Ruminations.

I have been doing massage for a long time, longer than any other job/career I have done in the past. Having a wide open field in which to move around in helps to alleviate boredom and burn out. I have reinvented my practice 4 different times based of my evolving interests and need for change.

I have been worried about burn-out recently. Felt it on the edges of my perception. Yes, I am using the past tense. There has been a little reordering in the office and there is more to come. Some of it is very exciting, such as Chef Kim coming on board to provide catering for spa sessions. Other stuff is not so interesting, like how dividing up the phone duties is going to work, but just as important.

As you may know, we can only do one spa session at a time. This means that the only practitioner(s) on duty at any given time, are busy with a session. As a result, we have tried having phone calls forwarded to the LRS office, or to a cell phone in attempts at making sure to catch as many calls as possible. This has created a lot more work and stress than we would like to live with. It had to change. So today we started a new program and are confident that it will make our lives easier, and still provide fabulous service.

Since same day sessions are so rare, we will be asking people to call a few days in advance of their preferred appointment time and leave a message. Phone messages will be collected no less than twice a day. At 10am and 6pm we will collect messages and return calls, answer questions and schedule appointments. This doesn't mean we will not answer the phone, we will still be answering between appointments. And if you are having trouble finding the Spa, by all means call us! We will be waiting by the phone to help guide you in.

Hopefully, this won't impact our guests, while still giving me a little breathing room, as I am the person who took/takes care of the bulk of the phone duties. Just starting the new regime today pushes burn-out farther away from me. And this is a very good thing because it would be a shame to jump ship right when all the new stuff is getting off the ground! More on that as it comes to fruition!