Charging more for larger bodies?

[RaZzor]

I am female, 5'4" with an athletic build. the work I do is moderate to deep and my arms and hands are constnatly in motion much like a lomi lomi massage. I recently decided to raise my rates for men and larger bodied women. I want to add that a larger bodied woman is also a woman who is exceptionally tall or muscular. I want all of my clients to have a great session that meets their needs and that means that I have to work harder for a male or a larger woman. I feel like my rate increase is justified but I am having difficultly with how to announce this or do I not? Any thoughts?

 

[Roberto R]

my $.02? you're asking for HUGE trouble. i don't see how or why anyone would charge someone more because of their body type. if you prefer to work with clients who are "larger bodied" (what the hel/ that really means i have no idea) or are male you could "specialize" in working with these type of clients and have one rate that you're happy with and call it a day.

you could charge more for deep tissue work if that is what you prefer but i wouldn't state that you charge more for "large bodied people". i'm not a fan of charging more for deeper work either though. my thought is have one rate and stick with it. the last thing you want to do is confuse people or tick them off. not good for business.

 

[Fingertoes]

Hi JinShinDOH!, and welcome to MassagePlanetL.

I'm pretty new to this field, so I'm not sure if what you are trying to do would go over well, or how to word your rate increase. Are you wanting to increase your rate because you have to use more pressure for these larger people, and therefore it is more work? Or because it takes you more time to do the work (two or three passes to cover an area instead of one)? I find that charging a flat rate per amount of time works the best without hurting anyone's feelings, and that most larger folks are open to the idea of a longer session to meet all of their needs. Deep tissue is one rate. Relaxation is another rate. If my deep isn't deep enough, I make no apologies. I refer those clients to MTs who I know can deliver enough pressure to make you cry LOL.

I have found that some larger folks really prefer a lighter touch anyway. Also, what about guys like my husband? 5'4" and 110 pounds. He's a joy to work on; the perfect size for my smaller hands.

And, being an almost-plus-sized woman, I must say that I would take offense at the rate difference. I can kind of see your point if you're working with body-builders, but... for me, I give as much as I'm able to give without hurting myself to each client, so I'm not sure I understand the rate increase.

If you do decide to do this, I would be very interested to see how you word it, and how you draw the line between regular-sized and larger-sized women.

I don't mean for this to come across as snarky at all - I really am curious.

Emily

 

[pelops_dl]

kemilyna makes a great point. if it's that you are finding that you do not have enough time in a hour to work everything, you can explain that in order to work the whole body they would need to schedule a longer session. (i'd like to know too what exactly would be considered a "regular-sized" woman.)

 

[jandy]

Hi and welcome. I would agree with what is posted here, for a larger bodied woman try to get them to agree to a longer session if anything, or just refer them out to someone else. I've massaged the obese and large males and I agree, it's not easy. But quite honestly, as a larger female myself, if I was charged more because I'm larger, I'd be very offended and feel discriminated against. So I'd advice against it.

 

[Antonio]

Holy crap that's offensive.

Let me ask you this: do you give a discount to smaller than average size women or exceptionally short and petite men?

How do you determine the "exceptionally large" cut-off point for women? Do you weigh and measure, or is it purely subjective? What if the woman is extremely tall but fit, or extremely short and pudgy? How do you "weight" that fee?

Is this post a joke?


eta: I'm guessing this is a troll, and I probably shouldn't have responded so vehemently, but I'll leave it on the off chance this person is serious.

 

[Wit]

Well, your post doesn't offend me, like it does for Breathe, but, I don't think charging more for a larger sized body is something to consider, even if you are doing more work. Mainly because I am wondering at what point the clients body gets charged the higher fee. How are you going to decide? Do you decide by weight, height, amount of muscle mass or lack thereof, a combination of all?

It is quite subjective.

What if Mary is 5'4 and built like a tomcat, and her friend Jane is 5'3 and just as athletic, but has a smaller frame?

You may be working a little less hard on Jane and so you charge her less. Now Mary finds out and is upset because she sees the height/weight/build of her friend as being practially the same as her own.

I have seen some very small statured people who are a lot harder to work on than some of my big men, vice versa, and so forth and so on.

For me, working on a client can be difficult or easy for a number of reasons including, but not limited to - size, shape, muscle mass, fat mass, mental/emotional situations, energy they transmit or don't (I've had a few black holes over the years that just did a doozy on me), talkers (or not), personality, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

Maybe consider coming up with a median fee you are comfortable with charging and apply this to all clients.

 

[Sahara]

My response to this was similar to Breathe's, and my first question was the same as hers as well. Do you have a price for a very small person, an average sized person, and a price for a large person? Wording would also be very tricky. I would take great offense if when I booked an appointment the therapist asked me for my height, weight, dress size to determine what price to quote me. t104

 

[Joana]

My response is simliar to others: Come up with a price you are happy charging, and charge it for everyone. I have always had issues with charging more for deep tissue. Instead of charging more for certain sessions, just decide what is the MOST you could consider charging someone for your work, your best work. And charge that for everyone.

The only person I have considered charging more for is this serious bodybuilder whom I massage at the spa (thus I can't change his price) . He always wants a 2 hour massage and I feel that I can only massage him and my day is done. Maybe I could do another swedish/relaxation massage that day, but nothing more. He is very large and fit and likes to be stretched! What a workout!!!!

Other than that, (including all my deep tissue people) I would not charge more for them. Just charge your highest price, and when you get a swedish/relaxation massage, consider you are making "extra".

ps - edited to add: asking people to "self-select" does not help. Most people do not understand what "deep tissue" is. So how could they understand what "large bodied" means?

 

[bcakEs85]

I would be insulted if you charged me more because I am a "larger person" You are in fact telling the person they are fat (sorry if I offended anyone).
I had an overweight pregnant lady today that was by far, way easier to massage than the lady I had just prior to her that was maybe 140 in wieght 5'7" but her muscles were as tight as the walls in my room.

You are not buying seafood so pricing by the pound is ridiculous and obsurd. And its a guaranteed way to make sure you will not be in this profession very long if you opt to do that as no one will eventually go to you because heaven forbid they gain weight they will get charged more to get a massage by you.

Oh and you are in this profession to make people feel good about themselves. Not make them have a complex.

 

[Bella <3 Jandro.]

I am with one price for all. It all evens out. You have some people that are easy to work on and some not. For me I don't always have a harder time with a larger person. In fact I just worked on a teeny tiny woman so bound up it was crazy. Also it helps to have the mind set that you can't be all things to all people. You may have a fave move that you just can;t do on a larger person. Hope you are sincere about wanting feedback and not a nasty troll. Being with the holiday spirit and all I will give ya the benifit of the doubt on this one.

 

[hookah.]

It's so interesting that this posting came today ... I had a client today who wanted a "fluff and buff" (I haven't had one of those in a while), and I felt like I should give her a discount cuz it was so much easier on me!! : Interestingly, this woman was what most would probably consider a "larger" woman, so she would have been charged more under the OP's procedure! :?

 

[Exilis]

I tend to do as others have suggested already, I usually ask the client if he/she would mind scheduling for a 90 minute massage. That way I can be more specific to their needs and there is usually time for a full body treatment.
Strangely enough, I have a very thin older lady who is much harder on me to work on. I feel if I lean my body weight into her I would crush her and it makes for a lot more tension in my body- like an isometric exercise. Does anyone else ever feel this way? BTW, I am 5'8" and slightly pudgy ( these darn holidays!) and I would be crushed if I was charged the big woman's rate.. :shock:

Good luck Jinshindo-- I know your pain, but surely booking more time will be a little gentler.

 

[Isha]

OK, it sounds like you have decided you want to try this, so rather than try to talk you out of it, let's see if this can possibly turn out well.

Scenario A: I am a regular client of yours, a fat gal (yes, I do call myself a fat gal). I get a nice postcard from you announcing the rate change in a polite way. I assume you are singling me out, I feel hurt, I drop the postcard in the trash, and I badmouth you all over town as rude. (Sorry.)

Scenario B: I'm the same regular client, I show up for a scheduled appointment. You politely explain about the rate increase. I nod understandingly, humiliated to the core, suffer through my massage fighting back tears, pay the increased fee, never come back, and badmouth you all over town.

Scenario C: I'm a new client, same fat-gal self, make an appt. on the phone. You explain the pricing system and ask me to self-select my price range (or to describe my weight and build). Shocked, I make the appointment anyway, realize as the time draws near that I am not going to be comfortable with a therapist who prices by the pound like a bag of potatoes, and call to cancel at the last minute. And no, I do not pay your late-cancellation invoice. Plus again, I badmouth you all over town.

Look, I'm not saying all this to be nasty. I just do not think a move like this can possibly be of benefit to your business. Whether you are fat-phobic or not, you will be SEEN to be fat-phobic by the public. And unfortunately, if as an MT I saw any advertising or rate sheets mentioning this kind of pricing structure, I would look at it as reflecting poorly on the practitioner. It would make me think that you know you don't have the skill to work on tough tissue but are unwilling to admit it and refer out, so you're trying to force the clients to NOT choose you. (Again, sorry -- but what you project about your business can make or break you. Even if this isn't your intention it could still be read that way.)

If you just want to work on smaller and "easier" clients, I think you will have better success (and still preserve your professional reputation) if you just make an effort to market to them. I am not a deep-tissue person at all, and simply by never mentioning DT in my advertising, I've noticed the requests have stopped coming in for itt.

OK not to be too harsh but what in the world do you mean "My arms and hands are constantly in motion"? Um, that's true of all MTs. And I guess I'm not sure what you mean when you say that you have to work harder on men.

Some clients are simply easier or more difficult to work on. If you're raising your rates anyway, why not just raise them for everyone? You're just going to run into more problems down the line anyway. People lose and gain weight, get into MVAs, etc. The most difficult call to make will be after you really fix significant issues on a higher-priced client -- does their price now drop because they're easier to work on?

 

[IndigoBlue]

I've had quite a few people come through with excema this winter. It just sucks up the oil and I have to work harder. I think I'm going to institute an excema surcharge.

:roll:



ooooh. I've got it. I'm going to need to start charging for excess body hair. Since it's hard to keep my hands moving the same way, I will assess my clients for the amount of hair they have on their bodies. If it crosses a certain hair density and frequency, I will have to charge a higher price.

This could really work out in all kinds of ways!

 

[Mertile]

erply from op

ok, thank you all for your feed back. I can see that breathe is a fine example of an overweight woman who is insulted by my rate increase. try to get over it and stop being so sarcastic, it is not helpful. and there is a lot of projecting going on from a lot of you and that is a great help to me to illustrate how my clients might take it. Thank those for the constructive feedback. I have been doing body work for 5 years.

 

[MR.GPH]

as much as i'd rather not admit it, i was kind of hoping the OP might not return and this might get dropped - only because i couldn't for the life of me see how this could turn out in a good way...

eta: it's 5 a.m. on west coast! :whew:

 

[Peter File]

I find it hard to believe that you have been an mt for 5 years yet don't see the flaws in your logic.

Also if larger bodies are so hard for you then the problem is in your body mechanics. Maybe take some classes and throw in some ethics. Your post is why many larger folks won't get massage and its sad that you are confirming their fears.

 

[Lavender]

I would also like to add...

hair stylists charge their clients by the amount of hair that they have. Male haircuts cost less then hair cuts for women and women with longer hair are charged more for their haircuts. This is accepted practice in many high end salons. The only difference between the body size issue and a the amount of hair issue is a cultural stigma surrounding the overweight. I like to give all of my clients an exceptional massage and sometimes that means I have to work harder for the larger bodies, and no it does not mean that I do not have the skill to work on thick tissue, it means I have to work harder and sometimes my table cannot go low enough or be wide enough to accomadate some folks. Again thank you all for your feedback snarky comments and all. Happy New Year!
I have decided to pull my brochure with the new information and just raise my rates across the board.

 

[Kebo]

I can see that breathe is a fine example of an overweight woman who is insulted by my rate increase. try to get over it and stop being so sarcastic, it is not helpful.

Personal attacks are not helpful, either, JinshinDoh. Breathe is illustrating in a very frank manner the lack of sensitivity to the feelings of others that your pricing structure demonstrates. Telling someone to "try and get over it" seems antithetical to what this entire industry is about.

I'm fat, and by that I mean obese. I don't care if my fat offends anyone. What it comes down to, though is that if I saw your pricing structure, I too would walk away and certainly not have a positive word to say about you. And I think I'd have a good look at the code of ethics, too, to remind me of my obligation to my clients and the profession.