Massage Envy Membership: Is It Good?
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We may not always want to admit it, but we could all do with a massage at times. It is a wonderful way to relieve stress and help your body recover from strain. Massage Envy makes this easy with a monthly membership and franchised locations throughout the US. Still, before committing to a fixed membership, we should ask ourselves, is it good enough to justify the membership?
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A Massage Envy membership can save you a lot of money if you’re in the habit of going for regular massages or facials. There are over 1.6 million members, which is a good sign. But there are some concerns about their lack of customer service, and you may find it difficult to cancel your membership.
Massage Envy has seen tremendous growth in the more than two decades that they’ve been in operation, and no other company in the world employs more massage therapists. But to understand if a Massage Envy membership is the right choice for you, we have to go a bit deeper and find out more about what Massage Envy does and how. Let’s dive right into it.
Table of Contents
- What Is A Massage Envy Membership?
- The Benefits Of A Massage Envy Membership
- The Disadvantages Of A Massage Envy Membership
- The Costs And Perks Of A Massage Envy Membership
- Massage Envy’s Cancellation Policy
- Massage Envy Membership – Enviable Or Annoying?
What Is A Massage Envy Membership?
Massage Envy is a massive massage and self-care franchise with over 1,100 locations throughout the United States. The company has already become the self-care spa of choice for over a million people. You can go to any of their sites and get a massage, body stretch, or facial (among various other related services) for a one-time fee, just like any other spa.
However, Massage Envy’s membership program makes them a bit different from other spas. It lets you pay a standard monthly fee and get one treatment of your choice (between a massage, a facial, or a body pull) without paying extra. You can also get discounts on other Massage Envy services and products if you are a member.
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Membership is a one-year commitment, after which you go over into a month-to-month plan with no fixed time obligations. Becoming a Massage Envy member will cost you approximately $70 to $80 per month or a once-off fee of around $800 for a whole year. The rates could differ slightly based on the rates of your local Massage Envy franchise.
The Benefits Of A Massage Envy Membership
Massages and similar treatments offer numerous benefits and advantages, but you can go anywhere for that and pay only a one-time fee with no further commitments. So what are the benefits of paying a monthly Massage Envy membership fee?
1. You’re More Likely To Go For Treatments
We humans are strange beings. It’s often difficult for us to spend the money for a one-time treatment, even though we might know that we need it. It’s too much effort to pick up the phone, make an appointment, drive over, and get our massage.
This changes a bit when you’re already paying a monthly fee. Suddenly there’s money you’re already spending that simply gets thrown down the drain if you don’t get some value out of it. This means that most people will make time to go for their monthly treatments.
2. Bank Your Treatments If You Don’t Have Time
Sometimes life happens, and you suddenly find yourself with no time to do things that you might see as more of a luxury than a necessity, like spa treatments. Massage Envy makes provision for this by allowing you to bank any monthly treatments that you don’t use for the duration of your membership.
Once you cancel your membership, you have 60 days after the cancellation is final to use those treatments; otherwise, they will expire.
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3. Get Discounts On Other Treatments
Different Massage Envy locations offer some extra services, like Swedish Hot Stone Massages. These treatments are not available at all sites, nor are they included in your monthly treatment options. However, members get up to 60% discount on any other Massage Envy services and treatments, making it super easy to spoil yourself even more.
4. You Can Take Your Membership With You
When you’re going on holiday or even moving to another town or state, your membership simply goes with you. You can use your Massage Envy membership at any of the locations anywhere in the United States.
The catch with this is again that different rates apply at various locations, so they might require you to pay the difference, which could be around $10.
5. Get Discounts On Home Treatment Kits
Your Massage Envy membership will qualify you for a 10% discount on Morad Home Regimen Kits, making it easy for you to get more treatment at home.
6. You Can Get Free Massages By Referring Others
We all have a few friends or even family members that would also like to go for monthly massages or facials. Massage Envy appreciates you referring these people so much that they will give you a free massage for every referral you send their way if the referral signs up and makes payment.
The Disadvantages Of A Massage Envy Membership
Not everything about a Massage Envy membership is excellent, as with anything in life. It has some disadvantages that you should be aware of before committing to a year-long membership.
1. Monthly Billing
Your credit card details are stored on Massage Envy’s system, and you will get billed monthly, even if you do not use the service. Similar to a gym membership, you are in it for the duration of your contract, and if you stop paying, a collections agency will try to get the money from you.
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The monthly billing isn’t necessarily a problem for most people, and Massage Envy went to great lengths to ensure that you still get value for money even if you skip a treatment since you can bank those treatments and use them later.
But many people have a problem with this kind of monthly auto-payment, preferring to have more control over their finances by making manual payments. This is not an option with Massage Envy, though you have the option of paying six months or one full year in advance, which is something that not everyone can afford.
2. Not Everything Is Included
The cost of your one treatment is covered in full (as long as you go to your local Massage Envy). But it’s only the one treatment that’s covered, and you only have one of three options: a massage, a facial, or a body stretch. If you want anything else over and above that, you must pay a discounted rate for that. You also still have to pay the gratuity for your therapist when you go for the treatment.
Some disgruntled customers claim that Massage Envy has aggressive sales techniques that don’t clearly communicate all of these extra costs. Still, others say that they have improved their sales strategies, and communication has become much clearer.
3. Cancelling Your Membership Can Be A Problem
When you sign up for your membership, you are committing for an entire year. That’s twelve months of payments that you’re committed to. After the twelve months are over, you can cancel your membership (with a 30-day notice period) or move over to a month-to-month contract that you can also cancel at any time (with the same 30-day notice period).
If you choose to cancel your membership at some point within the first year, for whatever reason, you are still responsible for paying the whole year’s subscription amount.
After many complaints and upset customers, Massage Envy changed its policy to accommodate some early cancellations. However, to get an early cancellation, you must prove that you either moved to a location that’s more than 25 miles from the nearest Massage Envy location or provide a letter from a qualified medical doctor stating that massages are a health risk to you.
In fairness, committing to a one-year membership is common practice in many industries. Gym memberships often involve one-year or two-year commitments. The problem is that many customers claim this commitment wasn’t communicated clearly to them. That’s why it’s essential to read the terms and conditions carefully, even if you have a pushy salesperson in front of you.
4. Customer Complaints
Taking a look around the web on review sites can give you a sneak peek into the darker side of many companies, and Massage Envy is no exception.
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Trustpilot, one of the leading online customer review websites, reveals that an alarming 75% of people who reviewed Massage Envy gave it a 1-star review. In comparison, 13% said it’s excellent and deserves five stars. These reviews aren’t always reliable, but when you see a recurring topic, you can start to recognize specific patterns.
Based on this, some problems with Massage Envy membership include:
- Poor customer service, especially for canceling memberships. Some customers state that they contacted Massage Envy to cancel their memberships after two years, which is well over the one-year requirement, but the monthly payments are still being deducted. They also claim that they can’t reach someone at customer care to resolve the issue.
- Some locations are understaffed and overbooked. It doesn’t help if you sign up for a membership, but you can never get an appointment, but that’s exactly what many customers claim to have experienced with their Massage Envy memberships.
- This also appears to be location-specific, but some Massage Envy members claim that their appointments were repeatedly canceled in order to fit a non-member customer in. It’s entirely possible that some franchise owners could do this since non-members pay more than members. This way, they can make more money in the same timeframe.
- There’s a disconnect between the franchises and head office. Many customers claim that Massage Envy’s head office tends to wash their hands of things that happen in the locations since each franchise is managed autonomously. The problem is that this causes many discrepancies between locations, and some managers could have bad business ethics.
Again, we should take customer reviews with a pinch of salt, but the frequency with which people complain about the issues mentioned here could indicate a real problem.
The Costs And Perks Of A Massage Envy Membership
The Massage Envy website doesn’t specify the cost of a membership or any treatments. This is because memberships vary based on location, but more often than not, a membership costs in the range of $80 per month. You can also opt to pay around $420 once-off for six months (a saving of about $60) or about $840 for a year in advance (a saving of about $120).
You commit to a full year’s membership upon signing up, and even if you cancel, you still have to pay for the rest of the year that you committed to.
Your membership entitles you to one complimentary massage, facial, or body stretch per month, but the gratuity isn’t covered. It’s safe to assume that you should set aside an additional $10 or $20 per session.
Apart from the one treatment that you get each month, you have to pay for any other services that you use, but you get sizeable discounts on these services, like:
- Saving $50 on a 60-minute massage
- Saving $60 on a 90-minute massage
- Saving $90 on a 120-minute wellness massage
Massage Envy’s Cancellation Policy
As mentioned, canceling your Massage Envy membership can be a bit frustrating. There appear to be a few differences in the paperwork between different locations, too, and some require a cancellation fee.
With this in mind, the general process of cancellation involves the following:
- Check your contract to see the exact duration of your membership. This is generally a twelve-month fixed membership, after which it switches to a month-to-month membership plan. Usually, you can cancel any time after the initial twelve months are up, but you should check your contract documents to be sure.
- If you are still within the first year (or whatever your membership term might be), you are still liable to pay for the remainder of your contract period, or you will be handed over to collection agencies.
- You can cancel your membership early if you either moved more than 25 miles away from the nearest Massage Envy location or if your medical doctor says that massages may be harmful to your health.
- Suppose you are outside of your fixed contract period, and you may legally cancel your membership. In that case, you can either cancel your membership in person at any Massage Envy location or send an email to [email protected] requesting the cancellation of your membership.
If you do so in person, request proof of cancellation in case you need to follow up later.
Suppose you followed the Massage Envy membership cancellation policy but find that you’re struggling to get your membership canceled. In that case, you can always try contacting them on social media which seems to put public pressure on them.
Massage Envy Membership – Enviable Or Annoying?
A Massage Envy membership seems worthwhile for anyone who likes to go for regular treatments or knows they should but lacks the commitment. The prices and benefits you get with it are excellent compared to other spas. But be sure to read through your documentation and get a copy of your signed contract. You may have to use it again to save yourself some pain.