Please, Don't Ask

There are a few policies and guidelines I follow that I am at times, asked to ignore or break, usually by new clients. My impression is that many don't know what they are actually asking me to do, so I thought I would share the whats and whys.

Probably the most often requested is that I provide a session such as Reiki or Reflexology and provide a receipt that indicates that I provided Massage Therapy.

I understand why the request, but I think many don't realize that this is considered Insurance fraud. To ask me to take this step is to ask me to risk my membership with my association and therefore my license to practice. There may be other charges associated with something like this but I don't intend to find out.

What I hear from clients is that their previous practitioner did this for them. Sorry, I'm not that practitioner. Please don't ask.

---

---

The second most often requested is to forego the charge for a session a client didn't show up for. 

Before your session I have set up the room and taken time to read over your Health Intake Form and notes from any previous appointments. I've set this time aside just for you, no one else is booked into that time slot.

When you sign your Informed Consent my no show policy is clearly stated, you have to tick the box that you understand and consent to the policy, as well as add your signature. In asking me to forego the charge for your session you're asking me to set up, review and wait, for free. Please don't ask.

---

---

Through the years of practice I have researched and created specific guidelines and policies for my business, OR my association has policies and guidelines that I must adhere to in order to keep my membership and therefore my license to practice.

This came much more into focus during the first couple of years of Covid. Provincial governments developed practice protocols for the Personal Service industry that fluctuated during Covid. My association required that I follow those protocols. In addition to already existing protocols for providing holistic therapies, associations also developed additional infectious disease guidelines and protocols for the safety of clients and practitioners.

While I understood, though didn't agree with, those clients that did not want to follow mandates, I had to follow them in the operation of my business. It meant letting some long time clients move on to a different practitioner.

If a policy or protocol is required by my association I must adhere to it in order to maintain my membership. I have yet to come across anything that I wouldn't be following anyways.

Protocols and policies that I have created through the past 28 years, in addition to those of my association, have been created with a great deal of thought to client safety and wellness, my own safety and wellness and lastly, the smooth operations of my business. Please don't ask me to change them for you.

---

I am always more than happy to explain the why behind any policy or protocol that you may have questions about. Please DO ask.