Not so relaxing spa services

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

We pay $35 for 60 minute hot rock massage - plus tip

 

Those are nice, too, but deep tissue is much different - it's a lot of work for the MT. 

[rudeney]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Hmmm... Maybe you should understand what a spa treatment is. It is a treatment plus the upsell.  Like going to Jiffy Lube or the hair dresser. Remember, it is not the cruise line. The spa is independently run. And the spa technicians all are rated and keep their job by upselling. If they fail to upsell, they are not invited back on a future contract. Rather than being a debbie downer, just politely say "not interested at all", then "not interested at all", then "not interested at all". No reason to get bent out of shape. It is the technicians primary job, to upsell. We go to the spa on every ship and it's all the same. "Not interested at all". 

 

Well, I never take my car to Jiffy Lube.  I don't trust my cars to anyone - I do my own work. 🙂 And my hair dresser never tries to upsell me - she's been cutting my hair and my wife's hair for almost 40 years and knows better!  But you are right - these 3rd party agents are pushed to upsell.  I remember my wife saying she had a spa employee trying to upsell her, and knowing the young lady needed the "sale", she bought the least expensive thing - some sort of lotion, that she ended up liking.  Me, I do not use "product" and I hate "fragrances" so I'm not buyin' nuthing'.

[Teeara]

I always write "Please, no upsells" on the form when I check in and I never have any problems.  

[F27TW]

I'm kinda surprised RC (and any of the other cruise lines who contract spa services out like this) allow these spa people to badger, nag and pressure their passengers.  That creates an uncomfortable environment for many and it sounds like the lines maybe need to step in and set a few guidelines for this aggressive behavior. 

[StephPS79]

35 minutes ago, F27TW said:

I'm kinda surprised RC (and any of the other cruise lines who contract spa services out like this) allow these spa people to badger, nag and pressure their passengers.  That creates an uncomfortable environment for many and it sounds like the lines maybe need to step in and set a few guidelines for this aggressive behavior. 

They just offer you a product, and you say no, and that's the end of it.  I'm not sure I would consider that aggressive.

[mjkacmom]

16 hours ago, graveytrain said:

I agree.  This has been going on for a long time and is the reason that I no longer purchase spa treatments on the ship. I would love to utilize the services offered, but when the sales pitch begins when you walk in the door and doesn’t end until you leave, it is a waste of money and time. The profit margin on the products they push must be substantial 😜

It’s literally how the spa gets revenue, not through the services, and the staff is pressured to sell. It’s the same most places on land. Someone mentioned dermatologists, I have a great relationship with ours and have asked, blame the health insurance industry paying pennies on the dollar. Products and treatments keep them in business (keep in mind medical school alone is $300,000+).

[RFerrington]

3 hours ago, Teeara said:

I always write "Please, no upsells" on the form when I check in and I never have any problems.  

This is exactly what I do

[not-enough-cruising]

11 minutes ago, spsarrocco said:

They just offer you a product, and you say no, and that's the end of it.  I'm not sure I would consider that aggressive.

It may not be aggressive, however it definitely ruins the post treatment relaxation and euphoria ,if you will, by having to sit through what amounts to a timeshare presentation. 

[StephPS79]

23 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It may not be aggressive, however it definitely ruins the post treatment relaxation and euphoria ,if you will, by having to sit through what amounts to a timeshare presentation. 

 

I get it, it's going to deter some people more than others, especially people who aren't good at saying no!  But it's honestly not an aggressive sales tactic and is used all over the place.  I know I'm not giving up my massage just to avoid telling someone "No thank you!"  Heck, put those products at a deep discount and I'd even be all over it!  

 

Bring some earbuds and pop them in the next time they start.   😁  (I'm joking, of course.)

Edited July 7, 2022 by spsarrocco

[BirdTravels]

13 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

A Spa treatment.....especially a massage....should be relaxing.  I get that they want to sell product but you shouldn't have to say you're not interested more than once. That's why I say it BEFORE the treatment.....and, for me, that's worked. 

Again, the technician’s job depends on selling product, and really not giving you that massage. People need to understand that and expect it. The world has not come to an end of a technician recommends a cream to rejuvenate your aging face. Let them do their thing.
 

My kid used to work at McDonalds and they were drilled on “suggestive selling” from “is that a large French fry” to “would you like an apple pie with your meal” to “would you like to try our new shake”. Upselling is all part of working retail. People need to understand that and go with the flow. 

[not-enough-cruising]

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Again, the technician’s job depends on selling product, and really not giving you that massage. People need to understand that and expect it. The world has not come to an end of a technician recommends a cream to rejuvenate your aging face. Let them do their thing.
 

My kid used to work at McDonalds and they were drilled on “suggestive selling” from “is that a large French fry” to “would you like an apple pie with your meal” to “would you like to try our new shake”. Upselling is all part of working retail. People need to understand that and go with the flow. 

However the suggestion of a large fry or apple pie is a one and done situation. The sales pitch in the spa goes on and on and borders on harassment. 
If a “no thank you” ended the pitch I’d be OK with it. More often than not, however, saying no thanks seems to be a trigger for the technicians to respond with a litany of reasons why you HAVE to have it, regardless of objection. 

[coaster]

Anyone else heard the term 'Steiner girls'? I certainly have over the years. There has been so many posts over the years about their aggressive upsells that they earned this term.

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

It’s literally how the spa gets revenue, not through the services, and the staff is pressured to sell. It’s the same most places on land. Someone mentioned dermatologists, I have a great relationship with ours and have asked, blame the health insurance industry paying pennies on the dollar. Products and treatments keep them in business (keep in mind medical school alone is $300,000+).

 

Not to get too off-topic, but I don't know any "struggling" doctors - even ones who do not push extra products.  My BIL is a surgeon who relies mostly on Medicare payments and I promise you, he is not having problems staying in business (or paying for six-figure weddings for his daughters or buying them $700K houses). 

 

Now, back to the issue...I understand some businesses require selling "extras" to make a profit (like movie theaters with concessions).  I have a hard time believing that a cruise ship spa does not make a profit on treatment revenues.  I am sure these upsell products are highly profitable, and they may even pay the employees a nice commission when they sell them, hence the appearance of a hard-sell.  My daughter used to work in a tanning salon and they also would upsell products.  They had some lotions that were over $100.  She got something like a 25% commission.  She sold a lot of overpriced lotions.

[F27TW]

2 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

They just offer you a product, and you say no, and that's the end of it.  I'm not sure I would consider that aggressive.

 

Did you read the first 28 posts here where others talked about how pushy these people can be?

[StephPS79]

13 minutes ago, F27TW said:

 

Did you read the first 28 posts here where others talked about how pushy these people can be?

 

I did, and one of them was me saying I've experienced the sales pitch as well.  And while it's annoying for sure, it's not aggressive.  They offer you a product, and yes, it goes on for a few minutes (just let them finish the pitch), and you smile and nod while they are talking, and when they are done, you say, "Nah, I'll pass."  Aggressive are car salesman that call you everyday, not the massage therapist that spends a few too many minutes telling me about this product that I don't need or intend to buy.

Edited July 7, 2022 by spsarrocco

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

Aggressive are car salesman that call you everyday, not the massage therapist that spends a few too many minutes telling me about this product that I don't need or intend to buy.

 

If you want aggressive, go to timeshare presentation!  They need to hire these guys as police interrogators.  After four hours, your brain begins to wander into thoughts like, "I think I'm going to agree to sign just so he'll hand me the pen, and then I can stab myself with it to end this madness."

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, coaster said:

Anyone else heard the term 'Steiner girls'? I certainly have over the years. There has been so many posts over the years about their aggressive upsells that they earned this term.

 

I don't think that's where the nickname came from😉

 

I'll just leave it at that😇

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, F27TW said:

 

Did you read the first 28 posts here where others talked about how pushy these people can be?

 

You believe everything here 😉🤣🤣

[PolytheneGirl]

6 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

They just offer you a product, and you say no, and that's the end of it.  I'm not sure I would consider that aggressive.

 

Not true. We said no multiple times and ended up buying something just so we could get out the room as they wouldn't stop and were stood between us and the door. 

 

Completely ruined the experience for me TBH. We enjoy spa experiences and have been for 5 or 6 this year (locally and on weekend breaks away) and I although they do often try to upsell, I've never felt as badgered and bullied as I did on WOTS recently 😞

 

We mentioned it on our feedback survey. 

[PolytheneGirl]

3 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

 

I did, and one of them was me saying I've experienced the sales pitch as well.  And while it's annoying for sure, it's not aggressive.  They offer you a product, and yes, it goes on for a few minutes (just let them finish the pitch), and you smile and nod while they are talking, and when they are done, you say, "Nah, I'll pass."  Aggressive are car salesman that call you everyday, not the massage therapist that spends a few too many minutes telling me about this product that I don't need or intend to buy.

Ours had added it to our room tab and brought them in before we even had a chance to catch our breath after the massage. We were never shown price lists, prices explained and the products were on a tab and in a bag the minute they came into the room. We had to ask them to remove the products (several times) and ended up agreeing to buy one to get out as we had been done with the massage for about 15 mins by that point! 

[F27TW]

4 hours ago, spsarrocco said:

 

I did, and one of them was me saying I've experienced the sales pitch as well.  And while it's annoying for sure, it's not aggressive.  They offer you a product, and yes, it goes on for a few minutes (just let them finish the pitch), and you smile and nod while they are talking, and when they are done, you say, "Nah, I'll pass."  Aggressive are car salesman that call you everyday, not the massage therapist that spends a few too many minutes telling me about this product that I don't need or intend to buy.

 

If you read, some people got a real hard sell pushed on them... and were made to feel uncomfortable ..  and were intimidated into purchasing something ... that IS aggressive selling.  Not everybody can be as  as fierce as you, remember.

[ccotting]

The last time I took a spa service the attendant told me that their ability to have a full day off was based on volume of products sold.  They get some time off but if they want a full day off in port they need to have produced a certain volume.  Of course, these types of tales could just be to try to get you to take pity but I thought she was telling me the facts of her life. 

[CMurph]

It has been years since I have used the services of the cruise ship spa for this very reason.  They were very pushy trying to sell the product.  When that didn’t work they commented on how quickly my skin was going to age without their product and how I was going to develop a dowager’s hump if I didn’t get a massage every day on the cruise and regularly after.   It totally killed the relaxing experience I had up to that point. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by CMurph

[time4u2go]

I hear that the acupuncturist can cure pretty much anything! 😁

[Surfguyxxx]

I too am among the group of folks that won't go anymore.  The sales push and extra tip on top of the 18% you're charged already is just not worth it to me.  I also don't like the fact that my 50 minute massage is really only about 35 minutes so they can spend 10 minutes talking to me beforehand and then try to sell me afterwards.