This is a guest post by PinkElle of PinkElle Reviews who puts her self-esteem on the line and takes us on a first hand view into the shady world of slimming salons.
If you ever intend to go for a slimming trial at a slimming salon, be prepared to go with very high self-esteem as the slimming consultants will absolutely rip your esteem apart and leave you feeling obese with cellulite and saggy butts… even if you have the body of a runway model.
That was my experience when I took advantage of a free trial I won at Bizzy Body.
Be prepared for insults at a slimming salon
I was registered at the entrance by a slim beauty consultant (all slimming consultants are thin – I think it is a pre requisite!) who then proceeded to take my height and weight with a high-tech weighing machine that calculates your body fat percentage. I was then led to a small room to be briefed prior to starting the treatment. It was a small dimly lit room that felt like an interrogation cell. Be prepared for this is where the insults start and where your self-esteem and pride are shot down into many pieces by the beauty salon firing squad.
Another consultant came in after a short while and asked a few standard questions about allergies and age. She then took a look at my results and proceeded to exclaim how high my body fat percentage was and how I could stand to lose at least another 3 kgs for my height. I found this quite an interesting observation as doctors have told me I’m underweight before! She also said that normal people have a body fat of 18% to 20% which I later found out is only what athletes have, not normal people. In general, women require a higher body fat percentage compared to men due to their childbearing requirements.
PB Notes: Do be warned that consultants at slimming salons are not medically trained.
Be prepared for criticism of your physique
I was then asked to follow her to a fitting room with harsh lighting where she requested for me to remove my clothes so she could show me my problem areas in the mirror. She proceeded to happily point out cellulite and that my “butt was starting to sag”. For the record my butt is perfectly pert and fine thankyewverymuch! 😛 Under that harsh flourescent lighting, anyone will have cellulite!
She then hinted again that there wasn’t any point in me doing the free trial if I did not sign up for their package as I will not see any effect after the first time and she did not want me to blame Bizzy Body for not having any results to show. The constant reminders of how much I had to lose and how I could benefit from their “Guaranteed Inches Lost” programme continued! Argh!
According to her, Bizzy Body is the only slimming centre in Malaysia to offer guaranteed inch loss and would actually continue to provide treatments for free if your treatment package does not give you the promised results! I feigned ignorance and asked her if there was any strict diet to follow to which she smiled and said of course. I thought “The Guaranteed Inches Loss” programme is was a bit of a ridiculous claim as any loss in weight or inches can only be achieved by following a proper diet as well and it provides them an avenue to shoot you down further for not following their diet if you do not reach your desired measurements.
Slimming salons are all about hard-sell of packages
She asked about my problem areas and it provided a great opening for her to start sharing their wonderful package “available only today and only for first-time customers” which will give me 10 free spot treatments on top of the existing ones for a rock-bottom price.
I was not keen to sign up and I absolutely did not like how her attitude changed after that. She kept harping on the fact that my body fat percentage was high and even went on to suggest that I do not try the free trial as it will have no benefits whatsoever. When I asked her point-blank as to whether I should even do the trial, she quickly smiled and said it was entirely up to me and she did not want to imply that I could not have the trial even though I did not sign up for the package.
I thought this was a rather silly sales tactic as a good trial and treating your potential customers well might actually persuade them to join whatever programme you are suggesting!
There Was No Separate Female-only Changing Area
I insisted on the trial (I deserved something after all that image bashing!) and was led to a fitting room to change into a loose robe. Their fitting room area resembles a gym locker area with lockers provided for your items and a tiny fitting room in which my cellulite was harshly pointed out. To my shock, a male customer walked into the locker area to calmly wash his face at the sink while I was placing my stuff in the locker. The fitting room is only secured with a thin curtain and with all the recent hype around women safety, I couldn’t believe that a slimming centre where women have to be in a state of undress at some point of time does not have a women only changing area! In any event, what was a MAN doing in a slimming salon targeted at WOMEN?!
The “treatment” was by way of machine
I was then led to a small dim room to start the treatment. Small round pads with cold gel which was hooked up to a machine was placed on my “problem areas” for a 30 min treatment. Imagine tiny bursts of vibrations and what felt like small currents of electricity on your body and that was exactly what the treatment was like! That was it! The hardsell and critique took way longer than the actual “treatment”!
My “treatment” ended with a tiny cup of water. Will I sign up with Bizzy Body or any slimming centre?
Definitely no…not if every visit is going to be marked by insults or hard selling by their consultants who are not even medically trained!
Slimming centres should definitely look into better ways to market their services instead of telling a woman outright that she’s fat! It’s the most taboo word in a woman’s dictionary and can really destroy a woman’s self-esteem and perception of her own body. It might however be what they want to do so you’d sign up for their “miracle packages” that cost a small fortune!
PinkElle views restaurants, hotels, products and services with a critical eye and blogs at PinkElle Reviews a blog that is chockfull of reviews about mostly anything at all!
So tell me. Have you ever been to a slimming salon? Would you like to share your experiences or have you thought about going to one?
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
Karen says
June 5, 2009 at 9:25 amHeya Paris,
Eek! I can’t believe they were so rude.
I don’t think I’ll be headed to a slimming center any time soon.
ParisB says
June 5, 2009 at 11:15 amHey Karen
I know! When PinkElle told me about it I was so horrified. You don’t need a slimming center! I’d rather just go to a gym 😀
PIA says
December 14, 2010 at 1:59 pmhI ….I KNOW…BIZZY BODY DID THE SAME TO ME,….THEY SWIPPED MY CARD AND PLANS TO CHARGE RM3800/.//K////JZ LIKE THAT….WHEN I NEVER WANTED / DID NOT GO WITH A VALID REASON, THEY REFUSE TO REFUND AND WANTED 30% OF MERCHANT CHARGE….HORRIBLE PEOPLE SO I LODGED A POLICE REPORT!
eK says
May 2, 2013 at 5:00 pmi should’ve researched more & read this blog before going in…
experienced the same few days back…got charged 30% of total package value
they keep pointing out the cellulite at my butt & thigh and that if i do not take the treatment now, i wouldn’t be able to show off my legs with hawt pants and mini skirts (wth?!)
told them that my bf actually dislike me wearing too short and her reply “it’s your body & confidence not ur bf”
PIA : did u lodge a police report anyway? does it work? (even though i doubted so)
JackieA says
June 5, 2009 at 10:22 amHow awful! I must admit that most SA’s / “beauty” consultants (most of them have no idea whatsoever about their own products!) and generally people in the frontlines don’t know the first thing about how to provide good service. Stand up and take notice ‘service industry’ we are getting more savvy now and will NOT tolerate less than acceptable service from you lot!!
ParisB says
June 5, 2009 at 11:16 amHey JackieA
Ah you said it! I don’t know if we should blame the SAs, the company or just the public for allowing them to do this to us!
Sofia says
June 5, 2009 at 10:53 amThat sounds mortifying! As someone who, unlike you, actually has a few extra pounds on her that I KNOW I can stand to lose, I would be too scared to utilize their services. I’m sure they wouldn’t hesitate to call someone who actually IS overweight fat to their faces! That’s the last thing I need by way of motivation!
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 11:22 amHi Sofia,
Yes, they really rip your self-esteem apart and just stop short of using the F-A-T word although they imply it in many other unpleasant ways!
Sylvia says
June 5, 2009 at 11:02 amSounds scary enough for me, i’ll keep a safe perimeters away from these ‘slimming centres’ aka self-esteem rippers.
Sidetrack: I heard story of bust enhancement centres with far worst self-esteem ripping tactics. Imagine being bare naked and consultants touching and analyzing your bustline with heavy critism all the way. I heard the therapy was painful too.
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 11:25 amHi Sylvia,
Ouch…that sounds scary! Btw, Bizzy Body offers breast enhancement services too. It was that option or the slimming one and after your sidetrack, I’m glad I opted for the slimming option!
Kahani says
June 5, 2009 at 11:32 amOh wow that was brave of you Pinkelle! And yeah you’re absolutely FINE. B*itches at salon… *grumble grumble*
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:47 pmHi Kahani,
Thanks! 🙂 My poor battered self-esteem needed that!
Christy says
June 5, 2009 at 11:41 amOh, that was way too rude and downright unprofessional!!!
You’re right to just insist on the free trial, in fact they should be happy that you didn’t tear the coupon in their face!
UGHS…what do they know?
They ought to read about their BMI and body fat percentage and let experts tell them a thing or two about their future-sagging skin with their skinny-outlook-worshipping!
Reese says
June 5, 2009 at 11:43 amMy friend working in a leading slimming centre told me the slimming treatment works, BUT, be prepared to pay dollops of cash for treatments after treatments.Another lost only 3kg after spending close to RM7K. I went with her for the consultation, guess what, the so called nutritionist put her on a diet similar to Atkins Diet which I definately object to! Too unhealthy!
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:50 pmHi Reese,
Gosh! RM7k for only 3kg?! That’s a heavy price to pay indeed! She probably had to put up with insults too during her treatment! 🙁
Nikki says
June 5, 2009 at 12:14 pmCan I just say I get discouraged too at Hair salons? LOL That’s why I always stick to one because once I tried a different hair salon and my hair got insulted!!!! I guess that’s how they sell services or new products to people!!!! Gosh, I feel like my confidence are all gone everytime I step out of the place!!!
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:53 pmHi Nikki,
Gosh, hair salons too?! These people in the beauty line need lessons in marketing!
prettybeautiful says
June 5, 2009 at 1:41 pmholy shit! i didnt know bizzy body is like that!!!! my god. i cannot imagine the insult if i ever go there. my friend gave me 1k voucher before to a slimming center, but i rather waste the voucher than being insulted there =/ and pinkelle is skinny already omg!
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:54 pmHi PrettyBeautiful,
I went there on a whim cos of the free trial and because I had never been inside a slimming centre before. The voucher value was RM350 but the treatment felt like only RM30!
fiza says
June 5, 2009 at 1:43 pmnot only slimming salons, other beauty services such are yun nam, london weight mgmt, new york skin solution (all these three are under the same mgmt) are very hard on selling packages. and it is not cheap ok !!
an advice to all – be smart with your money. if u think u can’t handle it, just dont bring your credit card / atm card when going for the first trial
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:57 pmHi Fiza,
Thanks for your advice! With their super hard sell and insults, it is very easy to crumble and sign up with them immediately!
jojoba says
June 5, 2009 at 2:19 pmi was rather shocked when i saw the title popped up on my blog roll. i was like, OMG, she is so slim and she needed to go there???!!! then what about ME???
so i came to read about it. Whew that was a relief and i am glad someone actually dared to do this. i am not one who believe in such places. i think best is through regular exercise and eat healthier… and if still not working, embrace whatever is given! 🙂
Pinkelle says
June 5, 2009 at 2:58 pmHi Jojoba,
Yes, indeed. Exercise and a healthy diet is best!
super slim says
September 7, 2011 at 1:08 pmu were right!!! The best solution is exercise. Just spend little u’ll gain a lot rather than wasting money in tis type of slimming saloons. Control our daily diet , drink lots of water and carry on with some exercise, tat was an advice from a doc…. anyway thanx for sharing your experience.. It will be a good lesson to others.. so ladies drop ur ideas about slimming centre..
melinda says
June 5, 2009 at 2:38 pmthank you Paris B,
U are my saviour~
To have gone through all the BS process and reported back here…just prove u are such a sweetheart~
If they tell u, u are overweight…i wonder what they are going to tell me…a giant perhaps?
hehe
I believe, excersice is the most proven weight loss solution! but, it need strong will power and discipline ;(
Jasmine says
June 5, 2009 at 4:07 pmI’ve tried slimming programmes before and trust me, hard selling is the only thing they will do. Any other treatments will either pound you or steam all the water out of you, so you appear marginally thinner.
yahui says
June 6, 2009 at 12:00 amdownright atrocious! spread this out on the blogosphere more! warn others! 😛 but yet again, it’s to be expected, facial salons and slimming centers alike. it’s ironic, though. a hard-sell type salon cured my acne – so far though. not totally. hmmmm. makes me wonder whether it is ‘vital’ to stick with their programs 100% to really reap the benefits.
but then again, i don’t think so. that’s totally psychological and doesn’t make sense. o.O
Ms, Blacklace says
June 6, 2009 at 1:57 pmI accompanied my friend to a slimming center before. Kind of stupid coz the SA tried to get me to sign up for one of their packages to lose weight even though I’m 162cm, and my weight was 43kg.
Then she also used this device on me and checked my body fat and said:”You can lose somemore leh…” Total bullshit. The only accurate way to calculate body fat is a dunk test [if you’ve watched the reality show the biggest loser].
Really not medically trained. She didn’t know that just a week ago, I went to OBS [outward bound singapore], some adventure training camp in pulau ubin. It was raining 5 days straight, and the wind was really cold, and I got mild hypothermia. Scared the shit out of my friends coz I feel asleep on her lap, and my lips were dark blue, fingers blue everything looked dead [that’s what they said!]. Woke up in the medical center, then the instructor told me:”You have too little body fat. Cannot keep you warm.”
Ashley says
June 6, 2009 at 3:38 pmAh, I hate all these hard-selling and the lousy service they give once they know you aren’t gonna fall for it. My mum and I frequent this particular skincare centre simply cause they never hard-sell. You can just come at your own pace. It’s more professional, and people appreciate that.
Afterall, when women go for all these beauty treatments, it’s to pamper ourselves! Why should we put up with all this bad service that leaves such a bad aftertaste?
yuki says
June 6, 2009 at 10:43 pmGosh! Some way to treat a potential customer… Don’t ‘pong chan’ them.. .I heard that Mary France Bodyline actually asks their customers to ‘diet’… Why the apostrophe marks? Well their meaning of ‘DIET’ is actually our meaning of STARVING! Yup… All u can eat is just Taufoo far without sugar (2 servings per meal) and fruits… That’s what I heard frm my mom’s friends… tsk tsk tsk… like that we all osso can lose weight w/o going to those salons…
a.min says
June 7, 2009 at 12:48 pmthat look so bad! i never went 2 slimming center, but this is not the first time i heard about hard selling tactics in slimming center. that is why i always been negative towards places like slimming center, beauty salon and even nail salons!
rinnah says
June 7, 2009 at 3:12 pmI’ve always wondered what went on behind the doors of a slimming centre… now I know, thanks to PinkElle!
p.s. I think you look fabulous, babe. Like kahani said, you don’t need no slimming centre! In fact, gimme your tips on how you stay so slim!
markonahsood says
June 11, 2009 at 11:13 amhi there everyone,
i actually a new customer for bizzybody slimming course.
ermmm, i already signup for the 5k treatment but havent when to any of their treatment yet. i will update with u soon. but i can say that they are actually trying 2 persue me to take more treatment for my body. i felt that i’ve been cheated bcos now they will tell me to tpup another 1k but later on they will ask me more2..
i quite dissappointed with their SA.