Debra Gonzales, CMT

Truly horrible experience that literally left me out in the cold. I rarely post negative reviews but the experience I had here was so unbelievably awful that I felt others should be forewarned.
After purchasing my groupon package for massages, I called to book my first massage appointment. Debra contacted me and said she preferred text communication. Fine. It’s the modern world. I gave her my availability and said I would like to schedule ASAP as I was recently in a bad car accident that left me in pain. She informed me that she usually books appointments a month out as she is very busy. I opened up my schedule to try to get an appointment that wasn’t a month out. She texted me back and gave me a specific date and time, so I happily replied that I would take that appointment.
Fast forward a couple weeks. It’s at 5ish on a cold Wednesday evening. Since my car was totaled, I arrange for a Lyft ride arriving about 20 minutes early knowing the usual protocol for a new client involves filling out paperwork. We had a little difficulty finding her studio as it was in a smaller office building behind larger buildings off March Lane. But, I spotted the address and walked into a dark corridor with many doors. I go up to the suite with the lit window and try to open the locked door.
Uh oh, I’m thinking, it’s cold outside and she didn’t tell me the door would be locked if she was inside giving a massage! I knock on the door several times to no avail. I peer inside the half open blinds to see a woman sitting inside ignoring my knocking. I’m a bit cold and unnerved about the prospect of waiting in a cold dark outdoor area, so I tap on the window to get the woman’s attention. She looks at me. I smile and wave and ask her if she could please open the door as I have an appointment and have arrived early. She looks away and ignores me! So I tap again and say it’s really cold out and I don’t want to wait outside for 15 minutes, could she please let me in. She looks at me and says, «I can’t open the door.»
Seriously? Like I’m some street mongrel! By now, I’m shivering and irritated to be put in a dark, cold unsafe situation and contemplate leaving. But I again tell her I have an appointment and can show her the text from Debra. She looks at me irritatedly as if my basic human needs are bothersome and tells me to call Debra, which is a pretty futile suggestion since massages are typically phone free areas. I can see this woman could care less about my situation, so I dial Debra, and of course she doesn’t answer.
Shockingly, she must have had her phone in her massage room because I get a text from her telling me she’s in a massage and she’ll be out at my appointment time! First of all, I’m wondering how she is texting while giving a massage, and feel bad for the client whose massage is being interrupted. But I’m also beyond upset because as a new client, I should have been informed of her office’s location and her inability to keep a door unlocked for clients who arrive early. If she can’t trust her office to be left unlocked, why would she expect a client to feel safe waiting in her dark outdoor «waiting area»?
I text her back telling her it’s cold outside, could she please tell the woman to let me in. She responds with: you don’t have an appointment.
I’m looking right at the text above with the date and time she sent and my response confirming I’d take it. I had no other texts back from her, so I naturally assumed it was a done deal. Otherwise, she should have texted back telling me I’m sorry but that appointment is no longer available and offered me another appointment. Basic service standards.
I forward her her own msg with my appointment as proof. She then argues rather than admitting and apologizing for her gaffe with her new client and informs me (now, while I’m standing in the cold outside her office rather than upfront) that I did not receive email confirmation; therefore, I did not have an appointment. Ridiculous and absurd to expect a new client to know the policy unless you bother to inform them. So I text back that this was never mentioned and that she had told me that texting was her preferred method of communication and that this was a terrible way to treat new clients.
She reiterated that I had no appointment, I would need an email confirmation and that I would not be getting a massage this evening. Wow! Still no apology or concern for my well-​being so I began to walk off to find a safer location to call for a ride. I text her to inform her that I would be posting a review of my experience.
Her tune suddenly changes. She wont honor my appointment but will allow me to come inside to wait for my ride! How gracious! At this point, I’m already walking down the block and have no desire to return. Ever. No phone call.
It doesn’t matter how good you are (which I’ll never know) if you don’t treat clients with respect. And without showing basic decency, why would they ever entrust you with a massage?