We’ve all seen the headlines. Small franchisees who have apparently been driven out of business by uncaring, bullying franchisors. Franchisees are banding together to take legal action against the franchisor. This media coverage not only tarnishes the franchising system as a whole, but also trashes the franchised brand publicly and presents the franchisor with a significant distraction that takes the focus off the day-to-day franchise operations, not to mention the financial cost.
Why do things get to this point? Can these franchisors look back and identify processes, decisions or policies that led to this damage to their business?
There is usually not one issue that leads to franchisee unrest, but a collection of niggling points that haven’t been adequately addressed – either deliberately or through neglect – and so they steadily compound.