“I really enjoyed my Aromatherapy Massage and would recommend to others (think I’ll try Indian Head Massage next time!) I think it’s a really good idea and gives people the opportunity to try alternative therapies at a reduced cost. Thank you for the opportunity to get some relaxation from a sometimes stressful yet enjoyable job”.
Alison Scott

“I thoroughly enjoyed the reflexology session and left feeling relaxed and stress free. I would welcome a regular sessions, monthly or even more frequently – I think Friday is a good day as well as it is a nice finish to the week”.
Anne Lewis

“I thought it was marvellous! It’s the first time I’ve managed to book a slot as they’re normally all gone by the time I get the email, I really hope I manage to get one next month too. I lead quite a stressful lifestyle and it was such a treat to be able to relax and unwind for half an hour without having to rush to a salon and back! My only negative comment would be that there aren’t enough slots, can’t it run for a whole week rather than three days?!”
Catherine Laing

“Wonderful idea, council should promote well being and alternative “treatments”. However, as usual with Gateshead it’s 2 steps forward and 1 back – still aggrieved that won’t allow me on cycle scheme as I am an essential car user. Anyway back to the issue – which is the environment – sitting on a chair in a forlorn corridor was not a pleasant experience. Room was also cold and bare. Treatment itself was excellent”.
David Jones

“Hi Heidi, the email said to be there 5 minutes before the appointment at 3pm so I was there for 2.55pm but it was almost 3.10 by the time I got in & I found it hard to relax due to the room, although they did turn down the lights & put some music on but I did enjoy the treatment as I have always wanted to try reflexology so I was pleased to be able to experience this, especially for the price. I think its a great idea that the Council are providing this & I would definitely go for another treatment but hopefully it will be on time next time”. Elisa Bullha

“It was a good experience but I won’t be doing it again- not due to any fault of the ladies but it was not my cup of tea. The ladies were lovely and made me feel very relaxed. The treatment was good but I felt it was too short.”
Gemma Taylor

“I had an aromatherapy massage on Friday and an indian head massage on Tuesday. I really enjoyed both and had been wanting to do something like this for a long time but just couldn’t afford it. Both really helped with my stress levels and back problems and will definitely book again in the future”.
Helen Reay

“Brilliant – It was extremely relaxing and I would recommend it to anyone. I have only been able to attend one session because the appointments seem to go almost immediately but
I would certainly want to continue going on a regular (monthly) basis if it became a permanent fixture and I would be keen to try the other 2 options too!
Ian Burchell

“Thank You, I did enjoy my massage, I’d like one every week please! I was on annual leave last week, so it was a nice start to my holiday. I thought Laurel was fantastic, she got rid of all the tension in my shoulders, I’ll definitely be back for more. The only comment I would make, is that being based up at Prince Consort Road, my badge was no good for getting to the basement by myself, so I had to be escorted there and back. It might be useful to leave a general access badge at the reception desk, which could be returned”.
Janice Holmes

“I thoroughly enjoyed my Indian head massage! The room was nice and warm, no disturbances, the massage was great & the lady who did it was lovely (sorry I don’t know her name). It was excellent value for money. My only gripe is that the half hour passed too quickly! I will definitely be booking up again in the future”.
Judith Thompson

“Very much enjoyed the reflexology session this morning, and the chance to take some “time out”. Please let me know when the next sessions are, I would like to book up for next month”. Ken Wilson

“I found the Indian Head Massage to be really relaxing and the atmosphere in the room the same. Lights were turned out and there was soft music in the background making the whole ambiance relaxing in itself. The massage lasted the full half hour and was well worth the £10. I would recommend other staff to take advantage of the pay day pampers”.
Lesley Hanson

“I really enjoyed my massage last Friday-would book again if you planned pay day pamper days in the future”.
Lucy Rutter

“Very relaxing and enjoyable, looking forward to next month!”
Marie Murphy

“I really enjoyed the aromatherapy session last week. Being held at the Civic Centre these sessions are easily accessible and they are certainly value for money. I would access these session again in the future”.
Nitin Shukla

“I thoroughly enjoyed the massage. Having access to such treatments at discounted prices, available during the working day is a wonderful benefit and is an excellent offer to employees. It really helps to relieve stress and tension and is a real benefit for many people who because of child care commitments etc couldn’t access such treatments after work or on weekends. I would certainly like to book again and I hope the scheme continues”.
Rachel Burns

“The Indian Head Massage was fab, really relaxing and would recommend it to anyone. The ladies were very nice too!”
Kelly Daglish

“I really enjoyed it, very relaxing, a great way to spend half an hour out from your desk, I was going to contact you with a view to booking a session for February! Please let me know if that is possible?”
Marie Murphy

“I loved it. I’d never tried it before and thought it was a great opportunity – 30 minutes at £10 was fantastic. I thought the lady was lovely and I will definitely try these for as long as they are on offer. I’ll be torn between having the same thing again or giving reflexology a go as I’ve never tried that before either”.
Sharon Morin

“My reflexology session was incredibly relaxing, and yes it would be great to have this every month”.
Shela Close

“I enjoyed the massage, it was very good. The whole experience was very relaxing and I would definitely go back for another treatment”.
Tracy McPherson

“I enjoyed the experience and think longer sessions of an hour should also be offered. It wasn’t really explained when I went into the room what I was supposed to do e.g. how to pay, the form I had to sign, where I needed to sit/lie down etc. and I’d never had this kind of treatment before so felt a little lost. Apart from that I really enjoyed it and will definitely do it again”.
Andrea Lee

“It was absolutely fantastic. I would love to repeat as often as possible. The therapist has wonderful gifted hands!”
Anne Miller

“I had not realised that the Pay Day Pampers were only being trailed for three months! I’m really pleased I took the opportunity to try one out!! The treatment was very relaxing and enjoyable, the only downside was having to get up and leave straight after without having a short ‘recovery’ time! The lady (I can’t remember her name) who did the treatment was lovely and made me feel very comfortable. I would definitely recommend the Indian head massage to other colleagues and I would also have more treatments – in fact was planning to book for a back massage next month – here’s hoping I still get the chance!”
Claire Emmonds

“It was great and good value for money. I would certainly use it on a regular basis. I can’t easily get to where the lady works the rest of the week as I work and live south of the river. The only down side is sitting out in the corridor waiting but given the reasonableness of the cost and convenience of the service a small price to pay”.
Dilys Cowper

“The treatment was brilliant and well worth it. The therapist was friendly and professional, with a pre-treatment discussion to ensure I received the optimal experience. I felt de-stressed and ready to face the working day with a renewed energy. I had previously tried to book into a treatment for the other pay day pampers although they were so popular there were no spaces left. After I had booked this treatment, a work meeting was rescheduled at the last moment which would have clashed with the original booking although when I contacted yourself I was able to re-book a different time smoothly even at the last minute (luckily there was a space still remaining)! Many thanks to yourself and the therapist on the day”.
Emma Bennewith

“I really enjoyed my massage and would highly recommend it to anyone. It was excellent value for money and I hope to have another in the not too distant future”.
Helen Hill

“The session was wonderful and very relaxing, really helped during a busy day. I would definitely be in support of pay day pampers to continue. Therapist was very knowledgeable and friendly. Looking forward to another session”.
Helen Stew

“As it was my first experience of any kind of massage and it was recommended by a friend who suggested it may help with my migraines I would say yes it was successful and reasonably relaxing for me. The only problem is being 6′ tall unfortunately I am really not the right size/shape and if I’m honest a little too tall for the chair, although they raised it as high as possible the therapist kept tripping over my feet and I’m not entirely convinced my head was in quite the correct position! That aside, I’d say relatively speaking it was quite successful”. Jacquelyn Irving

“I thoroughly enjoyed the massage, its only a shame I had to return to work as it was so relaxing, and I’ll certainly be trying to get a place on the next pamper session. The lady doing the massage was lovely and very friendly, the only criticism I’d have is that the room is huge so it takes a few minutes when you get in there to ‘forget’ where you are and there is no privacy for changing which when you are having a back massage means you have to take your top off so involves a bit of contortion to get on the table etc whilst keeping covered, so maybe some screens would prove useful – I’m sure building people will have some. After a few minutes of massage though you forget all that, and my back felt great, I really felt the benefit, knots are slowly creeping back though so it would be great if it’s a regular thing”. Joanne Morgan

“This was the first time I’ve had Reflexology treatment and I did really enjoy the treatment, felt really relaxed afterwards, all the stresses gone. I would definitely book another session and also thought the price was very reasonable”.
Julie Langley

“With regards to feedback on my Indian Head Massage (IHM) experience. May I start by saying that I chose that option (out of the 3) because of the following statement:
• Indian Head Massage is a wonderfully relaxing treatment undertaken whilst you sit comfortably in a chair. This treatment is ideal if you are suffering neck or shoulder tension, as it works deeply over the muscles in this area.
The first part of this statement was very accurate, it was a very relaxing experience while I sat comfortably in the chair. In fact I nearly dozed off and it took my 20-30 seconds to get my bearings when the treatment was finished and I first lifted my head up (just like you feel when you have actually been asleep and someone woke you). The second part of the statement I found to be not so accurate, e.g., I frequently suffer from neck and shoulder tension but do not feel that it worked deeply over the muscles in this area. In fact I endured a short spell of stiffness and soreness in my shoulders and neck afterwards. (However, I believe this is more to do with myself than the actual IHM therapy, e.g., with regards to the soreness and stiffness, it’s something that happens to me if I stay in that type of position for a fairly long period. While on the aspect of not helping (working deeply over the) muscles in this area, I believe this is because it was too gentle while my body (for whatever reason) needs this type of treatment to be more severe/harsh in order to be beneficial. An example of this is the ‘sports massage’ which was offered a while ago (at Dryden Centre), although it was a lot more rough and indeed sore in points, I believe it was a lot more beneficial and made me feel better than the IHM did.)Overall, I would recommend this to anyone contemplating having an Indian Head Massage. It was very relaxing and while I feel it might not necessarily have had the desired affect on my muscles (reasons explained above), it was still an enjoyable experience. I also believe that I am in the minority and most people would actually feel the benefits)”.
Kevin Tron

“My massage was excellent and I know I would benefit from this on a regular basis. The lady who did it was very friendly, and also professional. As I don’t work on a Friday I benefitted from being able to come outside my work hours. I would not have attended if it had been in the evening as I don’t like extending my working day, with having home commitments so the current arrangements worked well for me. In relation to this being called “Pamper” days, for me it was a means of releasing work stress, so certainly not pampering”.
Lorna Bell

“Mixed feedback the massage felt fine at the time. However, on Saturday and Sunday I suffered from terrible pain in my left shoulder, a chronic ache accompanied by a burning sensation – not sure whether this was an allergic reaction to the oils or the massage itself. It would be better if the room was partly screened off (as its very large) – for privacy and more intimate setting. Lights were too harsh when turned on immediately as the session finished (Maybe in a rush as it was last thing on Friday afternoon)! I did access the therapies via the Dryden Centre for back massage and this was excellent setting, but the lady got a job as an administrator at the Dryden centre and she was excellent. This has made me dubious about accessing any more sessions – well for back massage anyway”.
Marie John

“I think the pay day pampers are an excellent idea – I have told people in our team to read Council News so that they can see what is going on. One person had tried to book in but all appointments were taken. I would certainly want to take advantage of any other offers that were available. I also went for some Bowen Therapy after learning about if when there were other opportunities a couple of years ago. I went on to have further treatments which cured the sciatica I had been suffering from which in turn benefits the Council”.
Marjorie James

“I really enjoyed my massage which was extremely relaxing but also released a lot of tension knots that had build up over the months, so I expect to feel the health benefits for weeks to come. I intend to book for each of the coming sessions, and very much hope that the pilot is continued so that more Gateshead employees can benefit from this treatment”.
Pat Keddie

“It was really good. When I worked at Orange many moons ago we had the same thing, I felt totally de -stressed when the treatment was finished. I will be booking one each month”. Tanya Rossington

“The Indian Head Massage was really lovely – it’s a brilliant idea having that 40 minutes out of the office. I really hope they continue to do stuff like this as it’s an excellent idea”.
Stacy Walker

“IT WAS FANTASTIC, very professional and friendly and excellent value for money. Having it on site was great as didn’t have to finish too early. We need more slots and would I be greedy if I booked again for next time? When I was waiting there were two to her people who has also booked for a 4.30 slot so they were sent away disappointed so I think something may have gone wrong with the appointment system”.
Nicole Johnson

“This was the first time I have had an Indian Head Massage and I was not disappointed. I found the whole experience extremely relaxing. It was particularly beneficial to me as my appointment was at lunchtime and the massage set me up for the whole afternoon. I felt totally stress free. Normal lunchtimes are spent trying to scurry around Gateshead avoiding all the pushchairs and then hurrying back to the Civic Centre feeling quite frazzled! A further benefit I have noticed over the last few days is that my back muscles seem to be much less taut and a lot more relaxed. I hope to make this a regular appointment. Thank you for providing the experience”.
Renee Lord

“I thoroughly enjoyed my reflexology treatment this morning and felt that it was very beneficial to my wellbeing. The treatment was very relaxing and I will be certainly recommending them to my colleagues. I would love to book another session in the future but would attempt to book a slot nearer the end of the day so that I could go straight home rather than returning to work as I feel the session has not been quite as beneficial as I have now been on my feet all afternoon! I will certainly be looking out for any future Pay Day Pampers in the Council Info”. Sheila Mackie

“The treatment was excellent. I was very stressed when I went in and completely de-stressed when I came out”.
Tanya Rossington

“The treatment was amazing. I often have a massage, and have only recently started with the reflexology. Apart from the medical benefits I believe alternative therapies can provide, it’s also the feel good factor afterwards. I would certainly like to have the treatment again next payday, and it would be a shame if these treatments were stopped”.
Tracy Redhead