Brand new table BROKE!

[Wes]

My table came yesterday and I was sooooo excited to have a lighter one - I do outcalls. I used it today for the first time, and my 3rd client sat up after her massage and the table cracked and caved in under her weight. She is NOWHERE NEAR 450 pounds. My guess is I have lost a client for life, not to mention she was no longer relaxed. She wasn't injured (physically, anyway!) but oh my goodness!!!!!!!!! Obviously it's a defective table, but I don't know how this will work. They'd better not dare try to make me pay shipping to send it back....sigh. I'll take any and all advice. Sympathy is good, too. :

 

[Emma B]

this happened to me too!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

it was a table bought through a salon supply company - made by that company that does body waxing... anyway at the time i was working at a salon. and thank heavens it broke when i sat on it. the owner actually accused me of jumping up and down on the table.

ugh! bless your heart i know how it must have terrified you! i would DEFINATELY call her tomorrow to check in.

good luck!
amanda

 

[Magenta]

oh my gosh i can't even ever imagine this happening!!!!! i think it's something we all have nightmares over but never imagine it ACTUALLY happening! the first thing i would do, if you haven't already, is call the company and ask to speak to the person in charge. i'd be outraged! i don't know what they can do or not do but i would ask for a refund and i certainly would NOT trust anymore of their tables. one fluke maybe, but i don't think i could use another table from the same company ever again if i were you! keep us updated on what happens. and in no way should you pay a even a penny to have this shipped back.

good luck! so sorry this happened to you and your client.

 

[Paul S]

this happened to me too!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

it was a table bought through a salon supply company - made by that company that does body waxing... anyway at the time i was working at a salon. and thank heavens it broke when i sat on it. the owner actually accused me of jumping up and down on the table.

ugh! bless your heart i know how it must have terrified you! i would DEFINATELY call her tomorrow to check in.

good luck!
amanda

I've wondered about checking in with her. She's pretty humiliated. Maybe after I talk to the company, I can let her know (again) that the table is defective and they are replacing it......and just make sure she is doing okay. She was horrified. I'm afraid of saying something that embarrasses her all over again.....ugh. The company doesn't answer the phone after 7pm eastern time, so I have to wait til morning to call.

 

[Ms Take]

oh my gosh i can't even ever imagine this happening!!!!! i think it's something we all have nightmares over but never imagine it ACTUALLY happening! the first thing i would do, if you haven't already, is call the company and ask to speak to the person in charge. i'd be outraged! i don't know what they can do or not do but i would ask for a refund and i certainly would NOT trust anymore of their tables. one fluke maybe, but i don't think i could use another table from the same company ever again if i were you! keep us updated on what happens. and in no way should you pay a even a penny to have this shipped back.

good luck! so sorry this happened to you and your client.

Thanks, I'll keep you posted. Right now I'm still just mortified!

 

[Valarie]

i have to admit that i would be humiliated as well. what a terrible situation.

i am so sorry you've both gone through this.

checking in with her would be tough - maybe leaving a message when you know she isn't there, that she can call you if she needs you? and telling her that you have followed up with the company?

the company should be liable for damages if she's been hurt.

however/if you do it, good luck. take a deep breath -

amanda

 

[Barb M]

i have to admit that i would be humiliated as well. what a terrible situation.

i am so sorry you've both gone through this.

checking in with her would be tough - maybe leaving a message when you know she isn't there, that she can call you if she needs you? and telling her that you have followed up with the company?

the company should be liable for damages if she's been hurt.

however/if you do it, good luck. take a deep breath -

amanda

I was very calm at the time, and assured her this is NOT a catastrophe, just an inconvenience. She was only worried about my table, I was only worried about HER. I have another table, anyway, so it REALLY is just an inconvenience for me, if she isn't hurt. But I'm not calm anymore! I am getting more upset as time goes by. Probably just because I'm home and sitting down now, so have time to think about it.

Breathing is good advice, lol. I forget to breathe, under stress. Thanks for caring!

 

[bushisajerk]

how're you feeling today?

just wanted to check in!

amanda

 

[leapfrog44]

how're you feeling today?

just wanted to check in!

amanda

Wow, thanks, Amanda! I did check in with my client today, and she is not achy or anything. She is so worried about the table, and stated that she didn't even tell anyone, she was so embarrassed. I just assured her again that the table is defective and is being replaced by the company. I also told her that I didn't tell anybody, and if questioned when using my old table (some of her friends are also my clients) I will just say I found a defect and am getting a replacement. I think she's going to be okay, in time. I'm fine today. Sleep is a good thing.

When it happened to you, did the company offer any compensation besides replacement? Was it replaced quickly? Did *they* accuse you of jumping on it, or just your boss?

Thankfully, this company is apologetic and didn't ask any accusatory questions. They won't give a refund and so far want to only replace the table, with no other compensation. I am thinking of asking to be compensated for this client's next few massages! (But I'd be happy with a bolster, sheets......)

 

[Amanda B]

I quote this guy all the time... Michael LeBouef, PhD, "The average dissatisfied customer tells 26 people."

*clears throat* Oh, BTW, I'm Way Above Average!! :

One dissatisfied Sharon x thousands of MTs @ MassagePlanet = #of missed sales?
Do they really want to go there?

Tell them what it will take to make you happy, what you feel is fair. Sure they are replacing the table, but it's probably affecting you a little bit not having the use of it currently, even if you do own another table. Since you don't have that table to use as you had planned to. And you're nervous about how your client who was on the table at the time is handling it! Obviously it's an issue for you to consider carefully. If you are reasonable and calm, they'll get the message.

In our business customer service is everything! Hopefully in their business too!

 

[Aurelia S]

gotta agree with you on that one -

in my situation, the table was not mine and the owner of the salon also owns the supply house. the table was replaced, and i'm not sure what all else happened. probably just table replacement.

and, n0, it was just the owner who asked if i'd been jumping on the table.

you know, if i've ever had an unsatisfied customer, whether i worked in a spa or for a finance company or a department store, we had to go above and beyond to try to win them back. but i notice more and more that some companies are choosing to 'lose' clients that 'you can't make everybody happy'. and although i agree with the last statement, it doesn't mean you can't try.

something like that - she really could have injured herself, really. i know the table may not have been super high, but what if that had been my 90 year old client with severe osteoporosis? would a hip fracture make THEM sit up and take notice?

i know i'm ranting here, but the nonchalant (sp?) nature of their response really set me off.. don't guess you'd be willing to let us know the company so that some of us may choose not to purchase from them?

good luck and such
amanda

 

[XCherryGlamX]

gotta agree with you on that one -

in my situation, the table was not mine and the owner of the salon also owns the supply house. the table was replaced, and i'm not sure what all else happened. probably just table replacement.

and, n0, it was just the owner who asked if i'd been jumping on the table.

you know, if i've ever had an unsatisfied customer, whether i worked in a spa or for a finance company or a department store, we had to go above and beyond to try to win them back. but i notice more and more that some companies are choosing to 'lose' clients that 'you can't make everybody happy'. and although i agree with the last statement, it doesn't mean you can't try.

something like that - she really could have injured herself, really. i know the table may not have been super high, but what if that had been my 90 year old client with severe osteoporosis? would a hip fracture make THEM sit up and take notice?

i know i'm ranting here, but the nonchalant (sp?) nature of their response really set me off.. don't guess you'd be willing to let us know the company so that some of us may choose not to purchase from them?

good luck and such
amanda

I agree with you. They need to do more, on principal, besides the fact that my client should be compensated and I should be compensated MORE. I wonder if they are downplaying their response in order to cause me to downplay my feelings about the matter? Like if they start falling over themselves to fix it, I'll think, "oh YEAH, it IS a big deal" and start suing?? Is this a psychological ploy? (I can out-analyze them, lol!)

I am concerned about naming the company on the www. I did PM a moderator with a question about that this morning. It is a very reputable company. If you want to know and the mod says it isn't okay, you can pm or email me. I'm sure it is okay in private correspondence.

 

[eastwoods]

I would honestly not tell them that you have another table, and make sure that you get the point across to them that you do not have confidence in their product enough to put another client on their table. Especially with the worse case scenerio... thankfully this woman wasn't hurt, but someone else could have been. Insist that they give you a full refund, and yes they should compensate for the loss. If they don't I definitely would contact the better business bureau. I figure that both your tables are not from the same company. And if you get a replacement, I would make sure to lay on it myself before putting someone else on it. It would definitely make me paranoid.

Side note... there are some defective tables out there... a classmate of mine got her table home and realized that there was an issue with the wood that it was not sturdy and made a "dunk, dunk" sound when you applied pressure on it... thankfully she did her own testing to the table before putting someone on it. And yes, this came from a very reputable company, they replaced it with no questions asked and took care of the shipping of the old and the new table.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I would honestly not tell them that you have another table, and make sure that you get the point across to them that you do not have confidence in their product enough to put another client on their table. Especially with the worse case scenerio... thankfully this woman wasn't hurt, but someone else could have been. Insist that they give you a full refund, and yes they should compensate for the loss. If they don't I definitely would contact the better business bureau. I figure that both your tables are not from the same company. And if you get a replacement, I would make sure to lay on it myself before putting someone else on it. It would definitely make me paranoid.

Side note... there are some defective tables out there... a classmate of mine got her table home and realized that there was an issue with the wood that it was not sturdy and made a "dunk, dunk" sound when you applied pressure on it... thankfully she did her own testing to the table before putting someone on it. And yes, this came from a very reputable company, they replaced it with no questions asked and took care of the shipping of the old and the new table.

I haven't told them about my other table. I had laid on my table at home, but obviously didn't stress test it. I had given my 19 yo daughter a massage the night before, but she only weighs 92 pounds, so she was no help, lol.

I think now that it is just a defective one that isn't the norm. The company is reputable and has been around a long time. They're sending a call slip and then UPS will pick it up when they deliver the replacement. But you can bet I'll do the sumo wrestler test on it before a client gets on!

Thanks for the input.

 

[silverbullet]

My replacement table came and it looks great. I'm afraid of it, though!!! Tuesday I'll take it to the senior apartments. Wish me luck!

 

[kate86]

Did the replacement table stand up??? I am assuming so since you didn't post another vent about it. I just hope that the 2nd one is a decent quality and the first one was just a fluke.

 

[cybear869]

Did the replacement table stand up??? I am assuming so since you didn't post another vent about it. I just hope that the 2nd one is a decent quality and the first one was just a fluke.

I got the table late last week - Thurs. or Fri?? So far I have done 10 massages on it and it has held up great. I've forgotten to be afraid of it, lol. I haven't had anyone very heavy on it, yet, so that is the next test that will make me nervous, but I really think that was a fluke. I sure hope so! Thanks for asking!