Royal Treatment

Some people think that clients who are very wealthy or very famous are also very generous, but that is not true 90% of the time. I have worked on Royalty (as in Princesses and Princes), movie stars, politicians, and professional athletes, and most of the time, they do not tip.

Yes, the sad ugly truth is that the rich and famous are notoriously picky and cheap. I have had them literally hide in the bathroom to avoid paying a tip. I had one Prince write a very nice 30% tip onto a check, and then bounce that check; I asked him go get cash and collected it from him the next day.

Some celebrities simply act as if they are God and refuse to speak or look in the eyes of "service" personnel. I had one actress who refused to have me work on her because I had the audacity to look in her eyes, so she had me work on her assistant instead. Another public figure talked to his girlfriend as if I was invisible and deaf, having a full on phone sex session with her as I was packing up my table to leave.

Professional athletes range from the physically challenging (working on 6 feet and 300 pounds of muscle is an Olympic workout) to the steroid insane; one client was having a screaming match with his fiance over the phone when I arrived, then had six beers to "calm down", and took a prescription sleeping pill before I started working on him. He passed out during the hour and a half massage, but not before downing another two beers during the session.

The only reason I still work on celebrities is the 10% who are actually kind and generous. There are a few wonderful people who treat everyone as a human being and who appreciate a good massage; those people are priceless.