Edited for Follow-Up from Madeleine, Owner.
I had some reticence about rescheduling again after I told Shelbye that I don't want an all over massage, that I want to work out the problem areas. I mentioned it to the office scheduler and to her, and she said she would remember to do that next time. It had been a while since I was in, so I told her I want to work on my shoulder that I had a recent problem with, and reminded her that I had Fibromyalgia. She worked on several areas again, instead of working exclusively on my problem area I mentioned, did heavy pressure that put me in a lot of pain on the table, and told me to put heat on it because the muscles were tight. I even joked around after the session in the office saying "Shelby beat me up". In addition she told me to contact an orthopedic surgeon for my shoulder that I did do immediately after I got home. The next day I called and spoke to her initially to say I was in extreme neck pain, and couldn't hardly turn my neck to the left. She said to put ice on it for 15 minutes at a time, and wait 45 minutes to ice again. What I really couldn't understand was when she said, "Did you contact your Dr.?" And I said, "I don't know what you mean by that". She said, 'well, you might have a condition or something, maybe like Fibromyalgia'. I told her that I reminded her of that yesterday at the beginning of the session (she apparently forgot). I asked her if I should come in and get the rest of this worked on, she said 'no, it has to rest'. After that, she told me she would try to look on the internet about the problem and that she would call me back in 15 minutes. I did receive a call back, but it was from the front desk, and she said, "Shelbye said to put ice on it." I told her that Shelbye already mentioned that to me, and that she was going to look something up (of which I didn't know what) and get back to me. She responded with a report that Shelby's back in session and said to just put ice on it. Wow. It's not good professional practice to promise you something you don't deliver on, because Shelbye didn't call me back at the end of her day, after she was done with her clients. Massage School teaches you what issues result from certain muscle groups being affected, and the insinuation that I might have a condition (which I already told her about) that needs to have a doctor look at it as the cause of the problems, and not the massage itself causing the increased pain issue, when I already told her I'd contact the orthopedist, is ridiculous. If I told her I had Fibromyalgia, she should know how to proceed considering those circumstances, it's not a rare condition. To try to shift the blame or issue back to me by asking if I contacted a doctor, and forgetting that I reported my Fibromyalgia, is very unprofessional.
Update: 9/25/2015: Received voicemail and written correspondence from the owner, Madeleine, who was very apologetic and accountable for what happened. She admitted that there were problems with the follow-up and communication with Shelby and stated she would and did speak to her, offered a free massage, and sent out my refund on my credit balance that remained. Running a business myself for a while, she did everything correctly to try to make it right, and also stated that this therapist is new. Madeleine is well versed, but I mentioned that there needs to be some more education on communication (both in the treatment room, and outside of it), accountability, and listening skills with her employee, so I added a star for the very good follow-through on Madeleine's part.
Update: 10/4/2015: The massage therapist sent a written apology for not calling me back and for my bad experience (nothing else), but in the same email reported that I "'slammed' her" with this review. She mentioned that she wished I would've voiced my concerns with her directly after the massage, but I told her multiples of times during the massage that it was too painful, and she referenced after my complaint to the office that I verbalized yells of pain. I don't know how the references to her during the massage, and also after the massage in the office with "Shelbye beat me up" and that I was in pain wasn't voicing my concern to her directly after the massage since that was my reference to the original issue. She also misinterpreted something else that I said that she didn't fully listen to nor understand. Madeleine did follow-up with giving a free massage, apologized again, and had her office check on the results of the massage as well as an individual follow through. I would recommend Madeleine as a massage therapist. The office itself is well organized, and scheduling and follow through is excellent. read more
