Massage Heights River Oaks — Local services in Houston

Update: I've spoken at length with Jasmine, Massage Heights River Oaks' new manager, and received some helpful info to share.

First, she was not yet managing this location last December when the unfortunate massage and service occurred. She assured me they would have handled it differently, and I believe her.

Second, she offered to extend my credits until the end of the year without prompting, and recommended several therapists who would be better suited to my needs.

I hope to go in soon to give her recommendation a try. Until then, it was important to note how swiftly, professionally and empathetically Jasmine handled my situation. I greatly appreciate it.

Let's talk about membership.

I should have listened to the alarm bells / red flags I experienced when agreeing to a monthly membership from a corporation. I was going in for a massage just before Christmas 2016. Before my appointment, I got the full spiel about all the soothing benefits associated with paying regularly to receive one massage a month. I mentioned that my constant work hours would not allow for appointments every 30 days, and was reassured that unused credits roll over month to month. Given my schedule, this was the selling point.

Then, the massage. I was there to address recent, borderline severe neck pain. Should I have forgone any sort of pressure at that time? Probably, but I'm no expert. Instead, I explained the issue and asked for deep tissue. The result: three days of muscle spasms, a doctor's visit, and a very pricey x-ray. Needless to say, I did not want to return. When I called to explain what happened and request to cancel my membership, I was told that they had received complaints about this masseur before, and that I had to come in and break up with them in person—corporate policy and all.

Work hours being what they are, I didn't make it in to cancel for 9 months. Now, that's not their fault; it's mine. And despite the fact that I was paying $59.99 each month for nothing, I clung to the notion that at least, when I finally canceled this thing once and for all, I would have 9 massage credits on my account to use (with a different therapist, of course) at my leisure.

And herein lies the purpose behind this review, to tell you what they don't tell you: You only have 30 days to use the credits you paid for, for services you did not use, after you cancel. This is despite the fact that, upon cancellation, you will still be billed one more time in 30 days.

Now, a corporation being a corporation, they don't care. There is zero flexibility with this policy. "You can freeze your account instead of cancel," they offered. I was interested, until "But you can't use your credits during that time." K, thanks.

There is no option to share or gift these credits with another account, or receive the balance on a gift card. If I don't force 9 massages in 30 days' time, the roughly $500 I've paid in is simply gone with nothing to show for it.

But maybe I'll save in the long run by avoiding painful injuries, doctor's visits and x-rays?

The takeaway: –Listen to your gut. Specifically, don't allow yourself to get sold on regularly paying for something you feel you can't follow through with. –Don't get a deep tissue massage from a giant man when you're already in pain. It ain't gonna help. –Consider some nice independent massage places, the kind that value their customers and have the flexibility to make their own rules. –Save your $539.91 for something awesome, instead of dumping it down the Massage Heights toilet.

In short, don't be like me, and you should...

The 4.5 rating seems to be a hoax. I have had the worst experiences with this location at River Oaks. I was hoping to speak with the owner of this location to know if they are aware of the way their employees are. I am happy to connect with you, (owner) if you could reach me via email. There was an email sent out regarding Ms. Ida’s unprofessional conduct. That took forever to resolve - there was no email response to a request to connect with the manager about the incident at a specific time. I was told that she is not available to speak and that Ms. Jasmine is never there, by someone over the phone. I had another terrible experience on my next appointment wherein the therapist said that her ‘arm was broken’. In my mind I was thinking why would you come to work with a broken arm if you can’t even work? Given the last session and how it went, I would have to speak with the manager again about this last session and have that taken off of my payment because it felt like I was just lathered up with oil and no massage. I called in today, and got Ms. Jasmine on the line. I said I was so glad to speak with her, finally. Which really, I was because I thought she would fix this once and for all. She turned out to be just like the rest. Except for Holly. I think she knows what she’s doing. For Ms. Jasmine: I thought, that if you are the manager, basic communication skills would be in place. She kept interrupting me on the call, as I was talking, not even letting me talk. I wanted to talk with her about my last session which was also terrible and questioned the quality of staff that they were hiring. I didn’t feel like she heard me out, with the constant interruptions and providing me with the option of 16 other therapists without even letting me finish with what I had to say! Laughing on the call at something I said which was not funny, and it felt like she was laughing at me. (Please play back this call, owner, if possible for training). I requested for a full refund for my last session. She said she could give me a complimentary one for next time. I said sure, but that it wasn’t “really” a complimentary one because you are already promised that when you sign up for a membership. So I genuinely asked her I said can you tell me what the date of the massage was, that was the complimentary one? She said that she was going to have to hang up because I needed to calm down. So, I am asking you a question that you don’t have an answer to, and you’re going to put that on me? I was asking her for a date. She said because its free ‘you can’t see it’. What is that supposed to mean? The session is not registered? She proceeded to hang up on me. I am appalled at the abysmal level of service, professionalism, quality of staff and customer service at this location. Please, do not waste precious resources to come here and relax because that’s what you go to a massage place for. Not get more stressed out. This whole experience is way beyond me. If you as the owner are looking at this feedback thread, please do get in...

I went in today for my first massage at Massage Heights. I booked the appointment about a week ago and made sure to choose the right massage therapist for the type of massage I wanted. I have gotten massages in the past at Massage Envy and other locations and have typically gotten Swedish Massages or Firm pressure Deep Tissue massages. When I booked the appointment, they said I would be with Michelle who specializes in firm pressure. Today, someone called me a couple of hours before my appointment and said there had been some confusion with scheduling and asked if I could instead come 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment. Thankfully my schedule was fairly free today, so I agreed but made sure to confirm that 1) my massage therapist would still be Michelle and 2) that I would still be allotted the 50 minutes of massage time I had booked and agreed to pay for. When I arrived at the facility, the front desk greeted me nicely and I was introduced to Pan, my massage therapist. I inquired about this change in my massage therapist, and they confirmed that I had indeed booked an appointment with Michelle, but she was busy at this time. They comforted me that Pan specializes in medium to firm and is very efficient even. They said she has a very popular following. They did warn me that she specializes in Thai massage, but that I would most definitely enjoy it. As an agreeable customer, I decided I would proceed with the appointment because the only alternative was to have no massage at all. The next hour was incredibly uncomfortable and even painful at times. I have a lot of tension and knots in my shoulders and upper back, and I am typically used to massage therapists carefully focusing on those areas, working slowly to relieve the knots in a proper and organized manner. This massage was anything but that. It was rough and I felt that all that was occurring was my knots were being aggressively rubbed over. When I tried to ask for what I wanted, she suggested that my massage style would be better served with Michelle.... the irony! Overall it was a very painful experience. Thankfully the front desk receptionist heard my concerns and did not charge me for this visit. I am currently in a lot of pain, more pain than when I went in, and in response to that concern the receptionist suggested I soak in epsom salt. Call me crazy but I am fairly sure a massage is supposed to relieve pain and the solution should not a bath! Overall, I am very disappointed as a first time customer with both the lack of organization at this establishment and also the massage quality. I will take my business back to Massage Envy where I am guaranteed a consistent quality to...