AITA - Questioning the Price

[Guest]

So I know this isn't Reddit, but I want to throw this out there.  I saw an ad for a new Masseur on MF and thought he would be a good fit and I would give him a try.  I reached out to him last night to book an appointment for today (Friday).  He answered my questions and an appointment was booked for 2 pm today.  Apparently he has a third party booking app, so I immediately got a text from another number with my appointment information and a link.  I clicked the link and saw the appointment details.  It said the prices were variable, but didn't match what was listed on MF.  So I asked.  Your prices are listed as variable can you send me a price list.  He quoted a price of $140 for an hours.  I texted back. OK. It says $120 on MF.  He immediately canceled on me.  Now, I would have been fine paying the extra $20, I just wanted to clarify so I could withdraw the correct amount of cash from the ATM.  So, am I the asshole for questioning that his prices didn't match up?  Did I just dodge a bullet of a shady masseur?

[Jamie21]

I think you dodged a bullet. Prices should be clear, but if there’s a mistake and you asked for clarification and got a response like that then that tells me he’s probably not the kind of guy you’d want to see. 

[+ dctraveler]

I agree with jamie21 that you dodged a bullet. A masseur should have his business end of things together and learn to set proper expectations for clients. He lost your business by passive-aggressively upcharging you $20 without any reason and you simply asked about the price difference. His loss. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jamie21 said:

I think you dodged a bullet. Prices should be clear, but if there’s a mistake and you asked for clarification and got a response like that then that tells me he’s probably not the kind of guy you’d want to see. 

Yeah.  I mean I would have been fine with - Oh, I forgot to update MF with my new price list - or OK, I will honor what MF says.  Summarily blocking me seems harsh.

Oh well.  

[LA90046]

dodged a bullet +1

[FLJock]

You dodged a bullet.  I've had one or two completely flip on me when I asked them to confirm the price and then got a number that was higher than their ad.  Like, sir, you wrote your ad, not me. 

It's gotten to the point where I don't even ask anymore, I just give what the ad says...and whatever the tip they earn based on service provided.  

[Guest]

So, today I went back to a guy I have seen a few times.  I messaged him this morning and asked if he had times available today. I told him my schedule and he said that he was available now, so I booked for a half hour from that time.  I quickly showered and drove the 15 minutes to his location.  After the massage he informed me that it was $20 more because if somone books less than 90 minutes before the massage, he upcharges.  Could have said that in the text exchange. Instead, he said this as I was hitting send on Venmo, so guess what.  My tip covered his upcharge.  I'm not even sure if it's worth it anymore.

[+ dctraveler]

1 hour ago, questbear said:

So, today I went back to a guy I have seen a few times.  I messaged him this morning and asked if he had times available today. I told him my schedule and he said that he was available now, so I booked for a half hour from that time.  I quickly showered and drove the 15 minutes to his location.  After the massage he informed me that it was $20 more because if somone books less than 90 minutes before the massage, he upcharges.  Could have said that in the text exchange. Instead, he said this as I was hitting send on Venmo, so guess what.  My tip covered his upcharge.  I'm not even sure if it's worth it anymore.

That's shady. Another way to lose a repeat client. 

[Otterlybelievable]

Somewhat related experience a few weeks ago - I saw one of my favorites that I hadn’t seen in about a year due to various scheduling issues on both of our ends. I was used to paying a certain amount for a 60 minute session with him, but after the massage he said his price was $100 more than what I previously paid. I mentioned that he hadn’t said anything about that when we booked and that it’s not reflected on his ad (it used to list his rate but now says “ask me”). It was a good massage so I paid the inflated rate but no tip and I’ve got no plans to see him again in the future 

[Capitano]

1 hour ago, Otterlybelievable said:

Somewhat related experience a few weeks ago - I saw one of my favorites that I hadn’t seen in about a year due to various scheduling issues on both of our ends. I was used to paying a certain amount for a 60 minute session with him, but after the massage he said his price was $100 more than what I previously paid. I mentioned that he hadn’t said anything about that when we booked and that it’s not reflected on his ad (it used to list his rate but now says “ask me”). It was a good massage so I paid the inflated rate but no tip and I’ve got no plans to see him again in the future 

WOW, how unpleasant and unfair! I'd be SO done with him too.

Today's inflationary environment can be used as a convenient excuse to confirm the masseur's "current rate" no matter how many times we have seen him. I've been doing that recently, nothing beats having their text message in defining the terms of the exchange.

[+ dctraveler]

59 minutes ago, Capitano said:

WOW, how unpleasant and unfair! I'd be SO done with him too.

Today's inflationary environment can be used as a convenient excuse to confirm the masseur's "current rate" no matter how many times we have seen him. I've been doing that recently, nothing beats having their text message in defining the terms of the exchange.

Price increases to accommodate an inflationary environment in itself is not the issue, but it's how a business entity goes about properly notifying their clientele about it. The problem with many of these independent masseurs is that they are often completely clueless on how to handle business end of things, with setting proper client expectations being one of the most crucial elements. A client being told of such a price increase (with an explanation) *before* an appointment is booked makes a world of difference for a client's overall experience and so many of these masseurs just do not understand this. Most clients would accept the increase and understand the justification behind it, and some that do not wish to accept the increase can simply refuse the newly increased price. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by dctraveler

[TopBunk]

What is MF? Can someone dm me?

[56harrisond]

48 minutes ago, TopBunk said:

What is MF? Can someone dm me?

Masseurfinder.com