note: "barter" has specific meaning to the IRS which is why I use "exchange".
I've been trying to find someone to help me get my website on a new platform. My go-to person for web services insists on exchanging massage for her services. She says it's a way to make sure she gets the massages she loves so much.
However, she's been "working on" getting me some information about this platform change for 8 months. I'm not waiting for my website, I'm waiting for information about the process!
When you are "paying" another professional for their services with massage, you are always going to be a lower priority than a client who is paying them with cash. And I can't blame them. I'm a small business. Getting paid, cash flow is a high priority for me too. I understand. I just hate having to wait. And wait. And wait. And, no, withholding the massage doesn't seem to make any difference.
I've also given up on exchanging massages. Like exchanges for service, it's too easy to cancel the exchange massage when a paying client calls and wants that time. Wouldn't you choose a paying client over an exchange client?
I want the freedom to try lots of therapists or to hang in there with just one. When I'm paying, I get the massage when I want it, not when there's no one else angling for that time.
I get massage every 3-4 weeks now and I pay for it. Something I've come to realize is that paying for my massages has an added benefit: I'm reminded every time what it's like to be a paying client. I have a new chance to empathize with my client's experience. That's (almost) as valuable as the massage itself. It's very humbling to have a therapist do something you dislike when you know you do that very same thing!
It's good to stay humble.
So, if you want my services, be prepared to pay. Because, no, I'm not interested in trading massages for them.
I have always treated trades like paying client's. They should get treated the same. But like you, too many times I have had them cancel because they had a paying client. I don't think this right. It isn'tt fair to expect that you can take a paying client and cancel your trade last minute, because they could have tried to get a paying client at that time as well, but can't now because of such short notice. It is so much better to pay someone. If they then want to come to me, they can give me the money. Maybe we move the money back and forth. But that is okay.
ReplyDeleteI love this! Thanks and keep rockin' the conversation!
ReplyDeleteI treat an appointment as an appointment, whether it's a trade or client, and (this part's important) I make sure I trade with people who operate the same way. Receiving massage is a necessary part of how I function as a healthy, happy massage therapist. I practice what I preach. I get a massage at least every 2 weeks, often weekly. I know I have less busy times in my schedule, and that's when I schedule my trades.
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