Woman texted her massage therapist a strict list of rules before booking the session — then got furious when he followed every single one

Sometimes all a service provider can do is listen to their client and give them exactly what they want. A massage therapist who goes by u/best-pirate5073 (on Reddit) said that's precisely what he did, but his client still found him at fault. Well, a female client had booked a 90-minute mobile massage session with him, and before booking, she had given him a list of strict rules to follow. As a client-focused and attentive masseur, he followed her instructions to the letter. However, as the session ended, the entitled client complained that he was too accommodating. In fact, she also refused to tip. The post was shared on August 17, 2026, and it has since received over 20,000 upvotes online. 

Her strict rules

Even before the client showed up, she had sent the massage therapist a list of rules. She wanted a deep-tissue massage, focusing on her upper back, shoulders, and neck. In her words, "Do not check in with me at all. I hate when therapists keep asking if the pressure is okay. Just do the work." The female client had also mentioned wanting pin-drop silence during the 90-minute session, which meant no small talk at all. Her last rule was, "When the time is up, that’s it. No free extras." Before the massage therapist began, he read the rules to her again to make sure there was no misunderstanding. And once the client confirmed, he began the session.

He kept his words 

The massage therapist followed her rules to the T. No small talk, no pressure checks, absolute silence. When it was over, he also did not offer his usual free scalp massage or hot towels. He just said, "That's time." The man did everything the client had asked for, but she looked annoyed and said, "The pressure felt hard toward the end, and you never even checked on me. Most therapists give a little extra time." The massage therapist responded, saying he did exactly what she had asked for, but she fired back, "Well, I didn’t mean it like that. You should have known to check anyway. I’m not tipping for that." Thankfully, the service had already been paid for, and so the massage therapist didn't have to argue. "That’s fine. The session is paid for already. You can get dressed and I’ll be outside," he told her. 

Unruly customers

A study (Christine Porath and Christine Pearson) cited in a paper by Benoît Gaucher found that customer service workers, just like the massage therapist in the post, face a lot of rude behavior from customers. In fact, 98% of employees have encountered such unruly customers, and 50% confessed to dealing with them at least once a week. Now, the female client in the post didn't misbehave, but her refusal to tip shows how fast expectations change when reality doesn't match what someone had in mind. 

'She's hard to please'

Meanwhile, just like the therapist, netizens did not understand what the woman wanted. For instance, u/Gonpostlscott commented, "Wow. She sets firm rules. You confirmed the firm rules. You follow the firm rules. She’s not happy you firmly followed the firm rules set by her. An added scalp massage would not have helped that firm head!" Similarly, u/R-Dragon_Thunderzord wrote, "I wonder how many other people she tries this no-win scenario b*llsh*t on." u/Greywatcher said, "There would not have been any way to make her happy."

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