‘[She said] I was lazy and acting tired’: Massage therapist enforces a no-overtime policy with an entitled client, she responds with a texting tantrum and gets herself blocked

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  • Today I had one of the most entitled clients of my career over one simple boundary the she refused to make sense of

    Man in a beige hoodie talks on a smartphone indoors, looking serious against a softly blurred background.
  • After back-to-back long days, I finally had to enforce a boundary with a client and I genuinely don't know why some people think massage therapists aren't allowed to be human.
  • This happened yesterday.... I've had one of those weeks where every day has been packed. Multiple long sessions, tons of driving between appointments, and by the end of the day my hands and body were definitely feeling it.
  • I love what I do, but I've learned the hard way that if I don't protect my schedule, I end up burning myself out.
  • Because of that, I have a pretty simple policy. I don't take last- minute add-ons once I've already committed to a client's session.
  • Man in a beige hoodie sits on a couch talking on a phone, looking serious in a living room.
  • If someone books 90 minutes, they get my full attention for those 90 minutes, but I don't extend it on the spot anymore.
  • So I finish a client's massage and everything seemed completely normal. She thanked me, told me she felt amazing, and I started packing up my table.
  • That's when she suddenly asked if I could stay another hour. I apologized and told her I couldn't because I had already worked a long day and needed to head home.
  • I explained that I'd be happy to get her scheduled for another appointment if she'd like.
  • Her entire attitude changed. She rolled her eyes and said, "Seriously? Someone your size shouldn't need breaks." I honestly thought I misheard her.
  • I said, "Excuse me?" ●● She doubled down... She said, "You're young. You're a big guy.
  • I don't understand why you're acting tired. If you actually cared about your clients, you'd stay." I just stood there for a second trying to process what she had actually said.
  • I told her, "I'm sorry, but my schedule for today is over. I need to take care of myself too." All irritated she grabbed her phone, and said, "Wow.
  • I'll definitely be telling people how unprofessional this is." I wished her a good evening, loaded my equipment into my car, and left.
  • I figured that would be the end of it. Nope. About twenty minutes later my phone started blowing up.
  • First it was messages saying I was "lazy." Then she told me I "must not need the money." Then she said she hoped I "learn how to treat paying clients." I didn't respond to a single one.
  • I simply blocked her number and moved on with my evening. A few years ago | probably would've felt guilty and questioned whether I should've just stayed.
  • Now? Absolutely the f not. Not even a little. I've realized that protecting your own energy doesn't make you a bad therapist.
  • It makes you someone who actually wants to have a career that's still around five years from now.

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