A Massage Envy in West Chester, Pennsylvania, one of the almost 1,200 locations nationwide, had Susan Ingram lie facedown in the dark. Her eighth visit with James Deiter, a massage therapist the spa had highly recommended, was about to take place. Deiter had earned Ingram’s trust by this point, and she relaxed while he manipulated her muscles. Deiter then pressed his erected penis into Ingram’s flesh without any prior notice. While doing this, he rubbed his hands along her breasts. He inserted his fingers into her vagina and pulled them back out.
Until the end of the session, Ingram remained frozen in terror and unbelief. She reported the sexual assault to the spa after driving home in tears. Deiter was having a session with a female client when Ingram approached the manager and demanded to speak with the spa’s owner.
To the right is Susan Ingram.
She subsequently recalled in court, “I stated to her, ‘Nicole, he inserted his fingers in my vagina less than an hour ago.'” Deiter’s client was still in the massage room, and she urged the management to remove her immediately. He said, “She stated she couldn’t do it and welcomed me in to discuss my services.”
Frustrated, Ingram dialed 911 and police arrived to speak with Deiter. It didn’t take him long to admit to abusing not only Ingram but also other Massage Envy clients. He admitted, “I need help.” The following year, Deiter admitted to sexually assaulting nine different women between the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015 while employed at Massage Envy.
Nicole, he stuck his fingers in my vagina less than an hour ago,’ I told her. “Nicole”
According to court documents, two of those ladies had attempted to warn the spa about Deiter prior to Ingram’s arrival. Ingram’s assault was reported to the spa by a lady who claimed that Deiter had touched her genitals three months earlier. Earlier this month, another woman came forward to say that Ingram had caressed her breasts. For the same reason Ingram’s allegations weren’t believed by the spa, both ladies refused to return to the spa for an in-person discussion of what happened. They’d be quizzed by attorneys later on why the spa owner and another clinic manager decided to charge someone with sexual assault just because they were prepared for her return to the location of the incident.
“I thought it was appropriate,” the owner claimed, “since I was following Massage Envy’s rules.”
As the country’s first and largest massage franchise company, Massage Envy makes good on its promises of reliable services at a fair price. However, according to BuzzFeed News, more than 180 lawsuits, police reports, and state board complaints have been made against Massage Envy spas, their personnel, and the national firm. Many customers, like Susan Ingram, complain that Massage Envy spa personnel, owners, and the national company all messed up or ignored their complaints.
Women reported digital and oral penetration in the tens of thousands. One woman in Oregon said that her massage therapist ejaculated in her face after forcing his full hand into her vagina. A woman in Florida said she pushed her massage therapist away from her vagina as he licked it. 100 people indicated their massage therapists had touched them inappropriately, such as the California woman who opened her eyes to find her masseuse sucking on her nipple during her pregnant massage.
“I thought it was appropriate because I was following Massage Envy’s rules.”
There are tens of millions of services that Massage Envy claims its franchises have delivered, yet these claims represent just a fraction of that total. Lawsuits filed by angry spa customers’ lawyers tell BuzzFeed News that despite more women reporting massage therapist abuse to police, no one is ever arrested. They also say Massage Envy spas sometimes offer a settlement before a lawsuit is filed, which means the case goes away from the public record entirely. According to statistics, the majority of people who are sexually assaulted do not come forward. Despite this, Massage Envy’s own employee orientation document warns new hires that “Only 4 percent of dissatisfied consumers will inform you when there is a problem.”
Because of “pending litigation” and the sensitivity of the information, Massage Envy declined to answer specific inquiries from BuzzFeed News. The business’s general counsel, Melanie Hansen, claimed the company had worked hard to build “the industry’s most demanding, exacting rules” for hiring, vetting, and educating massage therapists. For her, treating customers well and providing them with a safe, professional experience are the most important things. She told BuzzFeed News that “we hold franchise owners accountable for our policies.”
However, according to a BuzzFeed News investigation, the company’s standards on reporting unethical behavior serve more to protect the company’s reputation than to ensure that consumer complaints are handled properly.. Customers have been subjected to appalling abuse, only to have their complaints ignored while the therapists responsible for the abuse have been permitted to keep their licenses unaffected.
“Treating customers with respect is really essential to us.”
Most states do not require massage centers to report alleged sexual assaults that occur on their premises. Despite this, industry experts say massage therapists have an obligation to deal with the problem as completely and quickly as feasible. According to the American Massage Therapy Association, “any massage therapist who crosses the line to inappropriate touch should face the legal implications.” “Anyone who feels there may be inappropriate activity should notify the local police immediately,” the group advised those affected.
If someone says, “Someone placed their finger in my vagina,” you call the police, argues Ben Benjamin, coauthor of the renowned book The Ethics of Touch.
It’s important for massage professionals to advise clients who believe they have been victimized to report it to police enforcement or state regulating bodies, massage experts say. Advocacy groups for victims’ rights urged that facilities should make their reporting protocols clear and appoint particularly qualified, independent consultants if criminal allegations occur.
Infatuation with a massage The franchising of spas does not necessitate any of these actions. The firm does not require its franchisees to notify law enforcement or to hire experienced investigators to help determine what happened, save in the few places where local laws may require it. All allegations, including rape, are treated the same regardless of seriousness.
Any such concerns must be investigated “promptly, fairly, and thoroughly,” according to the company’s instructions to franchisees. This book does not tell you how to do anything.
Spas’ experiences can vary significantly, but former franchise owners and staff from California to Maryland said they didn’t feel equipped to handle such situations on their own.
Kendra Simone, a former operations director at Massage Envy spas who handled more than a dozen locations from 2010 to 2016, said, “Honestly, they don’t prepare you for such a serious issue.” They taught how to prevent problems from “escalating” into bad publicity, but they didn’t learn how to look into criminal activity, according to this employee.
According to a former employee, the policy of the company “is not in place to protect the client.” “It’s there to keep the firm safe.”
According to Kate Hardy, a front desk associate and subsequently clinic manager in Montana from 2014 to 2017, the internal review procedure “is not in place to protect the client.” Kate Hardy claimed. “It’s there to keep the business safe. In order to keep the client from contacting the authorities, the focus is on de-escalating the issue. There’s nothing worse than having police walk up at your door the next day.
Simone asserted that there were no sexual assault allegations against any of her spas. Assuming something like this happened, did she have complete faith that the managers in charge of those sites would handle it effectively and have the skills necessary to do so? “I don’t think so,” says the expert.
For its part, Massage Envy argues it isn’t responsible for sexual assaults that occur at its franchised locations in court documents and public remarks. The day-to-day operations of spas are at the control of Hansen, including how to investigate unethical behavior.
However, attorneys representing former Massage Envy customers have a different take. Even though the spas are privately owned, they argue that the parent company is responsible for training employees in Massage Envy policies, establishing operational standards such as the need to conduct internal investigations, and monitoring the results of those investigations, and as a result, the parent company should be held liable for any violations of those policies that result in injuries to clients.
Massage Envy Franchising does not appear to have ever faced a sexual assault victim in open court. The civil lawsuit filed by Ingram could lead to a different outcome. In January, her trial is set to begin.
Meanwhile, clients of Massage Envy spas are still being sexually abused. Some companies have continued to employ massage therapists despite receiving multiple complaints about their conduct. Others have quietly terminated therapists without informing law enforcement or state regulating bodies of their misdeeds, allowing the therapists to move on to new professional possibilities with a clean record of their own doing so.
Although Deiter is still working as a massage therapist, Ingram still questions whether she would be if she hadn’t gone to the police on her own.
Ingram called Massage Envy his “partner in crime.” “They had numerous opportunities to have him removed from his position, but they decided not to do so.”
It wasn’t until 2002 that massage therapists and health club co-owners wondered if they could use a monthly subscription model for massages as an affordable alternative to upscale day spas and seedy parlors. They found that they could. Massage Envy became the world’s largest massage franchise over the next decade as the multitrillion-dollar spa and wellness industry exploded. Americans now spend over $12 billion on massage therapy alone.
After buying Carl’s Jr. and Arby’s in 2011, Roark Capital, a private equity group, acquired Massage Envy in 2012. The Arizona-based franchise network now employs 20,000 massage therapists, generates over $1.3 billion in sales annually, and has 1.6 million members across the country, including those in Australia, which joined the network recently. According to a 2016 report by research firm IBISWorld, Massage Envy still has a 67% share of the franchised day spa industry despite the emergence of competitors. When it comes to “best franchises to purchase,” the chain shines at tapping on the “self-care” craze by selling its services, which now include skin care, as “body maintenance” rather than a luxury. The purple-logoed stores of Massage Envy have become a common sight in strip malls.
Massage Envy has a market share of 67% of the day spa franchise market.
Earlier this year, a young Florida woman sued Massage Envy for putting his finger in her vagina. While testifying, she claimed to have great faith in the company’s product and services.
It occurred to her that Massage Envy is a well-known company, and she had previously received massages from them. “They’re like Publix, you see them all over,” she said.
“One of the fastest growing franchises” in a multibillion-dollar market, Massage Envy tells prospective owners and investors that “now is the right time to profit on the unparalleled growth and demand,” according to the company’s web presence. Research demonstrates that massage colleges are graduating fewer qualified therapists to take employment created by Massage Envy and its competitors than ever before. According to several industry insiders, franchisees can no longer be as picky about who they hire as they once were.
The corporation claims that the franchise model has a “long and noble” history in American industry, despite the fact that it restricts the role it can play in the day-to-day operations of any spa.
As Hansen pointed out, “many of the most well-known service brands in the world operate in a franchise context,” including those in the restaurant and hotel industries, as well as senior care and daycare services.
However, Gina Liccardo, a massage therapist in New York City, claims that model does not apply to her profession. There’s no way you can compare running a fast-food restaurant to putting your hands on someone’s body, she insisted. “
According to attorney Adam Horowitz, who has sued Massage Envy on behalf of scores of clients, placing new hires under the supervision of managers and owners who may have no prior experience with massage is a particularly risky move.
Get a massage and you’re entirely unguarded” This isn’t what you expected.”
An unusual number of people are attracted to massage therapy because of sexual curiosity,’ says Horowitz, who used to represent victims of the Catholic Church’s sex abuse. “The massage room offers opportunities just like the priesthood did. When you receive a massage, you let all of your defenses down. The last thing you expected was to be violated.
Kayla Seely, a former director of operations for four Massage Envy facilities on the East Coast, questioned the concept that the business model of Massage Envy is particularly risky. According to her, “there are dishonest people in every field.” “Nothing you do will ever be able to prevent anything from happening 100 percent of the time.”
When it came to ensuring that therapists “understood every protocol inside and out,” she claimed Massage Envy did everything they could. Everyone who works at Massage Envy must pass background checks and be made aware of the company’s strict zero-tolerance policy, which prohibits anything “that infers sexual suggestiveness or explicit sexuality,” including inappropriate touching and acts. An internal database keeps track of all therapists who have broken the policy, so they can’t work at a Massage Envy spa again.
This company admits that sexual assault is still a danger despite these precautions. A company’s employee will break the law at some point, no matter what policies it has in place. To protect themselves and the national firm, Massage Envy asks franchisees to purchase an insurance rider that covers at least three sexual assault claims each year, according to a franchise agreement examined by BuzzFeed News.
Massage Envy’s Spa Brand could be badly impacted, although just one question has been designated “important.”
According to Hansen, if franchisees do not adhere to Massage Envy’s regulations, “our right as franchisor is generally restricted to the enforcement of our contractual rights under the franchise agreement (and other associated agreements), including, when appropriate, terminating the franchise”. The policies on inappropriate conduct have led to the termination of more than 20 franchise agreements, she claims.
The company’s top executives have been worried for a long time that the media would discover the problem’s national breadth, according to a former corporate employee who requested anonymity under a nondisclosure agreement. According to this source, senior officials discussed the ramifications of “connecting the dots” on the number of sexual assaults that have taken place around the country.
However, the employee claimed that “they never worked out a solution” while he was there.
According to a newly filed court filing in Susan Ingram’s lawsuit, at least one risk management training advised franchisees that the purpose when investigating accusations is “to avoid police and preserve membership”.
BuzzFeed News uncovered a 2014 communication handbook that advises staff experiencing crises to ask themselves, “Who is responsible?” When it happened the first time, did you think it would happen again? The clinic, my guests/members, or the clinic will be impacted by this decision.
In bold print, there’s only one question: “Could it have a negative influence on the Massage Envy Spa Brand?”
Massage Envy employee Danielle Dick was sexually attacked in October 2015 when she was seized by the scalp, lips covered and her fingers inserted. After that, he called it “our little secret” and told Dick.
Dick notified the desk manager of the assault right away. Dick told BuzzFeed News that it was “obvious that she had no idea what to do”. As one observer put it, “she was dazed and confused.”
As far as the manager was concerned, there was no need for Dick to go to the cops because the franchise would take care of the situation on its own. On the following day, a spa employee called Dick and apologized for charging her since she was “unhappy with the massage session.”
When everything resumed as usual, Dick’s entire existence was flipped upside down. She went to the police and reported the therapist on her own. Massage Envy still refers to the incident as a “alleged” attack, Dick said, despite the fact that he was convicted of criminal sexual battery the following year.
Dick initiated a Change.org petition in October, and it garnered over 50,000 signatures by the end of the month. Later, Massage Envy’s corporate office told the local press that it had contacted her “to continue to listen and better grasp her concerns and ideas.” Massage Envy.
When the corporation found out Dick had gone public, it contacted her, but they also let her know they were considering legal action, she told BuzzFeed News. This month, Hansen plans to meet with Dick to discuss the situation further.
It’s possible that we’ll have a worthwhile discussion. As Dick put it, “the way Massage Envy has treated me obviously suggests a firm that produces statements saying the appropriate things to protect its corporate reputation, but is unwilling to do anything for victims of abuse.”
There is a picture of Hansen on the screen when Massage Envy’s mandatory training curriculum, “Behind Closed Doors,” is shown to prospective staff. They must know how to handle allegations of inappropriate conduct, she says the franchisees and managers. All of those things can be accomplished with the help of this instruction.
It’s important to address a client’s issues “in a safe and secure setting in order to retain them as a valued client while avoiding negative attention” when they make an accusation against a therapist.
This guest’s “demeanor or any other behavior that may go towards believability” is geared at managers. Massage Envy’s zero-tolerance policy requires that any therapist accused of violating it be immediately suspended while the management conducts an investigation.
There’s nothing in the video that suggests how the investigation should be carried out.
If a therapist violates the zero-tolerance guideline in any way, he or she must be terminated. The management is simply urged to explore what steps the spa “could take to guarantee instances of this sort do not happen again” if, on the other hand, the facts are “inconclusive.”
There are three scenarios in which employees are put to the test. A client named Chandler complains to massage therapist Monica about how she presses too hard on his back. In the second, Ross, a different massage therapist, offers to shoot his customer Rachel’s approaching wedding. A therapist by the name of Joey texts his patient Phoebe after-hours to express his admiration for her and tell her he finds her “very attractive.” Employees are warned that the third of these offenses is grounds for termination.
Managers are frequently accused of addressing sexual assault in ways that don’t match the reality of the situation. When a coworker’s professional reputation or even freedom is on the line, confronting him or her over a text message is one thing. But figuring out what happened in a dark room with no witnesses is quite another.
Seeing people as capable of anything like that is difficult while working with them on a daily basis.
Christina, a massage therapist who has worked at several Massage Envy facilities on the West Coast, said that when you work with individuals every day, it’s difficult to picture them as capable of anything like that.
Managers aren’t provided any guidelines on how to judge the veracity of accusers, which further complicates matters. For example, they aren’t taught about shock’s consequences, which might cause trauma victims to be unable to offer accurate and complete recollections of what happened immediately after the event.
Management must file a report on their investigation utilizing the automatic incident reporting instrument of the franchise, which copies the director of franchise operations, the regional director and corporate legal department.. If Massage Envy finds any violations of its brand guidelines, it follows up by thoroughly monitoring and reviewing all incident reports.
The company advises spas to “secure expert help as needed to investigate incidents,” in response to questions from BuzzFeed News. “As a franchisor of a service brand, we are not experts in investigating criminal acts,” Hansen said. The recent “Behind Closed Doors” training films do not contain this recommendation.
a franchisee “should consider” reporting an incident to local authorities in “certain scenarios,” according to a 2017 policy acquired by BuzzFeed News It’s unclear at what point in the investigation this should take place. Observing any local rules that require it is the only example given.
When it comes to assessing assault claims in massage therapy, experts say it’s especially difficult because clients allow strangers to touch their practically naked bodies in private rooms. Inappropriate contact with the therapist might be reported by a client or an employee.
Other concerns may have less to do with sexual predation and more to do with a person’s sensitivities, such as discomfort when massaged in more vulnerable regions. In certain cases, complaints prove to be unfounded. According to Ahmos Netanel, CEO of the California Massage Therapy Council, state regulatory boards and other agencies employ investigators who can step in for all of these reasons.
“Having an experienced professional look at the situation and come up with professional and impartial judgments is advantageous to all sides,” he said.
When a Massage Envy customer complained to BuzzFeed News in January 2016 about her massage therapist touching her breasts and vagina during a session at a Sacramento spa two days earlier, the customer said she was surprised and needed time to digest it. To get in touch with someone at Massage Envy’s corporate office after being “violated” by her massage therapist, she sent an email to guestrelations@massageenvy.com on January 5. “There was no corporate phone number on your website and I was told to email,” she stated in her email.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Massage Envy kept billing her for the second month in a row!
The complaint was filed with the California Massage Therapy Council on January 12th when she still hadn’t heard anything. The therapist was still employed by the spa; in fact, records show that on January 16, another woman complained to the council about his actions. A Massage Envy regional manager, however, did not contact the woman until the 25th of January, according to her attorney.
And to make matters worse, the woman said Massage Envy kept billing her for two months after she had stated that she no longer wanted to be a member.
As a result of consulting with industry experts, Massage Envy claims it does not mandate that spas disclose reports of sexual assault in regions that do not, in part, mandate it. Rape Abuse and Incest National Network General Counsel Hansen stated the company’s stance is consistent with the viewpoint of major organizations like that.
According to Massage Envy’s Kati N. Lake, their recommendations are anything but simple. She is an executive at that organization.
An uncompromising policy is critical, but Lake pointed out that many other variables should be taken into account, such as how easy it is for customers to file complaints, and how effectively managers are trained to deal with these investigations, which are difficult for everyone concerned.
An ex-Massage Envy franchisee in North Carolina claimed, “You’re not mentally prepared.” Amanda Owens agreed. “What happens as soon as someone raises an issue? When dealing with a client, how do you talk to them? When confronted with a male accuser, how may a woman approach him without feeling threatened?
Receptionist Kandice Martellaro stated that a Massage Envy therapist had sexually assaulted her while she was working there. According to her, nothing was done.
As Martellaro put it, “I couldn’t tell with our specific clinic administrator if she was being clever and trying to brush things under the rug, or she was honestly not sure how to handle it.”
While in Washington, D.C., Tara Woodley decided to pamper herself with a Swedish massage in honor of her new employment. According to a complaint Woodley filed later that month, her therapist placed his mouth on her vagina and began to lick her. Her hands were grabbed by the therapist after she jumped up and covered herself in fear. He begged for forgiveness, she said, swearing it was the first time he’d done anything like it.
In fact, two other ladies stated they’d complained to Massage Envy establishments about the same therapist. When the therapist worked at the same owner’s Maryland Massage Envy three months previously, a woman accused him of touching her sexually inappropriately. It was said that she asked to cancel her membership, but the spa’s administration merely offered her a free spa day out of politeness and explained that her therapist had been moved to Washington, DC.
One more woman came forward with information about Woodley’s therapist on Sept. 5, and the spa took action. When the woman eventually filed a police report, she claimed that her therapist had forced his face into her vagina while she was still wearing her underpants. It was only until the 17th of September that the therapist was allowed to work there again.
According to Woodley, “Massage Envy essentially turned a blind eye” to the complaints of women who tried to bring about change by reporting him to the company’s management. They all came forward after her husband persuaded her to phone 911 as soon as possible. I could have done what those ladies did and he could have abused more women in the future if he hadn’t,” Woodley said.
When it comes to sexual assault policies, Massage Envy Franchising claims to be on top, but the firm contends in court filings that it shouldn’t be held liable for sexual assault cases since it sells franchise agreements rather than employing individual massage therapists. Because of strong secrecy obligations, it’s impossible to see how these instances end up.
However, a case that is scheduled for trial in January may provide some insight…
Suing Massage Envy LLC and the West Chester Spa, Susan Ingram and seven other women allege that the manager refused to stop the massage therapist’s next appointment after she was abused while she was there. It has been alleged by Ingram’s lawyers that the corporation dictates the manner investigations are undertaken and followed, and controls their progress, despite the firm’s assurances that it has no participation in inappropriate conduct investigations In depositions, the manager of a West Chester spa indicated that a regional supervisor approved of the way the complaint was handled and didn’t say to call police.
Massage Envy’s franchise consultant, who has previously worked with the company, claimed the firm was in a particularly precarious position.
“It’s impossible to prevent problems at franchisees,” the individual admitted. We’re talking about people being sexually assaulted on tables in dark rooms, at national brands. That’s what we’re talking about.”
“You must first be human,” the consultant continued. If your daughter, mother, aunt, or grandma came to you with a claim and asked how you would react, how would you respond?
By helping US Rep. Pat Meehan (D-PA) introduce bipartisan legislation last year, Ingram has helped to increase the likelihood of sexual assault claims being made against massage spa owners and staff. “Reporting suspected assault will assist victims understand their rights, such as pursuing an investigation and filing charges, and the resources available,” Meehan added. According to the proposal, proprietors would be required to post rules about sexual assault prevention and response in plain view of the public.
When billion-dollar firms like Massage Envy fail to do the right thing, the legislation, according to Ingram, will “protect women.” If passed,
She drives past the Massage Envy near her house nearly every day, remembering how she was attacked there.
That front door is calling, and it’s impossible to resist the impulse to enter and ask, How could you have allowed this happen? her words were clear. “And how can you keep allowing it to happen time and time again?”
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Credit: BuzzfeedNews