massage therapist

esthetician

spa sales associate

adjoint administratif

spa manager

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa

Working at Hand & Stone is wonderful, there are great RMTs who openly talk to each other about tx styles, and technique applications. Management and SA's are aware they are not RMTs and want to learn more about what they can do to help make a typical work day function better, as well as help educate clients, when they are booking in. I personally bring in my own equipment which helps my clients understand homecare, and I leave it at work in my "main" tx room, I do not worry they will be missing. Clients are a good mix of Male vs. Female; And Therapeutic vs. Relaxation. Therapists and Estheticians are enabled to trade services, which is a great perk, and as an "employee", product prices are reduced when being purchased.  Sometimes decisions are made, then feel more in the interest of profits vs. staff satisfaction, this is by no means any different than most business, however, as an RMT who truly loves what they do, it makes you feel unseen and just part of an equation for maximizing profits, therefore, cutting corners in your everyday work routine. There is always room for improvement, in any work environment; With thT being said, I am happy with my employement and will continue to practice at this location, until the Pros vs. Con balance shifts.

COVID-19: The Pros vs. Con balance is still heavier on the Pros side. With new cleaning protocols, therapists have less time between clients, making it necessary to schedule a break into a day, therefore, minimizing the number of clients treated in a day. This is easily accommodated, and company restriction of upgrades allows for the most availability for bookings, to compensate; Most situations or "schedules" are not overly affected by the cleaning protocols completion time.

A typical day is checking your clients on the computer and which rooms you will be in. Checking the room for supplies to make sure it has everything. Signing the client's insurance receipts, ideally at the beginning of the shift. Greeting your client, taking them into the room, consulting them on today's visit and explaining what your treatment plan will be, and them agreeing to it or making adjustments. Fill out the client's treatment history on the computer either after the service, or during your next break. Cleaning the room between clients as per Covid procedures; removing all linens, spraying the room, and returning 3 minutes later to wipe everything clean before dressing the room and prepping it for the next service. 
The management here is friendly; approachable and understanding to our concerns and needs. They take note of issues and address them as soon as possible. 
Workplace culture is also pretty friendly and laid back, a good mix of people from various walks of life. 
The hardest part of the job... When there are last minute changes that I am not informed of, or I discover my room is not ready in time. It happens on busy days sometimes, or if something gets overlooked. Also some clients are just impossible to please. Do your best, but sometimes it's not a "you" problem. Breathe deep and move on. 
Best part of the job... Getting to know my clients and coworkers; seeing a good regular client of mine can make my day.

With my experience at hand and stone , it’s definitely taught me a lot of skill set that can help me advance further in all fields. The sales associate position itself teaches you a lot and provides you lots of space to grow and is a great opportunity to enhance your sales skills. My years at hand and stone spa was great up until new management had taken place and my experience at hand and stone has changed. I felt that the employer wasn’t communicating their expectations for our given position and the changes in policy and just expect you to know it. Then get belittled and degraded for not knowing due to their lack of communication.  I’ve witnessed many employees start working at hand and stone spa( specifically Markham location) and many have quit due to the lack of compassion and understanding of their employees. I’ve noticed not only myself but other employees be treated unfairly and disrespected and especially give such high expectation for a minimum paying job. I noticed a lot of nitpicking and pressure that was shown towards employees which pushes them to the edge , resulting in people quitting. As such for myself , I felt that this location was a place I cannot continue to work at and grow within my career field. 

The staff within the spa locations are amazing. The front desk, aestheticians and RMTs are wonderful people to be surrounded by all day.
Days were fun and the spas are busy.
Corporate are helpful, they have a lot of systems in place to do quick easy advertisements to boost slow days, and reports are easily pulled to see employee/spa growth on Zenoti.
Unfortunately, Spa Owners of H&S tend to be distant and rely entirely on Spa Managers for everything. Spa Manager positions are normally people management positions, but at H&S they are paid like front desk supervisors, and the job itself contains duties of a Spa Director. They expect you to imagine, create and push promotions and events, hold performance reviews, complete payroll, inventory etc.
They are a US company originally and some parts that fit the US way are not what Canadian customers expect for a spa. They are SUPER focused on membership sales which I did not like. It's a dodgy practice, signing people up for memberships, hoping they forget about their monthly payments and never receive the treatments they have paid for.
If you are thinking of applying for a H&S Spa Manager position do not except less than $50k, because that's what other small clinic/spa franchises offer

Hand and stone is a good place to start for Estheticians coming straight out of school to learn in a spa environment and the training they provide really helps in developing your education. Compensation was great and really pushed you to upsell during your facials. Only con was when you have no clients sometimes you’re stuck doing nothing for 8 hours.  Also, Management (specifically at the Markham location) made my experience less pleasant. They made the workplace culture toxic for everyone and is very unprofessional to clients and employees which is the main reason why I quit. Management is clueless when it comes to delegating tasks and respecting their employees and never wants employees to make mistakes. We’re all human and we make mistakes especially starting off at a new job but one small mistake and you get penalized for it. I would recommend Hand and Stone to new Estheticians but not the Markham location if you want to dread coming into work.  

A typical day at Hand & Stone involves staying focused on tasks, providing quality service, and maintaining professionalism. Each location differs significantly based on management style, so your experience can vary. To succeed, focus on your tasks, avoid unnecessary socializing, and maintain a respectful boundary with coworkers—they're colleagues, not friends. I learned valuable skills in customer service and client care, but growth opportunities within the company are limited. The hardest part of the job is the lack of advancement, but if you love what you do and enjoy working in a straightforward role, it’s a satisfying environment. The most enjoyable part is the hands-on work and making a difference in clients' wellness. But once again no advancement opportunities so perfect place for students if your working front desk or if your just starting out as a RMT or Esthetician

A typical day working at Hand and Stone would include product sales, customer service, inventory on some days, providing facials and waxing services, and of course being a team player and helping out with other jobs around the spa. 

   While working there I learned about Dermalogica and RVB skin product lines, as well as there facial protocols, I learned how to do product inventory and I also learned the spa program that we used called "Millennium". My co-workers were amazing. They were very nice people, cooperative, hard working, helpful and great team players. We were always there for one another. 

    As for the most enjoyable part of my job was being able to improved on clients natural beauty and making them smile at the end of each service.

I’ve worked at Hand and Stone for just over 2 and a half years and have enjoyed my time working here. I got the opportunity to start right out of school and I would recommend working at Hand and Stone! They provide:
-flexible schedule and great work/life balance 
-bookings are consistent and usually always full which means steady income 
-Spa Associates do bookings and laundry for so Message Therapists are not required to
-medical benefits 
-Hand and Stone has taken on the cost of PPE for us during the COVID pandemic
-supportive management throughout COVID, always advocating for us and respecting our professional judgement 
-clients love the membership program so their benefits go further, or if they don’t have benefits they can save money and come in more often
- Opportunity for raises
- Paid training (cupping, hot stone)

Not enough pay for what the Spa Associates do, which is multi-tasking reception, cleaning, customer service, and sales. 

I felt that the owners, along with the manager, for the most part, were money hungry and put profit above everything else (e.g., employee well-being). I felt they were unhelpful, unsupportive, and loved guilt-tripping their overworked and understaffed employees.

I was pestered with meeting sales goals and dealing with angry customers very frequently due to issues with their monthly subscription (e.g., the manager forgot to cancel their membership). 

I was going home stressed about returning to this workplace.

The only enjoyable part of the job was some of the coworkers, who you could bond with over the work conditions.

My advice: only work here if this is your absolute last option. 

Apparently all the owners know each other. Beware although the initial start is fun and easy if anything goes wrong you're out. If your personality doesn't fit your out. If you don't agree with what they want... you guessed it.. you're out.
 Management is too friendly with employees and they talk amongst each other behind your back. Some of their standards are archaic with table set up and material. Expectation is that you follow what management says even if it goes against CMTO standards and norms within industry. The place I worked at made their own rules and lied about being a "head office thing" and "that's what everyone else is doing" type of thing. Marketing you as a new hire was not happening! You might as well stay home 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Massage therapist 13 salaries reported	$73,955 per year
Esthetician 9 salaries reported	$24.32 per hour
Spa sales associate 6 salaries reported	$19.77 per hour
Adjoint administratif 6 salaries reported	$26.11 per hour
Spa manager 1 salary reported	$52,500 per year

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