| Hello dearest clients! We are now a year and 5 days out from when RASA closed for quarantine and when we, as a nation, realized this situation was much more serious than many thought it would be. As you might have noticed from previous emails I am a “glass more than half full” kind of person. I know many people have suffered from illness &/or suffered losses of many kinds, but I am also grateful for some things this pandemic has brought me/us. Many of us have been able to take a look at our lives pre-pandemic and see things that were not serving us well and have been able to adjust here and there to make some needed changes. Not everyone has been this fortunate, but I hope each of you have been able to find something positive from this collective experience. The pandemic has been another reminder of just how amazing our clients are. You are loyal, kind, generous, and many of you have supported us for more than a decade and in the midst of such a strange and stressful time! For that we are ever so grateful! Because I tend toward overly verbose, here is a summary of what you will see below: 1) Yes, masks even if you’ve been vaccinated…: an explanation 2) But face down, we have you(r face) covered (no masks needed while face down) 3) New clients limited– only taking referrals for the time being 4) Schedule and call-list adjustments, eventually… 5) CBD products– what are you interested in? Your RASA Updates: 1) Q: “I have been vaccinated. Can I stop wearing a mask?” A: As much as we desperately want our clients to be able safely go without a mask on the table, and as much as we would be overjoyed to not have to wear one ourselves, unfortunately at this time, it’s just not a safe option. We are halfway to being fully vaccinated ourselves, which is a huge relief, but it’s too early to know just how safe we all are and for how long. The current CDC guidance says that people who have been vaccinated are safe to be with other vaccinated individuals; however, this is guidance for activities such as gathering with a small group for dinners and such. It is not guidance for being in a small room in very close proximity for an extended period of time. Since more than half of RASA’s current clients are over 60 and Ashleigh is herself at a higher risk, we can’t, in good conscience, start taking our masks off for treatments. We typically spend most of the massage within 3 feet of our clients’ faces and often a long time within a foot from faces, so staying vigilant remains a top priority.And don’t forget your nose should also still be covered unless you are exclusively a mouth-breather (and even if you are, go ahead and cover your nose anyway). 2) We do now have a better option for being facedown— no mask needed (but you are welcome to wear one if you choose)! We use a custom fitted barrier under the face cradle, so we are all better protected and clients are more comfortable. And, of course, the barriers are changed between each client and the face cradles cleaned. 3) Since reopening, we have managed to stay busy. We are trying not to overbook ourselves (one of the adjustments we are trying to make is not overworking), but as more clients come back as they are comfortable, we are moving in the direction of being as booked as the schedule allows. Because we are staying so very booked up right now, we are going to stop taking new clients unless a current client refers them to us. So, this means if you are receiving this email, you can still send people our way. They should just be prepared to wait a few weeks, maybe even 6 weeks, to get an appointment. This is a good “problem” for us to have, but we are sorry we are not able to accommodate more clients! 4) We are looking at some ways to streamline a few things in booking and make the schedule a little more cohesive. Since some of our cleaning time is reduced because of the UV light and other faster cleaning measures, we will slowly go back to less time between clients. If you have a standing appointment, you may be hearing from us over the next month or two about adjusting your time by 15-30 minutes again (we did this when we reopened knowing that it would eventually need to another adjustment). We are also trying to figure out a way to make the call-list work a little better and reduce the time we need to spend notifying people and trying to decide who to contact when for what options. Right now, our call list is over 65 people deep and the business line thinks we are spamming people when we send out so many texts (so often some don’t go through). We are brainstorming and researching alternative options. So, if you are on the call list, expect a message maybe in a month or two (or more, depending on what options we can find). 5) Finally, we are considering expanding our CBD product options. We sell Charlotte’s Web CBD balms already, but wanted to see what else people might be interested in. We know that there are many options out there for CBD, but our goal in selling these is to make sure you’re getting high quality, effective products. Beyond Charlotte’s Web, we are considering stocking another locally grown hemp product, but we wanted to see where our clients’ need/wants/interests lie. Just balms and lotions? Gummies? Tinctures? Capsules? Let us know (email, text, in person) if you are interested in products beyond balms, but also if you’d be willing to pay a bit more for high quality local hemp products!  |