Membership FAQ
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and our answers to them. Hopefully they’ll help in making your own decision:
- What if I buy [any plan] and you guys go out of business?
- What happens to my existing prepaid instruments? (Special Gift Certificates and Six Packs.)
- What happens if I don’t select any plan now? Am I locked out forever?
- What’s to stop you from increasing your “intro rate” to a ridiculous level?
- If I choose [any plan] can I upgrade later on?
- Can I “downgrade”?
- What if I buy a Prime plan and I die? Or I get a divorce? Or I move away and can’t use the sessions?
- With a Prime Membership, can I share the “additional massage” special pricing?
- What happens if I can’t use all of my free massages on a Prime Membership I was given for any particular year? Will they roll over to the next year?
- I bought the Prime Silver where I get 13 sessions a year. Do I have to come in once a month? Or can I do two hour massages every other month? Are there limitations to how I can schedule my massages?
- You guys at ITBM did something really stupid and I don’t want to give you my business any more. Can I get a refund of what I paid for [any plan]?
- When I had the Special Gift Certificates I could just walk out the door when I was done with the massage and not stand in line to pay. Now I have to pay every time I come in!
- I have the “Service Member” discount. Should I consider a membership?
- If I choose not to have a membership . . . can I still get massages from you guys?
What if I buy [any plan] and you guys go out of business?
This is obviously a valid concern when you’re using terms like “lifetime” and “for the rest of your life.” (For example, 30 years ago, would you forecast Sears & Roebuck headed for insolvency?)
April nor I have any plans in the foreseeable future to close / shutter / sell the business. Frankly, this is our livelihood and our profession. ITBM pays our bills, it keeps a lot of great people employed, and we get to service tremendous customers (whom we feel — and strive to treat — like family)
If for nothing more than the completely self-centered reasons above, we do everything in our power to keep the company moving forward. One of the reasons for going to a membership style program is a belief that it will provide a more stable cash flow — critical for any small business. We’re laying the groundwork for future operations and growth.
Yadda yadda yadda, we can hear you say. What if you go out of business?
Yes, absolutely, that’s always a risk. The government can pass some edict which would put us out of business overnight. A disaster could strike, destroying our physical space and equipment, severely handicapping our ability to provide services. Something we can’t even possibly imagine could occur and we’d be powerless to do anything about it. If we’re going to ask you to trust us that we’re going to take care of you for a “lifetime,” then we should be up front that our plan to deliver that promise . . . is our word.
It comes down to the amount of risk you’re willing to take. Do you believe we’re going to continue to offer the same quality of services for the next 30+ years (and then after)? Then take a risk, go big, grab one of the Prime memberships, and never pay for another massage! Big risk up front on your part, but a potential ton of savings in the long run!
If you’re on the other end of the scale, where you don’t gamble with your money, but you still want to save, then go with the $69 Select Annual. The worst thing that could happen is we’ll go out of business in less than that year. In the long run, you’ll pay more for your sessions in total, but if that allows you to sleep better at night knowing you don’t have a huge chunk of money on the line, then that’s the plan for you!
What happens to my existing prepaid instruments? (Special Gift Certificates and Six Packs.)
Any money you’ve given us in the past will always be honored.
Think of the Select Annual and the Select Lifetime memberships as “pay as you go” plans. Under those plans every time you come in to see us, you’ll be asked to pay for your session. If you have any prepaid instruments in your account, those can be used to settle your account.
For those on a Prime Membership (“free massages!”) those prepaids can be used to pay for any sessions above and beyond the amount you paid for. For example, if you pick the Prime Bronze Level you get 7 free massages a year. If you get an 8th massage, you can pay for it out of pocket or use a prepaid instrument to take care of it.
And, obviously, they can be given away to friends and family, too!
Here are a couple of handy tables that will show you what massages will cost based on the different level of memberships (or even if you don’t have a membership) and what a Special Gift Certificate will do for those sesions:
| One Hour "Non-Specialty" LMT Session Cost on 1/1/19 | Special Gift Certificates / Six Packs Will Cover How Much Of That? | |
|---|---|---|
| No Membership | 65.00 | The gift certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Select Annual | 50.00 | The gift certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Select Lifetime | 50.00 | The gift certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Prime Gold | 0.00 for first 26 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Prime Titanium | 0.00 for first 39 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Prime Platinum | 0.00 for first 52 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| One Hour "Specialty" LMT Session Cost on 1/1/19 | Special Gift Certificates / Six Packs Will Cover How Much Of That? | |
|---|---|---|
| No Membership | 65.00 | A special gift cert will cover the first 45.00. There would be a balance due of 20.00. |
| Select Annual | 65.00 | A special gift cert will cover the first 45.00. There would be a balance due of 20.00. |
| Select Lifetime | 65.00 | A special gift cert will cover the first 45.00. There would be a balance due of 20.00. |
| Prime Gold | 0.00 for first 26 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Prime Titanium | 0.00 for first 39 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
| Prime Platinum | 0.00 for first 52 under plan year, then 50.00 for the rest of the plan year | If all free sessions are used, a Special Gift Certificate will cover the entire cost. |
What happens if I don’t select any plan now? Am I locked out forever?
Prime Memberships are available at any time, but only 22 total Prime customers can be enrolled at the same time.
As of September 2018, we no longer offer a Bronze or Silver level Prime membership.
- Our Gold Prime is $5000 and we’ll credit your account with 26 hours of massage every year for the rest of your life.
- Our Titanium Prime is $7500 and we’ll credit your account with 39 hours of massage every year for the rest of your life.
- Our Platinum Prime is $10,000 and we’ll credit your account with 52 hours of massage every year for the rest of your life.
| Prime Memberships In Effect | Prime Memberships Available |
|---|---|
| 22 | 0 |
As of September 1, 2018, there is no longer an “open window” requirement to join the the Select Memberships. Anyone may join the Select Memberships at any time.
What’s to stop you from increasing your “intro rate” to a ridiculous level?
If we increase the intro rate beyond the industry standard that wouldn’t make any business sense. We’d be turning away new customers. New customers help us grow.
On January 1, 2019, we will be raising the price of our Intro Rate session to $50.00.
If I choose [any plan] can I upgrade later on?
Absolutely!
For the Select Membership you can upgrade from the Annual to either the Select Lifetime or one of the Prime Memberships. We would prorate what you paid for the Annual Membership towards a new plan. For example, let’s say you paid $69 for an Annual Plan on October 1, but decide on January 1 you want to go with the Lifetime. You used 3 months of the Annual plan. $69/12 month = $5.75 X 3 Months = $17.25 We would credit $51.75 ($69 – 17.25) towards the Select Lifetime or any Prime Membership. (But it would be our advice not to do this kind of upgrade. Just wait until your Select membership expires. You’ve already paid for the year!)
If you upgrade from a Select Lifetime to a Prime, we would prorate it over a 36 month schedule, with each month being $5.50. If you were 18 months into your Select Lifetime, we’d calculate 18 months X $5.50 = $99, deduct that from the $199 you paid, and you’d have a $100 credit to apply towards any Prime Membership.
In upgrading from one Prime Membership level to a higher one, we’d ask you to wait until the anniversary date of your original purchase. Then you would pay the difference between the two levels. Upon the anniversary, we’d then add the appropriate number of free massages to your account of the upgraded level.
Can I “downgrade”?
No.
What if I buy a Prime plan and I die? Or I get a divorce? Or I move away and can’t use the sessions?
Each plan has one “owner.” That’s established at the time of purchase. We record the owner’s name as the person who bought it. (If you want a different owner, the time to tell us is when the plan is purchased. The plans are not transferable after that point.)
Prime Memberships would end upon the death of the plan owner.
The owner of the plan can allow anyone to use the free sessions from a Prime Membership, including an ex-partner. Only the owner can specify who uses the membership — and that permission can be granted / revoked at any time.
Prime Memberships will continue to accrue free sessions for the lifetime of the owner. If the owner is unavailable for any reason (including not physically being able to get to our office), those sessions can be used by anyone the owner specifies.
With a Prime Membership, can I share the “additional massage” special pricing?
If all of the free sessions in a Prime Membership have been used, additional sessions can be purchased for the then-lowest intro rate available. Those special pricing sessions can only be shared with any individual who has been allowed to share a free session in that plan year.
For example: John and Mary have a Prime Bronze and they get 7 free massages every year. They share one of those with their son, Jack. About 9 months into the year, they’ve run out of those 7 free massages. John and Mary are able to get additional massages for whatever the then-lowest intro rate price. Since John and Mary shared one of their free massages with Jack, Jack can have as many intro-priced sessions as he wishes until the end of the plan year. If John and Mary don’t share a free massage with Jack in that next year, Jack would not be able to get a session at the intro-rate under John and Mary’s plan. Jack would need to have his own membership plan at that point.
What happens if I can’t use all of my free massages on a Prime Membership I was given for any particular year? Will they roll over to the next year?
Yes.
We can see where an illness or injury may incapacitate you for an extended period of time. The credits we gave you won’t expire. You’ll be able to use them once you’re up and running again.
I bought the Prime Silver where I get 13 sessions a year. Do I have to come in once a month? Or can I do two-hour massages every other month? Are there limitations to how I can schedule my massages?
You may schedule your freebie appointments however you wish! If instead of once a month, you decide to do a two-hour session six times a year, go for it! (And then save that other hour for something special!)
You could schedule all 13 of those sessions so that you came in every day for nearly two weeks if you wanted to. Each session after you’ve used all of the allotted massages would be priced at the then-current intro rate.
You guys at ITBM did something really stupid and I don’t want to give you my business any more. Can I get a refund of what I paid for [any plan]?
No, all membership sales are final and there are no refunds.
Please, please consider carefully before handing us a bucket of money.
When I had the Special Gift Certificates I could just walk out the door when I was done with the massage and not stand in line to pay. Now I have to pay every time I come in!
You can always leave a credit card on file with us. We’ll simply charge your card with every visit and you won’t have to stand in line at all!
I have the “Service Member” discount. Should I consider a membership?
Having a Service Member discount is just like having one of the Select Memberships. You automatically get our best rate on one-hour sessions with a Licensed Massage Therapist. Unless you want the ability to book three months in advance instead of two (which is available in the Select Lifetime) there wouldn’t be an advantage to purchasing a Select Membership.
The Prime Memberships would give you free massages every year from the rest of your life. The sessions are shareable with anyone you’d like. You can book from six to twelve months in advance. And if you need more than the number of free massages which come with the plan you choose, you would then pay whatever our best rate for a one-hour session is at the time.
If I choose not to have a membership . . . can I still get massages from you guys?
Why, of course you can! You do not need any membership to visit us! The memberships are simply a way to save you money in the long run.