Core Therapy Institute

Unprofessional, flaky, rude. I bought a 90 mins massage from groupon as a gift for my bf. When I called to make the appointment, I realized that this was a personal number rather than a business, which is not that big of a deal but the name is misleading. Anyway, Vicky answered and seemed flustered and confused, I had to repeat myself several times. Finally, we agreed on a date and time. She called the day before to confirm the appointment, which was fine, except she didn’t remember my name. Whatever, not that big of a deal. We arrived 15 mins early to the address on the groupon and it looks like someone’s slightly crappy looking duplex. We knocked and waited. And waited. And waited. We tried calling several times and left a message. She no call no showed and wasted over 30 mins of our time. Like I said, this was a gift so I felt embarrassed. It’s been several days and although I finally got my money back from groupon, she never called me to explain what happened.

I responded to an ad from
for a 90 minute massage at Core. It was $ 52, normally $ 105. But I first went on Core’s website to check them out and felt comfortable enough to give it a try although there was little information out there other than what was on their site (i.e. nothing on
). Called to make the appointment a few days hence and left a message. Vicky, presumed owner, called back the next day. She couldn’t book me on my desired date (a Monday) so I agreed to the following Tuesday. She said she’d follow up on Monday with a reminder call. Well, I had to call her as I needed to move the Tuesday appointment from morning to afternoon, left a message. She returned the call and accommodated the change. She then proceeded to engage me in a discussion of her requirements: 1) Bring the LivingSocial voucher 2) A 20% gratuity was expected based on the pre-​discounted price. Wow, I said to her, That’s a $ 20+ tip! I’m OK with a tip… but 20%? And on a first visit? I tip for a massage session but it’s around 10%-ish and I think that’s fairly common. She countered that’s her «typical» gratuity. «Well» I said, «I guess I’ll have to see how it goes and hope for the best!» When I arrived right on time Tuesday afternoon Vicky came out to the parking area, asked if I was me, and proceeded to tell me she had made a judgement call and was canceling my session. «Why» I asked? «I’m just making a judgement decision» she said. «Why didn’t you call me and let me know before I showed up» I asked? «I thought about it» she said «but I hadn’t made up my mind until now». I told her I was quite surprised and disappointed. She seemed unconcerned and headed for the premises. I left, flabbergasted!
What an unprofessional and downright rude way to greet and treat a first time client. And I should add this appears to be a one person business being conducted out of a residence. While I don’t have a problem with that per se and I’m not suggesting anything kooky is going on, it is clear Vicky runs a rather austere (to be kind) operation: No reception and no business identity or signage that faces the street (a yard sign was present behind the house in the parking area). I rather doubt there is an «Institute» at all other than in Vicky’s imagination. In my case I truly believe she didn’t want my business once she felt she didn’t get a preliminary commitment from me for a 20% tip. She either should make that a stated requirement in the terms & fine print established through LivingSocial (who indicated a gratuity based upon pre-​discounted price, but did not quantify the amount) or simply increase the session cost to cover it.
Fortunately I was able to get a refund from
and they were very interested in why I was not a happy camper. I gave the rep the whole story. For those considering a first visit to Core Therapy Institute, my advice is to look elsewhere.