much older and somewhat wiser - I can tell the dubious onesby the first few words they utter on the 'phone, andneverdo home visits to 'cold-callers' -nowadays I only do home visits to men who have previously visited my clinic, or who call me on personal recommendation.