To sum it all up, this was one of the worst experiences ever!
Firstly, I found this massage palor on Groupon. This massage parlor seemed rather reasonable and the reviews made the place seem like ideal. Therefore, I bought the Groupon and made an appointment. I told them I had a Groupon for a couples massage to which they confirmed was fine and proceeded to ask if we would like to go to the Somerville or Skillman location. We said we would like the Somerville one since it was closer. They were able to schedule us for an appointment the following day with no issues or hassle.
Once inside the place, we were quickly greeted and immediately asked for our Groupon. I showed the employee the Groupon and see had redeemed it on my phone. She then took a picture of the Groupon on her phone and then sent us back to a small room where there were two, older looking beds were laid. We were told to get undressed and then they would come back and begin. The room itself was really tiny and very dimly lit, however it did not cover up the rather old and battered looking beds that we were told to lay on. In addition, the place where we were supposed to rest our faces were essentially holes cut into the beds with towels placed around it for "comfort". We both undressed to our underwear and then the two massage therapists came in and put towels over us. Then the massage began.
In general the massage wasn't too bad, but there was a lot of movement and distractions throughout it that caused it to be rather annoying and uncomfortable. During the middle of the massage as well, one of the therapists walked out for a few seconds and came back with the owner of the business on the phone asking to speak with me. I answered the owner's call in the middle of the room where we were just being massaged and had her tell me in broken English that Groupons are not accepted at the Somerville location, but only at the Princeton location. She said that should would give me the 90 minute massage though, but next time it needs to be in Princeton. I found this to be extremely bizarre, but let it go since the owner had accepted the Groupon (to which she already agreed to when I called to make an appointment) and I was in the middle of the massage. The rest of the massage was average, but I was still rather annoyed with how many bizarre distractions and issues we had during just one hour in this massage pallor.
Once the massage was up (which was indicated by an extremely loud timer the massage therapists put on as soon as they started) the therapists left and let us get dressed. Once dressed, we began to leave and gave our tips to both our therapists and said our goodbyes. We were about to exit, when the employee stops me and asks me to pay the $90 I owed. I looked at her dumbfounded and before I could even make a comment, she said that that is what I agreed to with her boss (the owner) on the phone. I told the therapist that I did not agree to that, but that her boss told me that she would honor the Groupon even though she wanted me to go to the Princeton location. The therapist then said that that was not what her boss had said and that her boss would like me to pay the $90 I owe and then give be back the $90 for a massage at the Princeton location. I was completely caught off guard and refused to pay the $90 for several reasons. One, when I called to make an appointment the owner of this massage pallor answered. I told her I had a Groupon for a couples massage and then SHE asked which location I would like to go to, to which I said Somerville. Two, as soon as I walked in the employee/therapist asked if I had a Groupon and then asked for my phone to immediately redeem it. So now my order was being processed and she would receive payment no matter what. Three, when I was rudely disrupted from my massage by the owner, it sounded as though she was accepting the Groupon, but the next next time I used a Groupon for a Magic Touch Massage it had to be in Princeton. (I cannot be 100% sure of what she said due to her poor English).
I again refused to pay, because I had already paid and reminded the employee that she had redeemed my Groupon, which meant her boss would be receiving my money. She then said she was not sure what to do, so we would call her boss. She then called her boss and spoke to her in their native language and then handed the phone to me. The owner then made it very clear that she wanted me to pay the $90 for the massage I received today and she would "reimburse" me with a free couples massage at their Princeton location. I told her that I would not pay, because I already paid and I would have no confirmation or receipt that would verify that I would be awarded a "free" massage at their Princeton location. She then became extremely agitated and began arguing with me over the phone. (1/2) read more
