WOW! Where do I begin! I feel that the discount chains have changed the business of massage in a very negative way. First, these companies are run by people who have never given a massage in their life and have no idea the physical toll that it can take on the human body. They do not pay their therapists enough to make a respectable living working a 30 hour week (which is full time in this business). In my area of town, the therapists make $15.00 per client. This is $450 per week, $23,400 per year BEFORE TAXES! How could you possibly raise a family on that wage! Second, the therapists that work there are usually right out of school and are told to do the massage “this way”. They have a “protocol” to follow and have only 50 minutes to do the massage. It is really unfortunate that the new therapists cannot experiment with different techniques to enhance their talents. It becomes a very mundane job and they will “burn out” very quickly. Third, if a client has never experienced a massage before and gets one from a new therpist from a discount franchise, the clients perception of massage is totally different than if the new client had gone to a massage therapist that has the opportunity to be creative and do his/her own massage I believe the client would have a much better experience. I own a Day Spa and will not hire anyone who works for one of the “discount franchises”. After all, why would someone come to my spa and get the same therapist that works at a francise where the client can pay less? Yet another reason for the therapist NOT to take a job with a franchise. We take pride in our personalized massages and our clients know that. Some of my clients have gone to the franchise to “try it out” and come back to our spa with a renewed appreciation for the type of service they get here. Hopefully, with that kind of response, the franchises will be out of business as quickly as they opened!