Not getting consistently "amazing" feedback from clients
Long story ahead, with a request for thoughts/advice at the end! I appreciate anyone that takes the time to read :)
I'm a new RMT, and have been working just over a year as an independent contractor, building up to full-time. I work at two different establishments, and I have several regulars at both. I feel fairly confident in my work most days, though I am definitely still learning. I was trained in general swedish massage, with electives in myofascial and prenatal. Just for context.
Now for the part I'm looking for perspectives/advice on. I had a confusing experience with a new member of the managerial staff at the upscale spa I work at. She blocked off an hour in the middle of my schedule one day (without telling me) to chat about my treatments.
During this meeting, she told me that my clients "don't have any negative feedback, and often have positive feedback, but are not raving" about my massages. She said that when receptionists ask how the clients treatment was, they say "good" but they don't say "amazing" or "best massage of my life", and that that should be the goal for the practitioners here.
I was initially confused, because just in the last week the receptionists have forwarded me feedback from two different clients saying I'd given them the best massage of their life. I've had clients tell me that to my face, and I've had other clients otherwise rave about the massage I had given them. I have also had clients say their treatment was "good" or not say anything at all about their treatment other than that they feel relaxed, or that x body part feels better/less sore. I've also definitely had clients who don't really say anything after their treatment other than discuss their homecare with me and thank me. I felt it was strange that she specifically said none of my clients rave about me, but wondered if perhaps to management, the "raving" feedback is being overshadowed by the "just okay" feedback ...?
She then said it would be helpful if I demonstrated a massage on her so that she could give me tips/pointers and maybe figure out where I could improve. I said sure. She wanted me to perform a "basic routine" and wanted to be prone the whole time. After the massage she said "honestly, your massage is beautiful, and you're very strong. But where I think you could improve is during your transitions. When you're doing compressions over the blanket, push really hard. When you're rocking them, rock really hard. When you're tractioning, traction hard. Be confident. Give them a firm handshake when you greet them and let them know you're in control. Tell them that they need to make a follow up appointment and explain how to do that. That goes a long way with client retention." I said okay, I get that, I can do that. She then went on to describe several techniques that a new RMT they'd just hired used on her during her practical, and how it felt good/imparted confidence. I didn't know they'd hired a new RMT. I thanked her for her feedback and she finished by saying basically like you're really good, just be confident, you know your stuff, you go girl.
I left this interaction feeling weirdly shaken and ironically less confident. I always felt like getting "good" but not "amazing" feedback from some clients was pretty normal/expected, and that I can't expect to wow every single person on my table. But, I've been reflecting on this a lot the last few days and now I'm worried that I'm not as good a therapist as I think I am, and that if you're really good, you should be getting incredible feedback nearly every single time. I'm curious to hear other massage therapists' thoughts on this.
Do you get rave reviews from (*nearly*) every single client?
Do most of your clients tell you that it was the best massage they've ever had?
And, if you are an independent contractor working at a clinic/spa, are you occasionally expected to provide uncompensated massages during your workday to managerial staff if they are not happy with your performance?