Customers, employees shocked after massage franchise suddenly closes

MEDFORD, Ore. — Customers of a local massage franchise expecting to have a relaxing appointment Friday found out the location closed instead.

“I didn’t get any kind of contact from anybody that they were closed,” said Massage Envy member Aime Springer.

Springer was excited for her 1 p.m. appointment Friday morning, only to find no one inside and a lock on the door.

“I didn’t get an email that they were closing, I didn’t get a phone call of any kind to say that my appointment was canceled and that’s very frustrating,” Springer said.

NBC5 News received a tip from a member who sent us an email from Massage Envy they got Thursday.

It said they were recently made aware of the sudden closure of the Medford franchise on March third and that members could either transfer their membership to the Eugene or Bend locations, or contact them to cancel.

“They usually send a confirmation a day or two ahead,” said Massage Envy member Rachel Cardillo. “I didn’t even read it because I thought it was just my regular confirmation.”

Cardillo showed up to her appointment Friday as normal, shocked to not have gotten any more information.

“Not necessarily everyone’s going to read it, just like I didn’t read it so I showed up here today,” Cardillo said.

Employees say they weren’t notified until Monday night when they received a text telling them not to show up for work the next day, and that the building was locked.

“We could not get our stuff,” said former Massage Envy employee Alisa Cloud. “And the next day was payday and weren’t even sure that we could be paid.”

Cloud was a senior massage therapist at Massage Envy for two years. She said the manager hadn’t been there for a few weeks but it was business as usua, until the day the location closed.

“We had no idea this was going to happen,” Cloud said. “All the employees were shocked and really saddened because we cared about our jobs and our clients.”

Clients told NBC5 News they’re having a hard time getting their money back, and while they can go to Eugene or Bend, or other Massage Envy locations, it isn’t realistic.

“I’m not going to be going to Bend or Eugene for another appointment, so I’ll have to find something else,” Cardillo said.

If you don’t transfer your membership to another location, you could lose your account and all the money in it.

The situation is not sitting well with customers or former employees.

“It was really a sad day for us,” Cloud said.

Massage Envy’s corporate headquarters did get back to NBC5 News. They said they were not notified of the franchise closure in advance and is in the process of gathering additional information.

It said any members of the Medford location should have gotten an email Thursday to let them know about some available options.

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