Clarification of previous post
Bacon Bits: Sorry, when I submitted the post, it originally had a title mentioning which place I meant (Brook) I got a message that I'd been timed out (the Twain factor.) I had to go back, log back in, and paste the body of the post into the template again. I neglected to re-enter the title at the same time, leading to the confusion.
PWH figured it out, so thanks there. PWH: The lady with the expensive-looking eyewear currently at 329 came in with the new spa some time after the name changed. I'm pretty sure her name is Wendy.
Needham appears to be one big tease now?
[QUOTE=TravisBooth; 1593021]Recovering lurker here, chiming in for the first time because I may have some useful data points.
I tried this place when it was new. To my surprise, I found the same two ladies (Vicky and Helen) who had previously been at 329 across town, a couple of years ago when the name of that place was different.
I had seen each a few times at 329. Both gave good massage. Helen's English is a bit challenged, and she's older (late 50s. More?) but Vicky, who's about 32 now, was easy to talk to compared to most AMP workers. I got to know her life story (at least the USA part) pretty well, and the conversations were always animated.
Both ladies gave off fairly clear indications that they were not R+T types; I chose to take them at their word. Maybe a mistake, maybe not, but in any case I liked them enough to not push the issue. It wasn't because I'm so noble that I wouldn't have gone for it had the signals been different.
I've now seen them each a couple more times at the new place. On one occasion, Helen told me that business had been slow, because "most men come for special massage. I am scared special massage. Don't want trouble." Another time Vicky heard some conversation through the wall, excused herself, and knocked on the door of the adjacent room, where Helen was working. There were some terse words exchanged. She returned wearing an exasperated look. Apparently the guy in the other room had been pushing hard for extras. Vicky had overheard (she was at the far end of the table, closer to the common wall than I was) and intervened to put the kabosh on the situation.
So it's hard to say what's afoot in the new venue. One possibility is that they are in fact bait-and-switching, using Vicky as the bait for return visits, and having her act frisky enough to entice folks into return visits, but ultimately not allowing much beyond either nothing at all, or the dreaded DIY. Another possibility is that she behaves differently with different customers, depending upon whether or not she might find them attractive enough to behave more suggestively (or even gratifyingly) than she has ever done with me. I'm not butt-ugly, but I am older than she is, and in any case I'd need to be pretty narcissistic to not entertain the possibility.
That having been said, there are a few factors that point towards less going on at the new shop, rather than more. For example, did anyone try the place when they briefly had an old guy working there? Holy shit! Helen sent him in to me to give him something to do one time while she was finishing the linen change in another room. Five free minutes, or whatever. I'm lying face down (or, more importantly, ass-up?) and in comes a dude who looks like he could be Helen's older brother. I'm not talking about some Thai shemale batwanger here. This was an undisguised, straight-up grandpa, about to lunge thumbs-first for my pale, hairy glutes. Talk about awkward. I told them I was all set. I don't think he lasted long.
Another less harrowing factor is that the two ladies have worked together for at least three years, and they look out for each other, and seem to observe a strictly non-competetive rotation with walk-ins (whoever's up next is up, so they earn equally.) They have also both recently become citizens. Vicky proudly showed me pictures of her ceremony during my second visit. So they may not want to risk legal trouble. When Vicky was at 329, she was taking classes at a local college, so she clearly has an eye towards life after bodywork. And although the other member engaged in some mutual touching, which is promising, her sudden loss of English skills at crunch time may be a bad sign. Her English is, if not fluent, very definitely functional. There is little doubt that after a few years in the massage game, she has learned both the words and gestures that we use to express how we want to spend the last 10-15 minutes of our hour.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe business has been slow, and word has come down from Corporate that it's time to up the ante. I hope so.
In any case, understand that I am not trying to discourage anybody from shooting for the stars (or at least the ceiling) at this shop. I would hate to hurt the business traffic at a clean place where there are two very nice ladies trying to scratch out a living. The out-of-the-way location is absolutely perfect for a true R+T (at least on weekends) and if it turns out to be one, it might actually last awhile, tucked away as it is from the prying eyes of complaint lodgers and moral crusaders.
I'll admittedly feel a little jealous if I find out that I've been too polite over the course of 8 or 9 visits spread over 5 years, but I'll get over it quickly if the rules have in fact changed. Even if they haven't, it's sometimes a good experience to just get a straight massage from someone you can actually engage in small talk without that blank, RCA Victor dog look that you get when a lady speaks absolutely no English. As long as you know going in that those are the rules. That's how I've treated the two places where V+H have worked.
To wrap up: If Vicky does stick with no, keep in mind that, small as she is, she is trained in martial arts. During one visit, she entertained me with a pretty hair-raising account of a street brawl she'd been in back in China, where she sent one of the young ladies who'd ganged up on her to the hospital,"bleeding out of her vagina."
Talk about the dreaded Kung-Fu grip.[/QUOTE]It has been about 5-6 years since I had any good luck in Needham. That was at the place on Gr Plain blv. Mary used to work out of Aamp Grove st in Newton. Needham &Wellesley just don't seem to make sense for R&T kinda places now. The worry is Newton will totally be there too in the next year or so.
Newton is a bigger town but the AMP scene appears leaning more towards legit to DIY, more than previously encountered.
The Aamp scene has been past peak for several years too.
AMP on Chestnut st across from McDonald's I didn't go back again, I got an excellent massage and some 'cues" and teases but all I could get was DIY w surrounding area assist contact, which I think is total BS.
That is not a rare phenomenon to think you are getting a good finish to just get a DIY. Then you have to decide yourself to go back. My past experiences seem to have DIY outweigh more. Including the return with more "teasing" visits which makes the process frustrating.
The latest place in Needham appears DIY at most.
Maybe when you get your 10th stamped on the card?
Vicky is a kinda pretty for the local standards. Vicky is nice and gives a good massage, yes she is strong too as stated above.
The older lady is very nice too.
Be nice to these folks if you visit.
I the go back there again for the massage.
