After many years of regularly changing massage therapists, I found The Health and Beauty Centre and I've been going there ever since. The salon has a very relaxed atmosphere and the massages and staff are excellent.
The information below is taken directly from the email I sent to the owner of Health and Beauty Centre who at the time of writing has not had the courtesy to respond. I would NOT recommend using this facility under any circumstance:
I visited The Health and Beauty Centre in Bath in September 2015 for a pre-booked appointment. You will recall that there were a few issues and a day on am still feeling disappointed at the experience. I thought it best to share directly with you, because I'd like to think that this was an isolated incident and as a small business owner myself, know the importance of good will and continued support from my clients.
You came highly recommended by my partner who has visited several times for treatments. Desperately-seeking a chance to de-stress and to ease some achy joints, I contacted your number last week and made the appointment for Saturday morning. However, from the moment I stepped though the front door there were a series of unfortunate scenarios that made for a disappointing first experience, including:
- The assistant/receptionist was vacuuming the lower stairs area - not the best first impression
- The therapist was not available at the designated time and I had to wait half an hour before the session could begin - this meant I had to miss a lunch appointment
- It would have been a nice touch to have been offered some refreshment whilst I waited; there were some tea-making facilities in the waiting area but no offer was made.
- The therapist arrived in a fluster, altering the ambiance as I was lying on the treatment bed - it would have been better to have spent a couple of minutes gathering yourself to present a calm and professional manner before entering the treatment room
- The treatment had already begun before realising I was being given the wrong one - surely this should have been checked in the appointment book before commencing?
- The assistant then entered the room to discuss altering the appointment of the next customer; this again altered what should have been a relaxed atmosphere of the room
- Another customer arrived and was shown to the room next door. A discussion then began between her and (I assume) the member of staff which was fully audible from the room I was in. This continued at full volume for several minutes until I commented that it was very difficult to relax whilst having to listen to someone else's conversation. You hesitated to act and it was a further few minutes before going next door to ask for them to be more discreet. By now this was a good half way through the treatment
- Although my tummy was given the body scrub, it wasn't included as part of the massage and overall the treatment finished 5 minutes early
Once the treatment got properly under way, it was nice and I did manage to relax to some extent before the session ended. However considering it should have lasted for 1 hour 15, I do not feel I received good value.
Upon finishing, you kindly offered unprompted, a reduction off the fee of £50 as an apology for the confusion and lateness. However, when I went to pay, this amounted to £2.50!! I was astounded that after making the gesture, it was for such a minuscule amount. I don't have the time or the funds to treat myself very often and would have happily paid the full price of £50 in return for what should have been a positive experience. However, this just felt like a hollow gesture, adding to the upset and showing a complete mishandling of the situation.
I would like your response on this matter. Also your reassurance that if I or my partner were to visit in future, this situation would not happen again and that we can expect to be shown a level of courtesy and respect which I feel was badly lacking last weekend.