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Not really a discussion.. But something interesting happened the other day...One of the Big changes that I have noticed over the last couple years is... I work in a spa.. We have two waiting rooms...One upstairs, one downstairs.  In the past, when we went to get my client they would be reading a magazine perhaps, or a book they brought...But now, they are on Iphones and Smart phones texting.  Some text all the way to the massage table.. Anyway the other day a massage therapist got fired for texting during  her massage work.

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So Alaska is a right to work state? They were texting while they had the client on the table? I know what I need to take care of and which clients wont mind the interruption. But I work for myself and wouldn't have it any other way.

She was texting with one hand and massaging with the other...It wasnt her first complaint about texting while massaging. A repetative complaint... So they fired her... Clients were really pissed off... 

Daniel Cohen said:

So Alaska is a right to work state? They were texting while they had the client on the table? I know what I need to take care of and which clients wont mind the interruption. But I work for myself and wouldn't have it any other way.

I have VERY occasionally texted while working on someone - and only with permission.  It usually had to do with the next client.  Like you Daniel, I have clients who won't mind the interruption.  It would not even occur to me to text with one hand while massaging with the other!  Mind boggling...

Daniel, I work for myself too and wouldn't have it any other way!

Wow......seriously....  I would never bring my phone into the room with me!  I have a client that constantly texts during her massage and I find that rude.  I can't even imagine how the client would feel if I was the one texting during the session! 

I keep my phone in my purse when I work. If my family needs me, they can call the shop. I have enough distractions without my phone being nearby.

I had a client one night who kept his phone close by because he was, apparently, on-call for work. I didn't like it, figuring it was counter-intuitive to relaxing and forgetting about work, but I didn't say anything.

I honor the massage space as a sanctuary for the client. My focus is directed towards the client's goals whether relaxation or pain relief. Occasionally a client will ask to have their phone available for an emergency, but for the most part, they find comfort in knowing that they can 'disconnect' from daily activities for the duration of the massage session. In respect for my clients, I do not bring a phone in the room with me, it is distracting even on silence mode - most screens are so bright they can light up a room. If I need to contact someone, it happens before entering the room.  

That is hysterical! I'm glad she was fired. Why is her phone in her treatment room in the first place, why is it in view, why is it on, why would she be holding it....!! LOL. The phone must be pretty smeared with oil by now and might be broken.

More and more we are becoming married to our technology and putting it priority over everything else. Texting while massaging? Are you kidding? Clients not minding the interruption? Seriously,TEXTING during a massage?? 

We have 6 yes 6 senses, Hearing Taste Smell Touching Seeing and the last and most important of the senses that most of us are lacking these days and thats COMMON SENSE.

enough said

It is incredible to me that ANY massage therapist would think it is appropriate to be texting during a massage. Your focus is supposed to be on the client. Would you answer the telephone during a massage? Get up and go to the door? That's one of the tackiest, most unprofessional things I've ever heard of and if I caught a staff member of mine doing that, they'd be out the door immediately. So what if it IS about your next appointment? Are you going to get up in the middle of massaging your current client to do something about the text message? You owe the client your full attention for the entire time they are paying for. Unprofessional, period.

 Im in total alignment with this. The issue as I see it is that people are just not realizing how inappropriate it is. It is just not registering in that 6th sense. ;>p 

Laura Allen said:

It is incredible to me that ANY massage therapist would think it is appropriate to be texting during a massage. Your focus is supposed to be on the client. Would you answer the telephone during a massage? Get up and go to the door? That's one of the tackiest, most unprofessional things I've ever heard of and if I caught a staff member of mine doing that, they'd be out the door immediately. So what if it IS about your next appointment? Are you going to get up in the middle of massaging your current client to do something about the text message? You owe the client your full attention for the entire time they are paying for. Unprofessional, period.

I have one client that routinely texts, emails, and makes/takes phone calls DURING his massage. There are other clients that occasionally do the same, but most tend to be from New York City. Seriously.

For those that are okay with texting during a massage, How would you feel if your doctor was texting someone while you were being examined?  I would feel ignored. I would think he wasn't listening.  I would get the impression that he didn't have a clue about what I was talking about and didn't even care to listen and find out.  Not only is it unprofessional, it's rude.  It seems like society is so focused on multi-tasking, that you are considered a failure if you AREN'T communicating with multiple people at once.  What about actually doing one thing correctly, instead of doing 5 things at once horribly!?

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