'“Pay what you think it’s worth” massages – guilt trip pricing?' blog discussion

InaPickle

That's very expensive for a massage, but more importantly I'd be worried about the health aspects: what kind of consultation do they do? What kind of aftercare advice do they give? And how comfortable would their clients feel at giving out personal medical information in publiv like that?

I'd run like the plague. And I'm just finishing a course in massage.

Mk14:37

oakhouse13 wrote: »

If £10 is not the average that customers pay (and is actually more than the average according to Martin Lewis) then to say it is the average is surely illegal under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008?

I understood from Martin's article that £10 was the average that customers of this particular service pay, but that this is way above average for a massage in general, i.e. go elsewhere and it would be cheaper than £1 per minute.

There's a similar set up in London City Airport, which offers "free" shoe shining (airside). Everyone pays tips - though I noticed that the pretty young lady got far more for each shine than the young man did

Richard019

If it were a service like that (offering anything) I'd turn it round on them. Just tell them "I'll pay £11 (in this case) if I think it's worth it. If I don't think it's worth £11 you'll get a penny". The onus is then back on them to determine what level of service they should be offering for the money being charged.

minerva_windsong

When my boyfriend and I went to Munich in September, we did a 'pay what you think it's worth' walking tour of the city. It was us and two other guys, and lasted about two hours with loads of really interesting information. At the end, the girl doing the tour said most people normally pay about 10 euros, and the two guys with us coughed up 15 euros each. We paid 20 euros for the two of us and I felt guilty and tight for a large part of the afternoon (although I did think it was worth what we paid considering how long it took, the amount of information we got and the fact it was virtually a private tour). So I think it's an effective marketing strategy, and it does work even if you don't pay what they suggest.

2010nodebt

A colleague offers "pay what you think its worth" carpet cleaning in Chesterfield, he is a bit scared to ask the going rate ,and customers always offer more than he would otherwise charge , he has never been offered a tiny amount.

quoia

Richard019 wrote: »

If it were a service like that (offering anything) I'd turn it round on them. Just tell them "I'll pay £11 (in this case) if I think it's worth it. If I don't think it's worth £11 you'll get a penny". The onus is then back on them to determine what level of service they should be offering for the money being charged.

I came here to post along similar lines of thought.

Firstly the

"When pushed the girl said: “well, most people give at least £10 for 10 minutes”.

does leave the deal rather open-ended as to the total amount "expected" by the girls or the level of "guilty burden" placed on the client IF the massage continues beyond 10 minutes and lasts 30 or 40 or 50 minutes in total ......

... unless you (the client) are clock-watching you may well drift off and time flies by before you find you've had the best part of an hour - then what do you do ? :eek:

Secondly, I also liked the idea of turning it around on them

I must admit I do like your idea Richard - almost certainly better than what I was thinking of

I thought about giving them £10 and telling them to massage me and ONLY STOP WHEN THEY THINK THEY HAD EARNED IT !!!

With the caveat that IF I ALSO thought that they had earned I'd tell all my friends etc. how good and value for money it was and promote their services.
However if I didn't think I'd got my monies worth I'd be telling everyone I know to avoid the place like the plague and the fact that they were "rip-off" merchants

Wonder what level of service that might have delivered

X_I_ANGEL_X

Hi everyone,

I'am an Angel :A
I have read all the comments on this post and I've been left quite shocked as none of our customers have ever complained about our service but has told us what a wonderful idea it was. Most people tell us that they were glad to see us because the 10min massage was just perfect for them while shopping. So please feel free to come down to Westfield and have one of our 10min massages and then you can judge it yourself (after all how can you judge somthing without giving it a try)

"PAY WHAT YOU FEEL ITS WORTH" is a great idea and works very well. As Noellie stated the £10 is just a rough guide to give customers and idea of what other customers usualy pay. Ibiza Angels have always used "pay what you feel its worth" so in the last 5/6 years if people were complaining or if it just simply wasn't working I'm sure they would have changed it to set prices.

Lastly, I absolutely love working for this company! I have worked with the Ibiza Angels for awhile and have worked at events, festivals, exibitions, clubs, casinos and now at Massage Angels Westfield. I earn very good money and can not fault they way this company looks after the Angels. The training and the opportunity to do other massage courses ie Indian Head Massage is Priceless! Its a very rewarding job, specialy when people tell us they feel a difference and feel great! some even come back on a regular basis.

GIVE THE ANGELS A CHANCE

xxx

Richard019

X_I_ANGEL_X wrote: »

I have read all the comments on this post and I've been left quite shocked as none of our customers have ever complained about our service but has told us what a wonderful idea it was.

You're shocked that all your customers think it's a good idea? Try looking at it the other way, the people that don't think it's a good idea don't buy the service.

MSE_Martin

Just a quick note. I see some of the massage angels have responded and I'm happy with that.

And while I always welcome debate over the finances here - do remember these are real people with feelings - so treat them with the politeness you would if you were talking face to face.

From my perspective I still feel it is a very clever business model and I suspect if you were to study it - would end up generating more revenue than fixed prices - that doesn't necessarily make it wrong, after all their job is to make money - its a business.

katyboo123

I would have had absolutely no shame in paying less than the average payment. I suppose for a 10 minute massage I'd have paid £6. A local premium beauty clinic charges £18 for a 30 minute back, shoulder and neck massage which is great quality, so a third of that would be fair.

I do appreciate the points raised I completely agree - and I know at least 20 people who would feel obliged to pay the tenner which I think is absolute extortion for a ten minute massage, especially given the fact you only pay a quid for 2 minutes on them massage chairs in service stations!!!