Mr. Robert Purvin, chair of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers, has spent two decades building an organization to change the dynamics of franchising. That is more than most of his critics here on Blue MauMau can say.
Any of us can tear down a house. Few can build one.
Early Tuesday morning Don Sniegowski reported in almost real time on the AAFD awards dinner. The report was a positive reflection not only on the transparency of the AAFD but also on the collaborative and pragmatic approach of that organization. Both Mr. Purvin and the Blue MauMau raspberry gallery misinterpreted the article, and the fallout to the article says much about both sides.
Mr. Purvin’s response was to take the microphone at lunch on Tuesday and strongly criticize Don's op-ed piece and set forth a defense of Mr. Purvin’s approach. Significantly, Mr. Purvin not only mentioned that members of the AAFD disagreed with his position, but at one point during Mr. Purvin’s speech, Mr. Michael Webster, a member of the AAFD Standards Committee, interjected, “I couldn’t disagree with you more.” Mr. Purvin then urged the assembly to not only attend the Standards Committee meeting that afternoon, but to respond to the Blue MauMau article.
The afternoon meeting (and the following morning session) saw considerable discussion not merely of resolving the Cuppys matter but also of the wider issue as to lessons learned and changes to be made. There were several agenda items preceeding the Cuppys discussion, and at several points oblique references were made to the implications of the public debate.
When the Cuppy’s matter was brought up, there was time allotted for public comment. I took issue with Mr. Purvin’s recitations of the facts regarding the history of Cuppy’s, and the counsel for Cuppy’s in turn took the floor to disagree with me. No Cuppy’s franchisee chose to attend, but both Mr. Purvin and Mr. Webster discussed input they had received from aggrieved franchisees. Both also specifically mentioned that they took seriously the information provided by Sean Kelly and that this information would factor into the AAFD decision.
Mr. Purvin noted that he had received 12 specific complaints regarding Cuppy’s. One of those was arguably outside the cognizance of the AAFD. He discussed the status on the other complaints. In response to the floor discussion, he noted that the AAFD was looking to revise Chapter 6 of the Fair Franchising Standards to prevent a recurrence of the delay in returning unearned monies as seen in the Cuppys case.
Mr. Webster felt there were multiple issues which needed to be addressed. He bluntly stated in the meeting, “There were certain material facts that were not disclosed during the accreditation process and had those facts been known, the outcome [of the certification] would have been different.”
Mr. Webster indicated that the initial decision in the Cuppy’s accreditation will not influence his report on how the AAFD should deal with the future accreditation; indeed, he intends to personally verify the factual assertions being made by the franchisor. During the course of the conference several members of the Board of Directors indicated that Cuppy’s past conduct raised serious concerns which would have to be addressed since the AAFD’s institutional credibility was involved.
For those who have not attended a meeting, I point out that not only does the AAFD have a tripartite membership structure of attorney, franchisor, franchisee, but also voting is structured in a manner which ensures that any proposal must gain support from all constituencies.
As a result, the process is collaborative and pragmatic. The need to build consensus means that each constituency must step into the shoes of the other.
Like many founders, Mr. Purvin is not lacking in ego and forcefulness. But Mr. Purvin has set up an organizational structure which is the most transparent and collaborative in franchising. That’s not a bad legacy, and the success of the AAFD will depend on those from both franchisor and franchisee communities who choose to work together and find solutions—not those who offer only snarky comments with no solutions.
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RE: AAFD: Excellence in Organizational Governance
