More Business-Sense Wise Than They Seem or You Believe
[QUOTE=Adobe; 1413722]My 2 cents: Yes the standard may be $40 but a) the tip goes to the house in these places, not the masseuse, and be) if they take $20 and continue to offer HE next time you return that means that the $20 was adequate. Maybe not generous but at least enough. I tip 40 unless the service was truly awful but let's face it, with rare exception these ladies are all about getting us to pop as quickly as possible, within 2 to 5 minutes if possible. I don't know anyonw who gets paid 40 for 5 minutes. Or let's say 10 minutes of "milking". That's like 240 an hour! Add in a 50 door fee and you're talking about 90 for a so-so massage from a middle-aged lady who probably gets better bonuses (if any) from Mamasan based on repeat business rather than the occasional big tipper.
Not so! Adobe, I know for a fact that the Chinese masseuses in the greater Boston area specifically, get to automatically keep a minimum 25 percent or fifteen dollars to as much as forty percent or twenty four dollars on your atypical 60 dollar, one hour massage. It is all worked out prior to their hiring. It's what determines, among other things, whether they even want to work at the place or not. These ladies aren't hired by the spa in the usual sense of other jobs; an opening is spread by word of mouth or an advertisement placed in a free street vending machine, Chinese or Korean magazine (similar to the Phoenix) , they inquire, and decide for themselves if they want to work there, if they like the deal.
When the opening is available, it means the Mamasans are losing money daily so they arent exactly too particular, too scrutinous, too difficult with their hiring requirements. They just need a body. And fast. To get the money flowing again. Who ever applies first and can start soonest and will cooperate with the deal and the rules, gets the job. Simple as that. Short, fat, tall, pretty, ugly, young, old, it's all arbitrary to the Mamasan, she has seen a lot of ladies come and go and that is how it has and always will be in this business. There are few favorites. Remember this is criminal for most places, and quasi-criminal for the rest. There are few completely one hundred percent legitimate places. It's not like applying for a job at Home Depot.
This percentage workout has been true since the last six or so years, too. That is why the ladies move so often from place to place, there is always a better deal, better or busier store, better, kinder, more generous Mamasan or owner around the corner, and the ladies know this and exploit these options when they feel they need to. I am friends with several masseuses, and in the past three owners, and two Mamasans. They have revealed the "ancient Chinese secret" to me. Those fifteen to 24 dollars are the ladies' commission to keep. The balance is to pay the bills and rent and buy house food. The half hour breakdown is usually only five to ten dollars for the masseuse, the rest house. Or else, why would anyone hang around all day for 12 to 14 hours (for some of them,) waiting for a customer and working their way through a two, three or even four girl rotation to get their next shot? Nobody works for free.
And they keep all (one hundred percent) of their tips. And they are fed by Mama for free as well. Many to most don't pay taxes either, or have a bank account or a credit card. They live underground so to speak. Pay cash for everything. Send most of their money home in 900 or so dollar wire transfers. Buy pawnable items, like jewelry etc. You may beat them once with a low tip, fool them once, but believe me they are savvy and they will remember you, and most likely the next time you get them, they will either short change you on time, give you a purposefully inferior massage or deny you the HE until you promise 40 or better thru hard, pre-touch (but some tease) negotiations, some asking for the dough up front even or others blocking the door after etc. They will get even with you if they care to. Perhaps, this lady didn't, but many others do. This way, even if they only get one customer on any given day, they will still yield fiftyfive or so dollars, which divided by 12 hours is still only minimum wage, however should they get lucky and have two, three, or four or more customers in a day and all tipping forty, that day's salary could be as much as an enginerer, lawyer, professor etc.
The business is feast or famine, chicken or feather, peanut or shell, take the good with the bad, but since many work nearly 365 days a year, it ultimately stills pays for them.
In summation, the best advice is to never go back to a place where you were not happy, where you low-tipped, and to just find one or two, places that you are always happy with, and make them your go to places and just tip the regular amount, that most of us know, on most sessions and a little bit better on the more quality sessions. You can not win this maximum for the minimum game. Perhaps a victory here or there, but ultimately if you keep up at this hobby, you will realize that you will be forced to pay competitive market rates for tips and / or realize it is time to stop going. This is sort of a game, for the masseuses, but NOT for the customer. Don't try to play it better than them, they are much more business smart than they appear to you. Some can get friend discounts, but most aren't at that level. If you want to play games that you can win at, the streetwalker scene allows much more angles to play and can be a more win-able game (albeit dangerous) for those with experience and finesse. But given the LE climate lately, I'm personally done with the street scene, even if some extremely low prices and high mileage can be gained from it.
