In the world of massage therapy, the safety and comfort of the client are paramount.
This is something that the 25-year-old masseur, who we will call OP (original poster), takes seriously. Redditor u/Helpful-Trifle-4354, OP, has been working at a small spa for three years and has seen a wide variety of clients come through the doors.
However, this week, he had to make a tough decision that left him at odds with some of his colleagues.
The Situation
OP’s story began when the spa received a group booking for four people. As usual, OP took the questionnaire and waiver for the assigned client. When he met his client, he quickly realized that she was over 400 lbs and was concerned about whether or not she would fit on the massage table.
To ensure his client’s safety, OP decided to weigh her, and the result was 465 lbs. Since the massage table has a weight capacity of 495 lbs, he made the difficult decision to turn her away.
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The Tough Choice
OP’s decision wasn’t easy, and he tried to be as polite as possible when he explained the situation to his client. He offered her other services at the spa where her weight wouldn’t be an issue.
Unfortunately, the client was upset and embarrassed and decided to cancel her appointment, as did her entire group. This decision did not sit well with three of OP’s colleagues, who believed he should have been more accommodating.
However, OP knew that he had made the right decision. As a masseur, his priority is the well-being of his clients. He did not want to put his client at risk or compromise her comfort by trying to accommodate her on the massage table. He tried to offer her other services that would be safe and enjoyable for her, but the client’s emotional state was understandably fragile.
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Ask For Help
Now, OP has found himself questioning whether he was right to turn away the client or whether he should have accommodated her despite the risks to her own health and his practice.
Hundreds of comments poured in from Redditors, offering their thoughts on this situation.
Redditor El-Eternauta agreed with OP’s decision to turn the client away for a massage and offer other services instead. The user said,
“People seem to forget that it’s not only the weight of the person getting the massage. The person giving the massage applies pressure to the body, and that adds to the weight. If that was really the OP’s concern, then I’d say NTA.”
koga0995 agreed with OP’s decision to turn away the client and said,
“My mom was a masseuse, and you are spot on. A lot of force goes into a good proper massage, much more than you’d expect. Add fat, and that’s one more layer between their hands and the muscle tissue, meaning often more pressure to get the same effect.”
Some Redditors feel that the fault lies with the spa that did not take the proper steps to ensure a client’s safety and protect their employees from making difficult decisions.
0biterdicta said,
“The OP’s employer needs to include weight in their safety requirements for different procedures, and have clients review and sign off. Having employees make ad hoc judgment calls is just going to cause issues.”
Alternative-Post-937 agreed with the spa being at fault and said,
“100%. The employee was not given the proper tools to ensure they could perform their job safely, and that question should be included in the intake form, and a notice should be placed on the intake form that if a patient is above a certain weight, they cannot perform the procedure. This spa needs to get it together.”
Internetcivilian summed it up well for OP and said,
“NTA. Your colleagues should be made aware of the sum total of weight on the table (the patients weight plus the force of your massage) potentially exceeding safety levels. If they’re truly upset at this outcome, they should be going to your boss and requesting stronger tables to accommodate heavier clientele.
“You didn’t fail to be accommodating. Your obligation to not put a patient into harms way takes priority over their feelings.”
The Verdict
Overall, Redditors side with OP. The popular opinion was that the weight of the client combined with the weight from the masseuse during the massage would have clearly surpassed the 495 lb limit of the table, putting the client and OP in danger. What are your thoughts about this?
You can find the full story here on Reddit.
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