I recently purchased the 75 Min Rainforest Vitality Body Massage voucher on groupon (for SGD48.00) and here is my horrible experience at My Cozy Room Boutique Spa.
Session 1
Firstly, I purchased 2 coupons on groupon (one for myself and the other for a friend) and we were planning to go for the massage together. However, the earliest appointment that we could get was more than a month away, and they were not able to give us a couple slot at all. So, we had no choice and I decided to go first since my friend is a teacher and hence, a hectic schedule.
On the day of the appointment, I drove down after work (from Boon Lay) to Cairnhill, where the spa is located. After spending about 20mins trying to find it, I finally spotted the tiny shophouse-styled spa. The availability of complimentary valet parking made it convenient for me to just park and leave.
As I made my way up the stairs, the Victorian-styled interior decor was pleasing and I left my shoes at the door. When I stepped in to the upper level where the reception in located, the receptionist was busy attending to a previous customer… and I was just standing there for about 5 minutes with no one to attend to me.
Finally, Celine the Spa Manager, approached me and I mentioned that I am here for the Body Massage. She asked me for the printed copy of the voucher, and I said that I had forgotten to print it out, and showed her the softcopy on my phone instead. After verifying that it was valid, she INSISTED that I give her the hard copy or else she will not be able to let me have the massage session. She CONTINOUSLY barked on and on about it for 20 minutes or more… and asked me to go and have it printed at Paragon or the closest place where there were offices… or pay for it in cash and pass the groupon to my friend who could give it to them when she comes for her spa… Oh my god. By the time she finished barking (into my face) persistently, I was already very tired and stressed. Isn’t a spa session supposed to achieve the exact opposite effect? In the end, I had no choice, but to pay SGD48.00 in cash and THEN, she let me go for the massage -_-
As I headed up yet another level into the massage room, I noticed that it was not individual rooms, but instead a large space with dividers in between. Hmm… so much for privacy! Anyway, the masseuse told me to do the usual change of attire and entered the room when I was ready. As I lied on the bed, I realized that there were no heaters on the bed, which made it very uncomfortable as the room was very cold. Next, the pale pink towels used looked so grey, they might as well be rags! There were no cupboards into which I could place my belongings, so I had to place my bag on a stool, which was placed next to the bed. The entire size of the room (space?) was only big enough to fit in one bed. So… you can forget about moving around the room while the masseuse was inside too. Hmph. Next, there were no mirrors in the room either, so all you CAN actually do in the room, is just lie down. So much for a spa that claims to be “Boutique”. Do they even know what that word means??
Maple the masseuse, was a Malaysian, who knew very little if no English which made it very difficult for me to communicate with her. So? I just let it happen *_*.
The hot stone back massage felt really good, however I felt that other parts of the body were not massaged that well. If she spent 2 minutes at a limb, you would be lucky!
And so, the massage ended and I went down for the cup of tea during which time they would also try to introduce yet another package blah blah blah…
Ee siu, the receptionist who was there was very accommodative to the situation and stated that I could either pass the groupon to my mum or come back again for another session. Thankfully Celine was not there by the time I left or my mood would have been spoilt yet again!
On my drive back, I felt an intense and sharp pain on my left shoulder and remembered something going “krrh!” during the massage. Well, the pain stayed with me for another 3 days. Obviously, the masseuse was either inexperienced or hadn’t “released the knots”, as she put it.
When I returned home, I shared my experience with my friend and tried to find another person to use the voucher. But because the earliest appointment they could give was more than a month away (again!) I could not find someone with mutual convenience (and I had to ask Many Many MANY people!), I had no choice but to use it for myself.
Session 2:
So after about a month, I finally managed to get an appointment and headed to the spa after work. When I entered the reception area, Celine, who remembered me, approached me and I passed her the groupon (which I remembered to print out this time!).
You will not believe this, but she started the whole barking again! To me, it just looked like a pathetic barking Chihuahua that was hungry. I was already tired and there she was again, to stress me out! This time around, telling me that I cannot go for the massage (which Ee Siu didn’t mention to me at all) but can only use it for facial. Well in the first place, I didn’t purchase 2 groupons for myself, but this happened only because you (she) insisted that I had to pay it in cash the first time around???? Bloody B-I-T-C-H!
I patiently explained to her, that I have a regular place for facial, but just wanna have the massage. She said that in that case, she can only let me have the body massage for 30mins. If you have ever been to a massage session, you would know that 30mins will only be a waste of time as it takes at least 30mins just to do a good job on the back! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrh!
So I called my friend and explained the situation, who told me to just use her voucher and get done with it, as she is really not keen on visiting this place what with all my unpleasant experience!
So I told Celine that I will pay the full price (SGD96.00 for 75min) and that b!tch finally let me go in.
The only good thing about the massage this time around was that Esther, the masseuse who was yet again a Malaysian, could speak good English and I was able to better explain my concern. She was very experienced and didn’t tear my tissues like Maple. However, I noticed that the time set in the clock inside the room runs 10mins faster, so I ended my session in 60 mins and not 75 mins! Cheater bugs.
Overall, my experience was saved by Esther’s expertise and impeccable manners. Had she not been there, I would have literally teared out the groupons and threw them into Celine’s b!tchy face and stormed off!
If the owner of the spa is reading this, I suggest you hire masseuses who can communicate with customers well in English, and really, get rid of that b!tch Celine, who is there to only ruin your business!
If you really need printed copies of groupons, invest in a printer or I can even donate one to you. I don’t believe that printing out groupons will cause you to close down your business but instead, it will only boost up your service standard. I think investing in educating your staff on good customer service is way more important than all the fancy decoration as interior design.
Also, you might want to look up the dictionary and teach Celine what “good customer service” means. Any organization which is out there to only make money and neglects service is bound to head down South and you are no exception. I had tried multiple massage sessions through groupon but this is BY FAR THE WORST! I had forgotten to print out hard copies before, and they were able to accept the soft copies and gave me no headache about it. So I will definitely make it a point to deter anyone I know from even nearing your spa in future as I do not wish to put them through the same tiring unpleasant experience as me.
Summary of experience:
*Ambience- good
*Masseuse- average to good
*Customer service- non existent.
I will never visit that Spa every again in this lifetime and hope you don’t make the same mistake either. All their packages are overpriced and you won’t get value-for-money. Plus, the waiting time takes forever… So just head on over to a hotel for a quality service! ;)