Taiji Body Work

I just finish my massage and come with friend. the service is not like I imagine. The place is nice and clean but I am not satisfied with the massage. The guy that massage me is to rush and just give me a simple rub… I thought it’s gonna be 75 minutes like the one they promise in Unilocal but it did not happen. I only got like 50 minutes rub … I’d rather go to the one in Columbus circle…

As much as I hate to cheat on my regular reflexology spot, ShunFa (next door), sometimes the walk-​in wait exceeds my budgeted time. When that happens, Taiji is every bit as awesome in quality and has higher chair capacity if you’re looking for a foot massage as opposed to back.
While it’s not as personable or quirky as ShunFa, at least the couple of times that I have been here, the prices are just as competitive and the quality is very good. Even though there are more people here than at ShunFa, it manages to be more relaxing, with most people here preferring to nap or rest in near total silence.
I’ll continue to favor my first love, but Taiji is an outstanding option for budget massage.

I was never interested to get body massage but after that great experience with Taiji’s body works. I had very relaxing massage. The staff being so hospitable made such a big difference. The price was reasonable with the great service you get. Cleanliness is my priority and I am impressed with their sanitation. odor is secondary to me and that caught my attention. It all boils down to cleanliness, odorless, reliable, friendliness, relaxing and affordable I definitely recommended this to my family and friends.

Very Chinese style massage, which I love: tui-​na (push-​pull) that gets right down to business and starts working out your knots, unnceremoniously and to the point. The space is simple and no frills.

I will not be coming back here. Foot massage was fine, can find equivalent of much better in Chinatown. What disappointed me was the change of pricing and the forced 20% tip as I was leaving.

Came here without reserving for a full body massage with a friend. Only waited for around 5 minutes till they brought us into a room. This was my very first time getting a massage so I didnt know what to expect. But everyone made me feel very comfortable and very relaxed.
For the price, it was a very good deal. For around $ 50, I got a full body, 75 minute oil massage, and they even added hot stones for free. The ambience is nice and relaxing

The massage I received here was far too hard. I kept telling the masseuse to lighten up on my back but even his gentle was extremely hard. My back felt okay when I left but ended up being sore for three days after!
I’ve gotten deep tissue massages before but this was awful. My back was in extreme pain for days. There are other good deals out there.

Good price… but you get what you pay for. The place isn’t at all clean or peaceful and the staff doesn’t act professional at all — despite their talent. Why the low rating?
Much like other people who have reviewed this place, after a not so great experience, I rounded down my usual tip slightly to 18% — they very rudely *insisted* that the tip amount was 20% (why bother asking if I wanted to add the tip, then)?
Here’s the funny bit — I’ve gone here with my fiancé 4 times in the past year spending around ~$ 550. They’ve forever lost us as customers because they *demanded* an increase in the tip by $ 2 — total, not each — from what we initially added.
Very stupid of them. We easily would have kept coming back thanks to the value of the place and spent another $ 500-​$ 1,000 over the next 18 months, but instead we’ll bring our business somewhere else because they were rude.
Over a $ 2 dispute, they lost $ 500– $ 1,000 in future business — this is the definition of penny wise, pound foolish.

No joke real massage. Nothing Fancy but with Great attitude and skill. Right to the point.

Nice relaxing environment. Clean and well maintained. They always offer great deals! It’s my go to pampering spot in NYC for a great deal! Staff is nice and accommodating.

This is my second or third time visit. I feel relived after suffering from a week-​long coughing. Sophie did a wonderful job massaging my neck and back. The hot stone was amazing.
I have tried many places, including expensive spas. As a native Chinese, I can tell this shop has good training for its therapists.
Highly recommend it!

I’ll start by saying that I generally enjoy massages and I get them a lot. I’ve had amazing $ 25 foot massages in low end parlors in Koreatown, and I’ve had the full spa treatment with all the lavender oils, fruity water, fluffy robes, and $ 100 tips. I enjoy both in equal capacity. When it comes to massages, I’m not particularly bourgeois.
My experience at Taiji was unpleasant from beginning to end. Before we even arrived, the receptionist was extremely rude and called us screaming because we had the gall to be 5 minutes late. Obviously we showed up ready to pay, and the lady quieted down instantly. It was extremely rude and off putting and dissipated the mood for me entirely.
My massage was excruciatingly painful, and unbearably stressful. I was literally fighting against the massage the entire time and felt more tense than I’ve ever been in my life. Also, the bedside manner was just nonexistent. Basic massage etiquette requires that no body part that isn’t being actively worked on needs to be exposed… and they did the basic opposite here. Couple that with the fact that rooms are separated by flimsy curtains, the masseuse gives no indication of when she comes and goes, and the impending, heart-​stopping doom of approaching footsteps pounding up and down the hall, and you’ve got one EXTREME anxiety inducing experience. My muscles were so pumped full of adrenaline from the fear and stress of someone possibly walking in on me that there was no way I could relax. No. Possible. Way.
The hot stone thing was nice and probably the only part of the massage that wasn’t so painful that I was actively praying for death, but there was no attention paid to the feet, which in my experience is the most important way to end any «full body» treatment. I’ve seriously paid 25 bucks for a one hour full body that included feet in Koreatown in LA. I wish I could remember the name of that place so I could give them a 5 star review. :(
After I got dressed, and was feeling more stressed out, shaken, and agitated than I’ve ever felt in my life, the receptionist very rudely talked me up on my tip. I felt like I was being forced to tip more against my will, which I hated even more than I hated my massage. Afterwards, I was in a very sour mood and my entire body was hurting, and my wallet was quite cross with me. They get 2 stars for overall cleanliness, but I will absolutely never give them my patronage again.

I was completely impressed by my experience… especially considering I think that most people reading these reviews had the same level of skepticism that I had going in based on the price… but the price discount comes largely in that they are extremely efficient with their overhead (curtains between the tables vs full on rooms… but it’s totally fine). Even then, my expectation was for an experience with untrained and unqualified masseuses that probably would have stressed me out more than relaxed me… this couldn’t have been further from the truth!
Tina was the masseuse that helped me get rid of knot after knot and was extremely professional and also extremely capable. I definitely plan on going back and asking specifically for her. She’s great and balances hard and painful work (that needs to be done) with softer and more relaxing massage so that you get to breathe in breathe! All in, she was great!
I will definitely be back!

I wish I could give this place 10 stars.
I come about once a month and have done both the hour-​long massage and the shorter chair massage. Both always hit the spot. Between my backpack (heavy laptop!) and daily workouts, I always have a flock of knots and built-​up tension. I’m pretty practical and don’t care about frills — instead, what’s important to me is whether the masseuse seems to be paying attention and cares about what they’re doing. All of their people have fit this bill, plus are professional, polite and soothing. I’ve tried various other places around the city and nothing measures up to this.
Yesterday had a great one-​hour massage (with ten minutes free!) from a gentlemen who I didn’t get to thank before leaving. Still feeling so great.

5 stars for value!
I’ve tried a lot of massage places around New York and last week’s massage (from Kevin) at Taiji Body Work was one of the best (if not the best) so far. This place in general is conveniently located, super cheap, and professional.
You can’t get any better than this for the price!

I had a short massage here before, and Lily was amazing.
But this time I had a really sour impression of them but it was more so the customer service. I called to set up a couples massage for my mom and I. When I arrived, they had only made an appointment for one person. They acted like it was my fault, and insisted only one person could go. I insisted my mother go first, and I sat around waiting, they said they would try to fit me in. I sat there for the WHOLE time, watching and waiting, 4 people came in while i was there, and went in ahead of me. The desk girl did not look at me not once, I wanted to see how long she could keep this up. She was rude to customers on the phone calling for appointments, and did not approach me not once, nor apologize. Never again.

Creepiest Massage Ever!
I’m not shy and don’t mind having a man massage me but this was the worst massage ever! This man thought it was okay to park his nut sack on my head while he was rubbing my back. In one felt swoop he pulled my panties down… now if it was a serious massage I wouldn’t have minded… but he would just pass his limp hand across my back over and over. When I asked him if he could actually use his fingers instead of the palm of his hand… he didn’t understand so asked another therapist. Well she didn’t understand so the receptionist had to come in. Well… it didn’t help any as I lay there with my butt out it was very awkward and gross as he dumped a TON of oil on me.
Yes these are inexpensive massages… I didn’t expect greatness but I also did not expect to be traumatized. I was so thankful when it was over. The clincher is I went to give him a tip ($ 8) just to give him something out of the goodness of my heart. I figured he was new or something. When I tried to hand it to him he yelled «TWENNY PERCEN!» Excuse me? «I GET TWENNY PERCEN!!» Well he should get NOTHING as that was the worst massage of my life. The irony is that 20% would only be $ 1.60 more (??) Well I stuck the $ 8.00 in my pocket and left.
The place is nice and seems clean. I am sure there are some good therapists here — but look for names and ask for that specific person if you don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised.

«Supremely satisfying»
Taiji is the highest conceivable principle from which existence flows. Supreme movement generates yang; when its activity reaches its limit, it becomes tranquil.
And that’s what you get here: A great massage experience in a good setting at very little cost.
Raves
*It’s obviously really inexpensive
*Quality for cost can’t be best
*It’s pretty clean and the décor/​surroundings are pleasant for a massage
*Really late hours
Rants
*Quality can sometime vary between
* The staff sometimes talks too much for what should be a lesser decibel than library silence
This is a very solid choice in the budget category for massages. Not the cheapest choice but certainly one of the more cleanly and nicer decors that other options in the category.

I love these places, there are many locations. But be prepared for no frills, hard tables and deep tissue :)
If that’s not your thing… move on

Summary: decent massage at reasonable price — horrible business practices.
I’ve been a semi-​regular customer here for 4 — 5 years. It’s a spot for a decent massage, and for the other reviewer’s noted shortcomings (noise issues, staff intermittent staff drop-​outs and conversations during massages, language barriers, excessive oil, etc), the cost vs service value generally balances out.
However, last night changed things for me, and I won’t be returning.
I called ahead for a 90 minute massage with Sophie, arrived on-​time, and was taken in promptly to a table. The massage was, again, decent, with the various above mentioned strings attached. Fine.
At the time of payment however, is where this place has lost me. I handed Sophie my credit card for the $ 78 charge, and because they are lacking basic English skills there, you are then handed a calculator to type in how much total (including tip) you will pay. I typed in $ 93, which is a $ 15 (20%) tip on services. At this point, there was an awkward pause and Sophie began giving me looks of disgust and disapproval, and would not process the payment. Huh??? After a few seconds of trying to interpret this bizarre, and suddenly uncomfortable situation, I asked her what the problem is. In one word replies, she said: «Tip. Too small. Want more. 90 minutes. Very strong.» Again, after a few seconds of processing this bizarre and inappropriate exchange, I realized what she was trying to do.
My first thought was, oh God, did I make a mistake here. I double and triple checked my calculations, and even re-​considered if I was making an ethical mistake on the 20%. Any thoughts of going above and beyond the 20% were quickly vanished by how inappropriate Sophie was acting — and I came to my senses and said FROG-​THIS! I will not be insulted by a disgruntled employee.
I told her I would not give any more and $ 93 was the charge amount, and now feeling humiliated and insulted, asked to speak to the «manager». Not surprisingly, she either would not, or could not, understand the word «manager», so I asked for «English». After another minute of her refusing to communicate with me (nasty disrespectful looks still emanating), a man employee came out from one of the (in progress) massage rooms. The man was utterly help-​less. Could speak barely a few words more of English. He chatted with Sophie back and forth, of course I had no idea what was going on. The only «English speaking» representative of this business was completely unhelpful, and helpless.
Bottom line:
1. I’m a small business owner myself — you don’t alienate your good and timely paying customers. If you have a rouge employee who isn’t happy with the tips that come from the rates the business offers, the business either needs to raise the rates, or terminate the employee — because that employee is now costing the business customers.
2. I’m a resident of the 8^th Street neighborhood. Going into a local establishment like this, and leaving humiliated and stressed out is horrible business for 8^th Street which is struggling like hell to re-​build it’s business presence. Positively 8^th Street (business development corp) has been making good progress in re-​building commerce, but transactions and customer service like at this establishment is unacceptable and detrimental to attracting local clientele.
Who wants to spend their money and be ridiculed and belittled…
Their are like 15 other massage places within a three block radius…