I decided to kill time and get a 30-minutes foot massage while I waited for my dinner reservation at Lotus Siam.
This massage parlor is located in a small strip and sketchy area. The building looks run down on the outside and there's broken glasses on the ground but on inside of the massage parlor it was well organized. Upon arrival, a young woman greeted me and handed me a piece of paper with a list of services to choose from. They advertise $19 for a 30 minutes foot massage on the sign outside but it's actually $20 (the dollar difference is not a big deal but false advertisement to draw in customers is). She did a mediocre job on the foot massage but I decided to tip her 25% anyways. After I paid her she gave me a confused look and kept pointing on the sliding glass window in the reception area. She didn't speak any English and I couldn't understand her at all.
When I looked at the window, there was a sign that had three tiers describing the level of how "good" the massage is and based off of that customers tip either $10, $15 or $20. She was making a big fuss because I gave her a 25% tip on $20 30-minutes foot massage! I smiled and told her she did a good job and walked right out. I left it at that and didn't want to deal with it.
I get massages all the time from high end spas to "hole in the walls" massage parlors and this is the only place that made me feel uncomfortable and pressured to tipping based off their system without taking into consideration the type of service a customer gets.
*i would rather pay extra at another massage place to avoid dealing with the unethical business practice.