Ego Bashing the Therapist

Today I am happy to report that I had my judgemental ego handed to me on a plate with a side of relish.  As somebody reading this may already know, my day job is Massage Therapist, working at a fancy day spa. In case there are those among you who have never fallen into the blissful trappings of a day spa, I will give a brief run-down of how things are done.

When you make an appointment for a massage, the time given is carved in stone. If you show up late, it is your time that is grabbed away from the minutes spent under the loving hands of a therapist. This has to do with scheduling and efficiency.

So, when clients makes an appointment for a 25 minute massage and waltz in 15 minutes late, well, you see where the complications arise.

When this happened today with a couple who my co-worker and I were to work on, we decided to relent and give way to going past the pre-set time. BUT, then the couple walked in slowly, ignored us therapists on the way to the massage room in order to discuss business, and gave an overall feeling of a lack of appreciation for our services and us as people.

My co-worker and I judged them to be inconsiderate and rude monsters.

But, we are in a giving, serving profession and gave the best massages in the 15 minutes we had available.

At the end of the massage, I escorted them to the relaxation lounge and got to chatting with them. Turns out they have seven girls and one boy ranging from ages two to seventeen years old. After a bit of freaking out on my part, the husband went on to joyously convey to me how much they loved their family life, how wonderful their children are, and how much love is shown between the siblings.

Gracious, how I had misjudged them. From just one sliver of information about two people who had a whole lifetime of personality outside of the 30 minutes that I had known them, I was excruciatingly quick in defining their character.

They were the world's nicest family! Right up there with Andy Griffith and the Brady Bunch. This is one of the few times that receiving an ego bashing was done peacefully. I got the message and was thankful.

Heather Leigh