Diamondback Massage Therapy — Local services in Belleville

BE WARNED BEFORE ORDERING/BOOKING HERE: Ordering Groupon with this place was a very negative, annoying, time-wasting experience.This lady has no scruples and doesn't gaf if you lose your money because of her.

Please go read her Yelp reviews (2.9/5 stars) because it gives a more accurate reflection of how extremely unprofessional and shady this business is. All of what I'm saying is standard for her if you read her other negative reviews.

First of all, I had to call 7 times including 5 different business days just to finally reach someone to try to schedule a massage I already paid for, because they apparently almost never answer the phone (including on Wednesday and Thursday when I also called). BTW groupon policy is that you can't get a refund after 3 days so that's extremely irresponsible on their part.

And I was explicitly told on the phone that they have a $20 minimum "mandatory tip" policy outside of what I already paid Groupon. Sometimes exploitative Groupon businesses use additional surprise charges like this to hedge the actual Groupon discount lol.

Response to "Response from the Owner": The owner blatantly lied in her response to my review (below).

I called back after reading their response and spoke with Tracy (the owner and therapist) who said some aggressive contradictory nonsense before refusing to cancel through Groupon, refusing to schedule my appointment because I said I wouldn't pay an additional $20 minimum mandatory tip, talking over me, and then aggressively hanging up on me.

During the call, Tracy confirmed what I originally wrote (which she denied and claimed that I "fabricated" in her response below), which is that they tell people that they have to pay a "minimum $20 tip" per service. So for me (I ordered 2 massages) that would be an additional $40 mandatory charge on top of what I paid Groupon. Unless they change their policy, you too will be told after booking the appointment that there is a $20 minimum tip.

According to her, it's a "minimum $20 tip" that you have to pay but that they don't call "mandatory". She refused to explain how a "minimum tip that you have to pay" is somehow not the same as a mandatory charge (because there is no difference). She said her time is too valuable to explain herself to me and then she hung up on me.

First of all, why is an owner that sets prices herself even demanding a tip for herself for her service, much less a required minimum $20 tip? That defies the point of tipping. She sets the prices herself, she's not an employee. If you want to charge more, charge more instead of surprising people with a mandatory charge after they book an appointment and calling it a "tip". I tip to show gratitude when a service is good, not because a shameless owner demands it for herself in an underhanded way.

Also, I wish she would put as much effort into answering the phone as she does quickly responding within minutes to a negative review that resulted in large part from them not answering the phone.

Nasty owner, nasty business. They're also refusing to cancel my Groupon voucher on their end (which I know from experience that owners can in fact do) despite also refusing to perform the service because I said I won't pay her mandatory minimum $20 tip.

Update: Groupon refunded me beyond their normal 3 day policy because I contacted them days earlier when I first saw that the business doesn't answer the phone! Thank goodness for that, because if it were up to Tracy, I would've just lost my money with...

DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR AND DO NOTT BUY THIS!!!!! I should've listened to the other reviews!! BEWARE: if you have an emergency and need to ever cancel they WILL NOT REFUND YOU (Merchant's fault not groupons)!!!

I never leave reviews but omg the scheduling experience was SOOO SOO bad and unprofessional I just had to. So this review is ONLY based on scheduling, professionalism and business aspect. Here goes...

I had scheduled an appt for my mother (this was supposed to be a birthday gift). Scheduled on 9/14. they called night before to confirm and yes i confirmed so they already redeemed the groupon (why they would do not that i dont know). the morning of i called to cancel because my mother wasnt feeling well. Owner's daughter answered and she said okay it's cancelled. I asked for a refund and all she said was call groupon. I contact groupon and they said i need owner to email me saying i never used their services. I contact owner (after attempting to call 3 times) and she tells me SHE WILL NOT EMAIL ME!!! Only thing she could do is reschedule which is a $25 rescheduling fee AND if I actually come in it's a mandatory $20 gratuity (they tell you this when you schedule)-- are you freaking kidding me?!! I told her i was not told about the cancellation details by her daughter and explained the situation and she said there was no way her daughter didnt tell me this because she started this business with her. Okay, so you're saying the customer is lying?! Not very professional. I told her I was going to mention all of this in the review and she said go ahead we will address this and that her time was valuable -- as if mine's not?!! I would like to see how the owner responds. I'll wait but they just lost a customer, got a bad review, and lost potential referrals --- not the way to...

I had a wonderful experience at Diamond Back Massage with Tracy. Upon arriving, you are asked to call so the door will be unlocked for you. I called and Tracy immediately picked up and I was inside. She asked me to remove my shoes and place on some shoes that were provided at the front. After that, she sat me down to do a quick intake. We spoke briefly for her to get an understanding of why I was seeking her services and we headed to the massage room. Tracy was great - she’s very knowledgeable, great at conversation and made me feel super relaxed. As I was getting my massage she was teaching me a lot about my body! Some of the stuff I knew and some I learned, like how I favor my left side, making it a lot tighter. She focused on trigger points and the meridian points on my body and explained which organs/parts of the body they represented. I opted to add on the Hot Stones to my treatment for the day. I left feeling refreshed and very well taken care of. Also - not to mention, Tracy’s spot is soooo beautiful and relaxing. She has a ton of plants in the front room & the second I walked in, I smelled the incense she was burning and complimented the smell. There is a sound machine in the room as well which added to the relaxing experience.

I would...