massage fairmount ave — Local services in Philadelphia

I booked two guest-rate deep tissue massages on December 31, 2020 (couple massage). I was told I had to pay in advance, over the phone, because of their COVID procedures.

When I arrived, the door was locked and they let us in 5 minutes prior to my scheduled massage. They took our temperatures, then my massage therapist (Ted) informed me that someone misplaced the laundry key and there weren’t clean sheets to complete the massages. Ted said they would contact me if something else opened up, and if not, they would refund my card. No one called me before hand to let me know there was an issue.

To date (January 4, 2021), I haven't received a refund and they charged me $220. I called and sent them an email regarding this on 12/31/20. I called again today and left a long message detailing the issue today. I haven't received a call or email back from them either.

If I am actually refunded my money, I will revise this review. I understand that we just had a holiday weekend, so I am trying to give them the benefit of doubt.

EDIT of 1/12/2021

It only got worse. They never returned my calls or emails. I suspected they were dodging my phone number, so I had a friend call. They left a message pretending they wanted to book a massage. My friend got a call back almost immediately. I never received a call back. The friend gave my name and explained my issue to the owner, who said he was already aware of my issue. The owner said he would issue me a full refund, after trying to pitch only giving me store credit. This was on 1/9/21. To date, I never received a refund. I had to file a claim dispute with my credit card company.

EDIT of 2/10/2021

They still never returned my calls or emails. They never...

I had an absolutely terrible experience with this place. I'm pregnant and was gifted pre natal massages at massage Fairmount Ave. It took weeks until the money could be put into my account so I could use it at all. I eventually had one massage, and their prenatal "prop" was just one extra pillow. Aside from that I got a little rubbing that a friend could have done for me. When I booked a second massage (which was confirmed via automated text messages and email), no one was there because the practitioner was on vacation, which you think would have been communicated. I was then told I could come back later that day to meet a different practitioner, which I was willing to do, but later was told by the "manager" that this wasn't possible and I'd get a free massage some other time. That didn't happen either. (Or apparently, I learned weeks later, it was credited to my account without my knowledge.) When I asked for a refund of the credit gifted to me (over $1,000 in credit - not a gift card) it was refused. The manager seems to think that after all of this, I should still want to receive pre-natal care here. I don't, and I never will go here again. I'm not sure what went wrong at this place, as I had only positive experiences...

This place used to be great when it was either under other management or they had a receptionist, but ever since COVID they have been a nightmare to deal with. I cancelled my membership and then was charged again for it. They get confrontative and angry towards you on the phone. I've showed up for massages multiple times after receiving confirmation texts and then received a call saying that they had to cancel or just were closed. I couldn't agree more with the more recent negative reviews. It's shame because I used to love this place, but the past few months it's brought more stress than relaxation. I still have $140 in unspent credits, but I'm just not going to use it because management is such a nightmare...