Back 2 Balance

This business’s phone number is out of service… what a bummer! I was hoping to come back today, I had a pleasant experience last time.

I had bought a groupon several months ago for a 1-​hr massage, but never had the chance to use it or find an open appointment that fit with my schedule. My groupon expired, but I thought I’d get a 45-​min massage at full price and pay the difference with the groupon value. When I went today, the man at reception was very nice, and when I told him that I first heard of the place on groupon, he mentioned that I could still use the value of my expired groupon no problem. It was a decent massage, a little unorthodox (eg. the massage therapist left a few times to grab props without mentioning anything, and I would always wonder if we were done or what) — though maybe expected for a no frills place like this. I thought about telling my husband to come as well for a massage. When I went to check out however, the man from before was gone and my masseuse was checking me out. I showed my old groupon and tried to explain that it was expired but the value was still good and I’d pay the difference. She looked at it for a while, and told me I couldn’t use it. I asked if the other man was still there, and eventually she called him. They spent 5 min on the phone speaking in Chinese, and finally she said OK. I thought this whole ordeal was unprofessional and I thought the massage therapist was very rude the whole time. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tip at this point based on the rudeness, but she told me the balance, and then said «plus tip — how much for tip.» So I chose a lower tip — $ 5 — because I was not happy with the service I was getting. She said «no! $ 5? No! $ 10.» I said, «are you telling me how much to tip you?» «Yes.» I said «fine, $ 10» and paid, not wanting to make more of a scene in front of a new customer. I feel that I was very polite and patient through the whole thing, and I usually tip generously, plus I know there is a language barrier (I grew up in a similar culture — if there is a PC way to say that), but if you’re working in a business, you have to at least show some effort at customer service. Be polite, and at the very least, don’t tell people what to tip you!
A decent massage, but sadly left a bad taste in mouth.

I agree with the other reviews, it is incredibly difficult to make an appointment here. The ambiance is somewhat strange too, the receptionist was also my masseuse. The language barrier is also something to be aware of.
The massage itself though was great. All in all it was closer to ⁶⁵⁄₇₀ minutes than 60. I pointed out a scar from surgery on my foot and the masseuse took the extra care to put a pain relieving peppermint oil on it and give it some special attention. I also used a groupon and didn’t feel like they treated me differently than had I paid full price. The next time I want a massage I’ll certainly consider going back.

I tried this place on a Groupon and I would not recommend it. The massage itself was decent, but it did not make up for the customer service, which was both unfriendly and extremely difficult.
First of all, the guy who took my phone call said he was pretty sure he could put me in for an appt at the date/​time I requested, but would call me back to confirm. He never did, so the day of (a week later) I called to verify I had been successfully booked, and I had. Okay, how was I supposed to know that?
There was one woman there when I showed up at the Boston location. I didn’t get her name, but she did both the admin stuff and the massaging. I got the immediate sense that I was imposing, despite having an appointment. I found myself apologizing incessantly during our exchange; she just seemed so irritated I was there! As someone else mentioned, their paperwork asks you for social security number, employer information, place of birth (huh??), etc. I was reluctant to fill it all in but she was adamant. I ended up putting only the last 4 digits of my SSN, and I even regretted that on sheer principle.
So, the main qualm: My Groupon had expired just days before, as I had misread the details. Fine, my error. I said I would just use the paid value instead (Groupon’s policy) and pay her the difference. I had originally paid $ 36 which would have covered a one-​hour massage worth $ 80. However, now that the promotion had expired, I essentially had a $ 36 flat credit to use how I pleased. I wanted to opt for the ½-​hour massage, which normally costs $ 45, so that I wouldn’t have to shell out another stinking $ 44 out-​of-​pocket. She all but REFUSED to book me for the ½ hour, insisting it had to be one hour and that I owed her the difference. Now, I’m generally very patient with language barriers, and explained calmly in oh-​so-​many different ways how I wanted to do this. She got out a little piece of paper and just kept writing the math equation over and over: $ 80 — $ 36 = $ 44. I hate to sound insensitive, but I got the distinct impression she was playing confused to rope me into the pricier option. It was kind of ridiculous. I then waited for ~ 10 mins in awkward silence while she pondered it, tried/​failed to make a phone call, and then finally agreed.
Like I said, the massage was fine. Everything was clean and tidy, though nothing lavish or even spa-​like. She did a pretty thorough full-​body deal, and focused a decent amount on my buttocks which I certainly did not expect but I also don’t have much experience with massages. At the end, she just walked out of the room and slammed the door. After a good 40 seconds — which feels like a long time when you’re face-​down on a table — I assumed the massage was over, and began to make my way to a seated position… Once I was half-​exposed, she came bursting back in with a moist towel to pat me down.
Okay, not a horror story, but plenty awkward and there’s no reason to go here with a million other options in the city. I don’t know why I left her such a good tip. Oh well.

The Salem location has the same problems others have articulated about its Boston location. If you go take your own blanket. The massage room was too cool, and the only cover provided was an undersized bath towel. SO even after a body area was worked, and the actual massaging was pretty good, the fact that it was then exposed to cold air negated any positive benefits.
In addition, my hour massage was 50 minutes long, started 20 minutes late and was interrupted 3 times as the therapist answered the door to other customers and delivery people.
YUK.

When you walk into this place, you will be weirded out. The «required paperwork» that you fill out includes your social security number, date and place of birth, work address and phone, and other things that are 100% unnecessary for a massage. I chose not to fill it in and thankfully they didn’t give me a hard time. The massage was good.

I purchased a Groupon and it was painful getting in touch with them. They finally returned my call at 8:30pm on a Monday night-​which I thought was unprofessional.
I had to reschedule and went though the same thing so I requested a refund from Groupon. It’s not worth saving the money to deal with all of this. Plus, if I want to tell the massage therapist something how is she going to understand me?
I gave it my best but I’m going to pass.

Making an appointment here is no easy feat. When you call, there’s a 50% chance someone will actually pick up. If someone does pick up, there’s a 50% chance you’ll be able to understand enough to make an appointment.
The more likely scenario is you’ll be sent to voicemaill; the voicemail mailbox will be full, and you’ll hear a «click.
If you can get past the entire scheduling fiasco, the actual massage was really really good, and crazy thorough (the woman massages it all… from your fingers, to your bottom, to your toes) If you have something in mind, or areas you want special attention to, she probably won’t understand what you’re asking for. A decent amount may be lost in translation, but if you just say «yes», it’s bound to be a good massage.
Like others have noted, the ambiance is… essentially nonexistent, and the massage isn’t exactly relaxing. Regardless what you circle or request, it’s most likely going to be strong and the CD is most likely going to be skipping. That being said, she worked out my kinks and my body feels like jello.
The only thing that was a bit strange was after the massage, she stepped out. I had no idea whether the massage was over, or if she simply stepped out. After several uncomfortable minutes of lying there, I awkwardly got up and got myself dressed ready to spring into apology mode if she was to return. There was no signal that the massage was over, other than her walking out, which she sad several times. A little weird.
So if you want something strong, and don’t mind calling a few times (and by a few I mean like calling every day until they decide to pick up), this place is worth a shot.

I saw Lily for a 90 minutes group-​on massage. Good enough at the discount or a little more. Pressure was medium. Ambiance also medium. I would probably look elsewhere rather paying the full price.

This is for my experience at the Salem, Ma location today.
When I called the woman answered by saying «hello». I had to verify I had reached Back 2 Balance. It was a little hard to communicate with the language barrier but I was able to book a same day appointment and offer to give her the $ 50 for the 90 minute massage directly instead of going through groupon for the discount. This way she doesn’t lose any money to Groupon. She understood and accepted, but didn’t ask what option I wanted and I didn’t specify.
When I pulled up on my bike to this industrial park, I spotted the huge scrolling neon signs that said «massage!» and «we take health insurance!» and other various things on the importance of going in for routine back car. As someone who has a finicky back due to overuse I was pretty excited to ask what insurance she took. She had no idea what I was saying and could not have that conversation with me in any shape or form. Just as well.
She clarified that I was there for the 60 minute and when I said No it’s $ 50 for the 90 and she looked confused and unable to clearly communicate I thought Oh dear. I pulled up the deal on my phone and she looked it over and finally agreed.
She gave me about 7 minutes to undress and get under the towel which I felt was a way for her to kill time, but maybe I’m wrong. I’ve had several massages before and this was certainly not one of the better ones. I started thinking things like «shoot, I didn’t check her credentials, I wonder if she’s a LMT» and «shoot I didn’t even check their Unilocal» and «dang I shouldn’t have revealed my groupon until after the massage» and «how would I describe this experience in a Unilocal review?»
She took the towel off and lowered my panties… all the way. My entire ass was hanging out for the while she was just working on my shoulders. I had never experienced that before and it felt a bit uncomfortable but maybe that’s common? She also left the door wide open while she went to go grab something from the other room. Luckily the place was completely empty except for the 2 of us.
I was lathered down with cold hand lotion (not warm massage oil). Most of the massage was slightly uncomfortable. There were painful moments of what seemed like unskilled hands just poking around, and also the headrest wouldn’t adjust and it was jabbing into my neck whenever she applied pressure to my back. That was distracting. There were moment were I felt that she was really working something out in my shoulders/​traps, and it felt very good. But I wasn’t able to «lose myself» in this massage, or really ever fully relax. My thinking is that she’s probably an okay masseur but she was giving me a $ 50 massage and not whatever the full massage was worth. I tipped her $ 10 just out of obligation but I won’t be returning.

I had a Groupon for an hour massage «of my choice» here, which didn’t mean much once I got there. I went in planning to ask for a relaxing Swedish massage, the type I usually enjoy, but there was a huge language barrier. The guy who seems to run the place and answers the phone/​schedules appointments speaks pretty good English, but he wasn’t in the room with me and my masseuse, who, from reading reviews below, was probably Lily.
I circled «light» where they ask your preferred pressure on the form they make you fill out, and as it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to communicate to Lily what I wanted, I decided to just let her do her thing. She is very thorough and uses a variety of techniques, and I felt good afterward, but much of the massage was harder than I prefer (and the motions were faster, not the typical slow relaxation motions) despite me saying a few times during the massage that she should ease up a bit.
If you are someone who gets massages to relieve pain or for some other practical reason, this is probably a great place for you. But if you’re just trying to have a relaxing time, this isn’t that kind of place, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a little like a doctor’s office with the lights turned down for ambiance.

I was thrilled with my massage… she was so thorough, she had rough and fast movements — I have had at least 10 massages in my life and by far this was the best one I ever had…
I would highly recommend them to anyone… Lanie, Rockland, MA

I had an amazing 90 minute massage. Do you like strong hands? Rough massages? Oh hellll yes I do. Lily was amazing and nice. I would definitely go back.

This review is not due to a bad massage, or experience there, but becuase I literally cannot get an appointment scheduled! I’ve probabaly called 5 times over the past two months — 4 of them they did not pick up, and once they told me it was closed because it was raining…
i want to give you guys a try! please pick up your phone!

This experience has inspired my first Unilocal review. Previous Unilocalers reviews had prepared me for the more clinical/​chiropractic than spa feel of the business, but Lilly more than made up for it. This was one of the best massages I’ve ever had and I will definitely go back. I had a Groupon but would pay full price. I also arrived late (I thought it started at 4:30pm, they had 4pm) and she still gave me the full 90-​minutes. Amazing.

I had a Groupon for an hour massage. The lady didn’t know much English so after a mistake of me getting on the towel instead of the sheet, we were on the right track.
She did a superb job of a massage. She did the full body rub down and then used hot stones as well. My back is a little sore today which I hear is normal if they do the deep tissue type of massage. She got all up in my grill with her elbows, rubbing my back/​shoulders/​head/​bum/​legs, everything. It was really great. I definitely would come back here when I need my next massage.

DONT GO TO THIS PLACE!
This is my first Unilocal review. I usually don’t feel the urge to write a review, so I guess, this means, this place is absurdly bad, and worthwhile to notify others.
I bought a groupon 36 dollars for an hour massage and thought it was a good deal. But to this day I haven’t enjoyed the service, but rather suffered from the extremely unreasonable back and forth conversation with their receptionist.
I scheduled an appointment for a Friday afternoon several weeks ago, showed up on time, and they said the only message person they had is a MALE and whether I am OK with it. No, I was not OK with that, and felt quite angry they didn’t inform me this over the phone. So, we rescheduled to this afternoon.
Alas, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, my home is out of power since yesterday, and my workplace called a day off, so it became extremely inconvenient for me to leave the house and go to the massage place this afternoon. So I called them asking for a reschedule (I called at 11 AM asking for rescheduling the appointment at 5 PM). To my surprise, the receptionist told me, they will charge 15 dollars cancellation fee. OMG that was a steal. I explained to him it was not my fault but the weather. He was very stubborn, said it was the policy and he couldn’t change the policy… Now it seems I either have to pay 15 dollars extra, or waste 36 dollars I have already paid, to receive some really unfriendly service!

As previous reviews who had Lily (whose name I thought at first was LeeLee) have noted: her English is almost non-​existent. However we communicated fine about having her work mostly on my neck, shoulders, and lower back. The part about my fingers tingling was too complex.
She has very strong hands, and utilized a wide range of techniques which suited me fine– acupressure, reflexology, Swedish, and deep tissue. She’s very strong, and worked hard to get my lower back stretched. At one point I’m fairly sure she was kneeling on the table with me as I don’t think there was any other way that she could have exerted the pressure she did. She worked continuously for the whole hour and there was no talking on the cell phone.
The ambiance, as mentioned, is a bit underwhelming– an office space turned massage office. I entered to an empty entry area and Lily stepped out of one of the rooms to indicate that she knew I was there for a 6pm appointment. She looked a little disheveled, and I was a bit unnerved by her less than professional look. However, given how hard she worked on me, the fact that her hair was escaping from her barrette is understandable. A man did enter with a Back 2 Balance shirt and talk on the phone making appointments before disappearing into the back room. There was no welcoming chit-​chat nor any offer of water (which was clearly visible and I could obviously have helped myself had I wanted any).
Lily finished her previous appointment with the man in the room into which I was going, and I wondered a bit about cleanliness, but bedding was removed and clean paper (!) was drawn over the table. A fresh cover was put on the face/​head rest and then it was covered with a … yup. a paper towel! Unusual.
The room was painted a soothing peach color, there was warm but not too bright lighting, and instrumental music that was very suitable. The massage table was comfortably soft. Lily did, however, bring in the ticking timer, and I couldn’t help thinking about the crocodile and Capt. Hook as my arms hung off the table!
Undressing instructions were missing beyond «Face down;» and the only covering was a bath-​towel. Had the weather not been warm, I could imagine that it might be chilly without a sheet or blanket. Again, unusual.
If there was an improvement on some of client interaction, it would be a more pleasant experience. As it was, it was a technically excellent massage that left me feeling MUCH better than when I entered which was what I wanted. I did have a groupon, and hence felt my value was good. Had I paid what groupon said was full price -$ 80/​hour– I would not be happy.
Bottom line: excellent massage but missing a number of the niceties one expects.

Bought a DealFind voucher a few months ago and just got around to using it. I had a 60 min. massage with Lily. It was easy to schedule and the location (near iParty, Tannery, Rattlesnake) and hours (open till 8pm) were very convenient for an evening after work. As others have said the place isn’t a spa, but it was very peaceful, clean, and quiet. I was the only one there at 6:30pm on a Monday. The massage lasted the full 60 minutes, included back and front with hot stones at the end.
This was the most thorough massage I’ve ever had. She took care of every body part — head, ears, eyes, fingers, butt, feet, toes — that might make some uneasy, but I left there feeling like I was walking on a cloud. For the price I paid I have to give this place five stars. I would go back!

I went here because I had a groupon. Wouldn’t go back.
I don’t think the massage was particularly bad but it really didn’t relax me very much. It was meh. The inside is clean but no frills and the ambience is more like a weird converted office space rather than a nice massage space.