Ramblings & A Lesson

Hi Dale,

Thanx for the compliment...

I have been pretty much hanging back a little from BMM. When I think of BMM, My first thought is "Franchise Bashing." Business isn't good enough for me to justify reading the mostly negative ramblings that go on here, daily.

Don, I do not believe your intent was to have a franchise ragging blog/website, but it has turned out to be one in which wounded franchisees {Both current and past} share their versions of what happended to them, in their failed or failing franchise operations. Most post without name, or even city or country. Franchising certainly has it's problems, like any industry, and sometimes we all need to hear horror stories. But it is constant, and really old. I am not saying that there have not been situations in which innocent people were misled into a franchise opp that they were sold..and sold hard. But, I have learned that as an adult, things are never one way, and each party must assume some responsibilty.

As to my ramblings about my little corner of the industry:

Yes, there are way too many franchise consultants/brokers, and because of it, there are less and less prospecive franchise candidates for all of us consultant/brokers. I am sure that Jim Coen would agree! So what I try to do is seperate the ones who really care about their candidates, with the ones that don't. I am not shy, obviously. I think I am getting more and more like my 95 year old grandmother. She speaks her mind. Period. Self serving. Sometimes. Aren't we all? {A little?}

Am I pro-franchisor? Sometimes. Skeptical? Always. Franchisors, you must prove yourselves to me, or I will not even entertain the thought of presenting your concept to my limited amount of candidates.

Dale, You may not like this, but here is how I feel about you, and Cuppy's:

You are getting a fee from them. Your comments are totally irrelevant. {Not in a personal way, though. Just professionally}

I compare your commenting positively on Cuppy's to a little thing going on in the Democratic party, currently. Mrs. Clinton is pushing pretty damn hard to have a Michigan Primary redo. Is it because she is feeling especially American, and pro-democracy? Or is it because she wants to win, no matter what? If she can get some more votes from Michigan, she is in the race...Another words, we were not born yesterday.

Dale, I like what you wrote {Before the Cuppy's talk}, but if you really think you can be a paid consultant for Cuppy's and have a balanced view concerning the likely wrongdoings that have been going on there for awhile, then you need to take a day or two off, and reflect.

Anyway, ta ta for now.

Franpro

Franchise Selection Specialists Inc.

The Franchise King Blog

Franchise consulting,brokering,marketing, and yapping from Cleveland, Ohio

{The Rock and Roll Capital of The World!}

more good honest people are being hurt by bad franchisors. When I stumbled on this I was still running my business. I read everyday the comments. This sight made me see something was wrong in paradise. I loved the business. It was sad we closed.

The stories were consistant. Not only in our franchise but many other franchises. The ranting is out of anger for many believe we got scammed. You have to take the good with the bad.

If you want it to be just a zor sight or operating zees. You should make it known no body write here unless you are in business or are a franchisor.

Yet the reality there are bad people out there taking advantage of good people who wouldn't even think like them. This is a great web-site that will do some good in the world. Franchising will be about franchisors really wanting their zees to be successful. Then you will see many happy zees and zors getting along. In a perfect world it would be a reality.

Unfortunately it is not a reality.

This is a great place to let other suffering zees still struggling to make a go of it understand what they need to do. Do it and go on with their lives.

Dale writes:

FuwaFuwaUsagi, the man who questions the viability of franchising as an investment.

My reply:

You neglected to mention I have the cutest avatar of the aforementioned.  - LOL!!!

FuwaFuwaUsagi

I am in agreement that this site has so much potential.  But honestly, it has become more of an anti-franchisor rag than anything else.  It has been interesting to see the commentary from those who are actively attempting change in the franchise industry, be it attempts to refine franchising from within via the AAFD, or from litigation after the fact ala Solomon.

In a way, franchising is such an odd concept, a system designed to prosper to a large degree off of the sweat and labor of the zees - it is obviously easy to see the potential for abuse - but to go from a realization to this negative possibility to generalized declarations that franchising is an abusive business model is sensationalism at its worst.

I can accept that franchising has substantial flaws.  I agree that to a large degree that the AAFD's focus on changing the manner by which zor's approach their zees is a good step, albeit perhaps a daunting and perhaps unachievable goal.  I appreciate that those such as Solomon, Webster and Steinberg can share their legal perspectives on how to address the problems of franchising from their end.  But I do not get how the current state of the dialogue on this site is in anyway conducive to efficient and positive resolution to franchisee pain and suffering. 

Please let me add that in the case of Medina (Cuppy's) they are in the process of franchising two new companies out to the public.  People need to know about their issues.  This wasn't something manufactured by people here on BMM.  It started about a month and a half ago on franchisepick when Sean saw a couple of posting on Rip-off Report which reiterated the same things that they became known for.  Up until this point in time, there weren't bad posts about them.  They brought this on themselves by not being ethical (and that's probably the word I should've used in the beginning). 

Dale, you always advocated giving these guys a chance after the Java Jo'z situation.  Has your opinion changed since they've spent other people's money?  Haven't followed properly disclosure protocol?  Asking people to lie on their financing application?  Having multiple UFOC's out there for the same time period.   Letting registrations lapse in state (s), etc.  These have all been stated before, except for the last one, which I know for a fact because I did the research (unfortunately, I stated this earlier, but my post was considered spam and didn't get posted).

Dale,

Good to see you back in the kitchen.

Thank you for referring to me as a gentlemen, hasn't happened much in my life, I do appreciate it.

Dale wrote:

"Every Franchisor wants to have happy franchisees; however, this is not always possible." 

In my gentlemanly opinion, there is no such thing as "every franchisor" they are all created differently.

The reality is that with one sided franchise agreements some franchisors just don't care. They hold all the cards, they foster the "don't like it, leave it" mentality.

The AAFD Accredited Franchise Agreement, is a way to identify those agreements that meet fair franchising standards.

Jim Coen

877-469-3002
Blog: Lets Talk Franchising

Jim Coen is the Executive Director of the New England Franchise Association

Dale,

You were a strong advocate for Cuppy's and Elite a year ago as ethical and good franchisors. Do you still feel that way?

Competent bunch?

Hmmm – I made a little post on my BMM blog and it got quite a response.  My initial posting had more to do with the overall feeding frenzy of BMM, and less to do with any real or perceived issue(s) that may or may not exist with any particular franchise system.  I intended my post to have two key points:

FIRST: The marketplace has changed and the customer has been empowered like never before to tell the world about his or her experience with a particular product or service whether positive or negative.  We all know that an unhappy customer will tell more people about their experience than a happy one.  Like it or not, today’s social media is not a fad, or a temporary inconvenience.  It is here and here to stay.  Every business must now strive harder than ever before to take care of their customer, or as the saying goes “If you don’t take care of the customer, someone else will”.  Today’s reality in business is quite simple; your business is only as good as your unhappiest customer.

SECOND: In my opinion, BMM will only live up to its full potential when it begins to attract more participants that:

1.       … participate prior to going into business,

2.       … participate prior to investing in a particular brand,

3.       … seek solutions to small problems before they become BIG problems,

4.       … remain open minded,

5.       … focus more on the solution and less on the problem,

6.       … understand the danger of misguided conclusions,

7.       … seek to build rather than destroy,

8.       … understand the philosophy of there’s usually 3-sides to every story,

9.       … understand that the Franchisor/Franchisee relationship is interdependent,

10.   … understand the differences between:

a.       FACTS: Statement of actuality or occurrence. Facts are based on direct evidence, actual experience or observation.

b.      OPINIONS: A statement of belief or Feeling.  An opinion shows one’s feelings about a subject.  Solid Opinions, while based on facts, are someone’s views on a subject and not the facts themselves.

c.       REASONED JUDGEMENTS: Conclusions by an individual based on premises which can be either facts or opinions.

As opposed to trying to answer, comment and respond to various individual questions, comments and statements, which resulted from my initial post, I will attempt to incorporate the bulk of them into a single response.

MICHAEL WEBSTER WRITES: I agree with Dale's overall observation that BMM's stated purposes are not being met.  …Look at the responses to Turkel's excellent article on hotel franchising, not a drop of useful commentary.  I would like to see a lot less whining and more doing. 

Thanks Michael for your agreement.  I certainly believe that BMM provides a valuable service in allowing others a place to vent.  I also believe that BMM will become even more valuable to the franchise community at the point in time when the venting, is balanced with more material designed to specifically help in the process of determining if one should be a franchisee, and if so of what franchise, and then more material on the day-to-day issues of owning and operating a franchise.

I do not know that I would have used the word ‘advocated’, but I certainly understood the challenges which resulted from the acquisition of certain assets associated with Java Jo’z.  I do not understand what you mean by “they’ve spent other people’s money’.  As for failing to follow proper disclosure protocol and asking people to lie on their finance applications, I’ve seen nothing which would substantiate such allegations.  If an individual has prematurely entered into an arrangement to purchase a building or construction services from Elite in advance of or in anticipation of executing a franchise agreement, I can see where this could create confusion, and if asked I would encourage Cuppy’s to discourage both the prospective Zee and Elite from this practice.  I would strongly discourage anyone from lying on a finance application, as I would discourage anyone from lying in general.  With that said, a reasonable person must recognize the difference between a lie, and an effort to package the truth in the most positive light possible.  A UFOC (FDD) is a snap shot of a franchisor at a particular point in time.  Slight variations of content can reasonably be anticipated depending upon when and where a UFOC/FDD was created and filed.  As stated in the Fundamentals of Franchising, “In some cases, a lapse in registration is unavoidable where, for example, the audited financial statements for the franchisor’s most recent fiscal year required with the renewal application cannot be completed by the automatic effectiveness filing deadline”.

PAUL STEINBERG WRITES: In the interest of full disclosure, a better question might be whether Mr. Nabors (or his company) has ever been retained by Cuppy's in any capacity. There is nothing wrong with that, but if he has been paid by Cuppy's or their associated entities, he should disclose that.

In my original post I wrote: The topics (targets) remain much the same: Quiznos, UPS, Coffee Beanery, Cuppy’s, The Dwyer Group, Meineke, IFA, AAFD, Entrepreneur, Sona MedSpa, FranCorp, FranData, SBA, and the list goes on….  I did not isolate out Cuppy’s, nor was my post about Cuppy’s.  But to the extent that Full Disclosure brings value to the discussion, I will gladly oblige.

I’ve eaten many a Quizno’s sandwich, most of which I’ve paid for but I must disclose the fact that I’ve had a few comp’d.   I’ve worked with many Q Zee’s and consider several to be personal friends.  FranSynergy has a UPS account and we ship many packages via UPS, on occasion there have been some shipping irregularities for which we’ve been given credits.   I know very little about Coffee Beanery outside of what I’ve read here on BMM.  I did visit Cuppy’s corporate offices a little over a year ago (at my own initiative and expense) to see firsthand what all the hoopla was about.  My short visit, which spanned 2-days, validated much of the Cuppy’s position, and the reasons for the confusion and PR challenges following the Java Jo’z acquisition.   Following my visit, I provided them with a management report of issues which needed to be addressed, and offered the services of my company (for a fee) to assist in the implementation of the suggestions which I’d made.  Although Cuppy’s DID NOT choose to retain my services or the services of my company, they did to their credit implement many of my recommendations on their own.  In September of last year, some 7 months after my initial visit, I did receive a call from Cuppy’s asking if I would assist them in designing, developing and implementing certain systems which would benefit the franchisee, and improve operational performance and profitability at the unit level.   I did subsequently accept the assignment, and believe that their current and future franchisees will see significant benefit from our efforts.  I was employed by The Dwyer Group for a little over 6 years, and can say without reservation they are a good company with good brands.  My automobiles have been serviced by Meineke.  I’ve attended many IFA events.  I’ve spoken with the AAFD and met Bob Purvin, and find them to be a good organization with a balanced approach to fulfilling their original mission of bringing “Fairness to Franchising”.  I’ve had an opportunity to meet Jim Amos and Donald Boroian.  I’ve purchased materials from FranData.  I’ve assisted many in securing SBA guaranteed financing, and often use SBA data and resources in my work in franchising.  Oh yeah, there are hundreds of other franchisors and thousands of franchisees with whom I’ve interacted over the years.

H.H. Munro once wrote: “Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger, the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance”.  Your avatar is equally as appropriate as it is ‘cute’.  Ogeden Nash however wrote: “The trouble with a kitten is that when it grows up, it’s always a cat.”

CRAIG HSUEH WRITES: Dale, You were a strong advocate for Cuppy's and Elite a year ago as ethical and good franchisors. Do you still feel that way?  Pretty competent bunch?

Again, I would question the use of ‘Strong Advocate’, nor would I agree that a year ago I ever indicated that I thought they were either ethical or good franchisors.    That is not a position which I would have taken -- absent firsthand knowledge.  I would however agree that I encouraged all not to be too quick to condemn and to try to understand the unique challenges associated with the acquisition of assets associated with a licensing organization and its subsequent transition into a franchising organization.  Today, I still feel as though it is always wise to seek to understand, prior to trying to be understood.  Carpenters have a basic rule of ‘Measure twice, Cut once’.  The reasoning is self-explanatory, but certainly relevant to why one should not make unsubstantiated allegations against a brand.  It is one thing to have sympathy and empathy with the position of a person and their claims, and entirely different to feed what may only be true from that individual’s perspective.

As for competency, that is certainly subjective.  When I was 8 sitting in my grandfathers lap steering his ’63 Chevrolet pick-up truck through his hay field, I believed I was the king of the road.  When I was 13 and driving that same ’63 Chevrolet pick-up truck through those same hay fields I knew I was the king of the road.  At 16 with my newly acquired drivers’ license I had proof, at least in my mind, that I was a competent driver although my parents insurance company did not agree for another 10-years.  Today, I believe myself to be a competent driver, although my wife may disagree.  I’m sure that when I’m 93 and my children are attempting to have my driving privileges revoked that I’ll still believe myself to be a competent driver.  Yes, I do believe that Cuppy’s is a more competent franchisor than they were a year ago, no I do not believe that they are as competent as they will be a year from now.

If you’ve read many of the recent complaint post associated with Cuppy’s, you quickly realize that most of them, steam back to the days of Java Jo’z, as is the case with the Wallace’s.  As I read it and understand it, the Wallace’s were given the opportunity to open their coffee business under Java Jo’z or Cuppy’s.  I’m not sure which it was, but obviously they did, and the business ultimately failed.  Why did the coffee business owned by the Wallace’s fail?  I do not know.  Did Java Jo’z or Cuppy’s have any blame?  Maybe.  Must the Wallace’s also assume a certain amount of responsibility?  Absolutely.   Being in business for one’s self is often challenging whether you’re in business as a franchisee, franchisor, or independent.

I’ve yet to find a franchisor which I would say is 100% perfect -- 100% of the time, nor have I ever found the cruelly malicious franchisor that is involved in and/or devoted to the wickedness or crimes against innocent franchisees, as is often described here on BMM.

So I’ve rambled and hopefully provided adequate responses to the major questions.  With that said, May you all have a blessed EASTER Holiday!

Until Next Time…

Believe & Succeed,
Dale
FranSynergy, Inc.
Synergizing Franchising!
www.fransynergy.com