No little people allowed, please
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- July
- 11
Last Saturday, a friend and I took another friend out to celebrate her recent graduation from graduate school. She worked very diligently for this degree and completed it while working full-time and being a wife and mother of three young adults (including two college students). We were (and remain) extremely proud of her.
So the three of us set off for Enhance Spa in Hartsdale, where we were pampered with wonderful massages, peaceful music, aromatherapy and refreshing cucumber water. Then we headed to a local nail shop for pedicures and manicures. And then were off to a fabulous lunch, while looking at the Hudson. A glorious day it was for all three of us. And why, you ask? Because for the day, we each were without our children while all attention was focused upon us.
Of course, we adore the six kids that we have, combined. And we love our husbands, too. But as any parent will tell you, you’re a better parent when you’re allowed some indulgence time every now and then. That’s why a recent post on MSNBC.com sent me reeling. A new trend, supposedly, is to bring your kids along to the spa to let them enjoy massages and pedicures, too. WHAT? What is the purpose of going to a place of relaxation if you’re going to bring little children with you? And honestly, perhaps it’s different for girls, but my boys would much rather swim or play basketball than get a massage.
And, like one person said in the MSNBC.com piece, why would you give this to kids now? What else will they have to look forward to, if we indulge them so much while they’re so young? One parent said she rewards her daughter with a spa trip, because she’s a good girl. What happened to allowing them extra dessert because they’ve been good? Or a longer trip to the pool? Do all rewards for kids have to cost hundreds of dollars?
Call me a mean mom, but I’ll be avoiding any spa that caters to kids. That’s not relaxation, in my book. What do you think?
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 4:05 pm by Gayle T. Williams.
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I recently took my now 4 year old to the nail salon for a mommy/daughter day. While Nadia loved this trip and got the cutest manicure and pedicure (little flowers painted on her nails included), I freaked out just by watching her chatter with every patron in the salon and at one point run up and down their corridor and almost knock over some nail polish. Everyone was extreamly nice and said she was adorable, but not only are the people there to relax, but so was I. It was a nice idea, but I think I’m skipping it until she’s a little older.
I agree even more with your second point than your first (though I would tend to want to avoid a spa where there were children for the relaxation issues as well). Rewards should be something along the lines of being able to have a piece of candy or an extra dessert or just something else that they really enjoy. Even a trip to the movies. (Though the latter can cost quite a bit these days, I think it still falls under the category of affordable!
Sheesh.
Isn’t the idea of the spa to get away from the stresses of life? Now, I know that kids have stress, but don’t they have recourse to playing and running around that those of us chained to a computer don’t?
It’s funny because I was saying something similar to my husband yesterday while I gave my daughter a neck massage.
When she was a baby, I read that massage can be very soothing to infants, especially preemies, so I got into the habit of giving her a back massage. She got into the habit, too.
Now she turns over and demands, “Back, back.” Then after a while, she says, “Neck, neck.”
I said to Michael, my husband, as I complied with her request, “Yes, it’s the neck where all the tension builds up. After all, playing all day really tightens up those muscles!”
Great choice of spas!
Sorry to say I did not have a good experience at Enhance Day Spa. First of all, the treatment was really mediocre. And, even after I complained about an allergic reaction to an eye cream they were pushing, the owner Bonnie Hagan never even gave me the curtesy of a return phone, she was to busy and on second request in the library but would call later. So far, I’ve never received a return call. Just wondering what the Day Spa Association uses as criteria to determine which Spa gets the Distinguished Day Spa award.
BLG,
I only wish I had seen this blog sooner.
I am a weekly client at Enhance Spa and I love it there. In fact, I was there the day that you came in to return the eye cream. I was totally surprised because I have never seen anything like this exchange take place at the spa before.
Sherrie was at the front desk and I heard her telling you that she would be happy to take back the eye cream that you bought the day before even though you had scooped out most of the product and the jar was just about empty. Shame on you! An allergic reaction? Right. In my business, we call people like you “scammers”.
Even so, Sherrie was courteous and offered you a gift certificate for the credit. But you stormed out of the spa threatening to cancel all of your charges on your credit card.
Sherrie was naturally upset. I watched her as she wrapped up the gift certificate, addressed an envelope and put it in the outbox for the mailman to pick up.
In my book, Sherrie went above and beyond. She shouldn’t have given you any credit since you stole the eyecream from her and Bonnie – yet, Sherrie and Bonnie took the high road and you have a gift certificate in hand PLUS the eyecream. I hope you can sleep at night knowing that you ripped off some very nice people.
Bonnie & Sherrie and the whole staff at Enhance are dedicated to impeccable customer service. Every customer is treated well – even crooks like you (although I told Sherrie that she shouldn’t have been so nice to you).
I hope I never see you again.