massage staff % they receive

[willfreeman]

normally i see staff receive around half the price of the massage plus the tip i leave from the owner directly upon payment. However today i had a masseuse try and tell me she has to give the entire 250 baht to the shop, ive never heard this before is it true?

[Sparkles]

Probably not true but rarely would they get half.Usually for a 300 baht an hour masssage they might get 100 baht plus the tip.

Of course it varies from shop to shop.No masseuse would work for nothing and only a tip,you would have to be really desperate.

Where I go for a legit massage,I tip 100 baht, the other girls were complaining that some Japanese/ Chinese are quite often tipping 20 baht.

[northernjohn]

Not sure what a real Massage is. My wife has a certificate for over 300 hours of training.

She gave all the money to the shop and they gave her 60% plus of course the tip was her own.

I think to many people rely to much on is it a real massage as to weather it makes them feel good or is it painless.

Just my opinion.

[cyberfarang]

It is true. Some of the staff working the massage parlours in and around the LK area don`t receive percentages of the massage fees, they have to rely on tips and why when male customers refuse the extras offered the women soon lose interest in the massage.

The proper massage parlours at the night market and outside the tourist areas I think 50% of the take is the going rate.

[MadMac]

Usually a basic salary and tips. Not a percentage of the work done. That depends of course on how good the parlour works.

[willfreeman]

Usually a basic salary and tips. Not a percentage of the work done. That depends of course on how good the parlour works.

never heard of them being on salary

[cyberfarang]

Usually a basic salary and tips. Not a percentage of the work done. That depends of course on how good the parlour works.

never heard of them being on salary

It varies depending on the level of professionalism of the parlour.

The spas and parlours that are certificated with trained staff do pay salaries and percentage levels of how many customers they service per day. The usual smelly oil and curtains type parlours with unqualified aged staff only pay a percentage of the fees gained from the customers they service each day. The LK touristry type parlours with the unqualified girls and women standing outside that look like they`re up for more then just a regular massage have to rely on tips only, no percentages of the massage fees and no salaries.

[MadMac]

Usually a basic salary and tips. Not a percentage of the work done. That depends of course on how good the parlour works.

never heard of them being on salary

That's probably the difference if you want to run a massage or a freelancer hangout

[LivinLOS]

An appropriate thread for the "just the tip" responses..

[HaleySabai]

Now I know why the girls are always trying to talk me into an oil massage when all I want is a footie....mmm.

I've heard Thai's refer to "massage" as "water soup" and tend to agree.

[Qman]

^{I have a good friend who has worked at a couple of different legit massage places. For Thai or foot massage she receives either 90 or 100 baht depending of the shop which typically charges 199 per hour. Oil is more so they get more and it somewhat depends on if they provide the oil or if the shop provides. They are paid once or twice a month for their share of the fees. They also work in the shop cleaning, etc. before opening. Tips are a key component of their income and while many give 20 baht they appreciate 100 baht as they provide a personal service which can be tiring when customers want strong massage (typically Asian customers) as it requires a lot of effort. The income level in legit places is not great and they do like return customers and better tips as it makes the effort worth while.}

[MadMac]

For legit massage you pay a base salary, then the tip on top of that. Happy ending depends on the staff.

[Lizard2010]

^{I have a good friend who has worked at a couple of different legit massage places. For Thai or foot massage she receives either 90 or 100 baht depending of the shop which typically charges 199 per hour. Oil is more so they get more and it somewhat depends on if they provide the oil or if the shop provides. They are paid once or twice a month for their share of the fees. They also work in the shop cleaning, etc. before opening. Tips are a key component of their income and while many give 20 baht they appreciate 100 baht as they provide a personal service which can be tiring when customers want strong massage (typically Asian customers) as it requires a lot of effort. The income level in legit places is not great and they do like return customers and better tips as it makes the effort worth while.}

I agree

As the shops i used to use around the night bazar area

Only get a small amount of whatb is paid

They relie on the tips

plus there boss who i have know for many years.

Does feed them through out the day

So they do not go starving

Differant massage shops differant owners differant payments

There is not one that will pay the same to the staff

if you have a good massage give a good tip

if not just a small omount

It is up to you as to what you want to Tip

Juat my 7 1/2 years of using massge shops

i use a local one now as she is the owner and massage lady

So she gets 100% of what she earns and my tip

Just my opion for what its worth

[totally thaied up]

Most girls I know in the Industry earn 1/3 of the price of the massage if they are lucky. Some freelancers (with wondering hands) will get paid nothing and make money from the tip only. Most the girls tell me Chinese will not tip at all and a while ago I was kicked out of one massage shop 10 minutes into my Massage as 7 Israeli guys showed up at once wanting oil massages and I heard the owner tell them (as the place only had 7 rooms) to kick me out as the Israeli guys pay big tips for the girls.

It is a dog eat dog business. LK has a huge amount of Burmese working as well and these girls get paid very little and need to make money on big tips. I do not frequent LK at all anymore. Plenty of other places around that give great massages and good service without the small rooms and smelly beds but in reality, the money these girls make is very little unless they get tips.

[CharlieH]

In my experience, professional places, like Spa's and resort with massage facilities etc the staff are paid a monthly salary and the tips are theirs.

Cheaper, "feel good" shops can and do run it on whatever works best for the owner and the person carrying out the "treatment" probably had half an hour trianing or just watched her mate for awhile before "on the job training" took over.

[connda]

It depends on the shop. Most of the staff and owners that I know split 50-50 and the massage staff keeps the tip. But that's not written in stone. Any gal that tells me that they give everything up to the massage shop is either not being quite truthful, or is a newbie who is being taken advantage of by the owner. It may be 'dog eat dog', but the turn-over is high, and staff tend to move frequently from shop to shop. And owner's blow in and out like the wind.

Edited March 16, 2016 by connda