Watch Out For This Place! At least read the last few sentences of this review.
Recently I have had some very upsetting and stressful things happen in my life. My mom passed away July 27 and August 7 we put my dog down.
We scheduled Celebration of Life for my mom mid-August and my husband and I made the 13-hour drive to Southern Idaho. The next day we both woke up with sore necks and backs. I brought up the idea of both of us getting massages and started researching online in the Pocatello area.
We wanted to get the massages done at the same time and the first few places I contacted were only one masseuse. I eventually came across Advanced Therapy, called and spoke to Stuart. I asked if there was more than one therapist/masseuse at that location and he said yes. At first he did not want to do both massages at the same time because he had couples not show up in the past and ultimately two therapists would be booked for appointments and not be able to schedule anyone else, which means they would lose possible money during that appointment time - which I completely understand. I told him I would pay ahead of time and we agreed on a couples massage in the same room simultaneously; his wife called me later that day for payment.
The morning of August 17 we arrived at the location and were not certain we were in the correct place. It looked very sketch. Both garage doors were open with a lot of clutter, kids bicycle and toys were around the garage. The flowers and grass were dead and it was nowhere near how nice it looked online.
We went up to the front door and there was a brass plate with Stuarts name on it so we knew we were in the right place. We rang the doorbell and a woman answered the door wearing a robe (weird.) She introduced herself as Stuart's wife and asked us to have a seat. The chairs were dirty and I didn't sit in them. They had a screen/tri-fold room Divider blocking off part of the other rooms. We could see to each side of the screen and to the left was a dirty front room with toys strewn about and to the right was a very cluttered and dirty kitchen and a young child was also there.
The massage room also had a large box/basket with sheets for the table thrown in it and hanging out the box onto the floor. Not sure if they were clean or dirty.
Stuart came around the corner and introduced himself. I immediately told him there were some concerns we wanted to address with him and he continued walking into the treatment room ignoring me and asked me if I was sore anywhere. I went in the treatment room and said - "First of all I want to discuss what I just tried to talk to you about in the other room - our comfort level." He sat on the edge of the table with arms folded, was condescending and asked what we were concerned about. I proceeded to tell him we were not comfortable in the environment and he responded saying the website says home office. I replied that this was not my idea of a home office based on the cleanliness and the fact nothing was said to me on the phone regarding that it was in a room in their house. At some point the 2nd Masseuse arrived and had been listening to the conversation and mentioned she also works in an actual office and the price would be much higher there. My response was that I would happily pay more for a professional, clean office.
During the conversation, my husband left the home and I heard him start his truck. The woman suggested that we go ahead with the massage and at any time, if we are uncomfortable to let them know.
I told them my husband is already in his truck and I'd go talk to him. I let them know if I didn't come back in, we would not be getting the massages. We both decided we were already uncomfortable enough and ended up leaving.
The following week I went to my bank to see my options for getting a refund. They told me I could dispute the charge, would have to cancel my debit card and that I may or may not receive a refund.
I decided to call Stuart directly and ask if he would refund the amount. Stuart said he could not refund the charge as he had already paid the other therapist. I let him know the entire situation was his responsibility and based on him not being upfront about his home office on the phone with me, the messiness of his house and the noisiness of kids being present. I let him know the chairs were stained; the rooms beyond the screen were dirty and wanted to give him the opportunity to refund the money rather than me disputing it. Since he wouldn't, I let him know I was going forward with the dispute and he responded, "Go ahead and dispute it. If you do I am going to put your name, information and credit card number all over the internet." I told him I called to be respectful, that was all I had to say, and hung up. read more