In Wednesday’s post on Dunkin’ Donuts litigation (DUNKIN DONUTS: Time to Sue the Franchisees!), I stated that the donut and coffee franchisees are allegedly embroiled in more than 350 lawsuits with their franchisor.  Franchisee attorney Robert Zarco recently stated that “By far and away, Dunkin’ is the most litigious brand out there.’’
Founder of the franchise news portal BlueMauMau, DonSniegowski, attended the conference and shared his thoughts via video:
Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees, who claim they are under fire from their own franchisor, are circling their wagons and banding together.
This week Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchisee Association (DDIFO), led by president Jim …read more

Dunkin’ is the most litigious brand out there.
-  Attorney Robert Zarco

Is Dunkin’ Donuts aggressively litigating its own franchisees for profit?
That’s the claim being made by franchisee attorney Robert Zarco, who states “By far and away, Dunkin’ is the most litigious brand out there.’’
Sound outrageous?  What’s outrageous is that Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees are embroiled in more than 350 lawsuits with their franchisor.  According to the Boston Globe, Dunkin Donuts franchisees ” are accusing the company of aggressively targeting shop owners in an effort to terminate store agreements and collect hefty penalties for alleged contract violations.”
In the Boston Globe story …read more

In the past week, the website UnhappyFranchisee.com was hacked and dozens of posts and hundreds of comments critical of some specific franchise companies were deleted.  Most posts related to Play N Trade and hundreds of comments related to that company were deleted.
Here is a nearly complete copy of the UnhappyFranchisee.com post PLAY N TRADE: CA Suspends PnT Franchise Registration that was originally published April 23, 2009.  Also included below are the 379 comments the post generated through 7/25/2009.  We hope to restore the 100 or so comments left in August, 2009 shortly.
PLAY N TRADE: CA Suspends PnT Franchise Registration
April 23, …read more

After three years under fire on FranchisePick.com, BlueMauMau.org, UnhappyFranchisee.com and other blogs, the much-maligned Morg is speaking out and telling his side of the story for the first time.
Links to the many posts on Cuppy’s Coffee and interviews with Cuppy’s Coffee victims are posted here:  Cuppy’s Coffee
Morg’s unedited post telling his side of the story is here:  CUPPY’S: Robert Morgan’s “My Thoughts About The American Dream”
Robert “Morg” Morgan, the founder and previous owner of the controversial Cuppy’s Coffee and related controversial entities (Medina Enterprises, Elite Manufacturing, etc.)  recently resurfaced as raw food guru “Bobby” Morgan, the “Rawman Walking.”  Rawman Walking publishes …read more

Rawman Walking aka “Bobby” describes himself as “a 4 year Cancer Survivor, a Raw Vegan Athlete, A Holistic Health Counselor, Raw Foods Nutritional Consultant, Herbalist and Mentor at The Sanctuary, a raw food retreat.” 
Bobby the Rawman Walking is offering a women-only diet and lifestyle counseling for fees ranging from $1500 – $14,000 and claims he can cure Type 2 Diabetes in only 28 days.
Who is this new age guru and celibate raw food messiah?  And who is his trusty vegan superhero sidekick Rawman Living?
UnhappyFranchisee.com has discovered that the supervegan duo of Rawman Walking and Rawman Living is none other than …read more

Last Thursday I published a post regarding 433 franchisee recruitmant ads placed on the employment website CareerBuilder.com. (Read LIBERTY TAX: Deceptive Franchise Ads?)
Within 48 hours (or so), all of the ads were either pulled or revised to be legitimate job ads.
It’s nice to know someone’s reading FranchisePick.com.
There were two major issues with the ads, and I questioned the ethics and even legality of some of Liberty Tax Services franchisee recruitment advertising.
The first issue is that the FTC prohibits running franchise ads masquerading as job ads
On January 30, 2006, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued Informal Staff Advisory Opinion 06-1, which addressed …read more

The Unhappy Franchisee post GEEKS ON CALL: System Crashing? Can They Reboot? reports more bad news for the once-promising now-troubled computer support franchise Geeks on Call.
Geeks on Call Board Member Douglas Glenn Resigned
Unhappy Franchisee reports that According to an 8K Report filed by Geeks on Call Holdings, Inc.(GOCHE) “On August 4, 2009 The Company received from Douglas Glenn his formal resignation from the Geeks On Call Holdings, Inc. Board of Directors.”  Glenn also served as General Counsel and Secretary of Geeks on Call America, Inc., which he helped form in 1999.
Geeks on Call Holdings, Inc. (GOCHE) Could be Delisted
On July …read more

rogers7808 writes:
I was interested in purchasing a Curves until I read some of the posts.
If Curves is such a bad deal, why has it been named “Franchisor of the Year for 2009?
Rogers7808:
There are no valid franchise awards/rankings that I know of (Though FranSurvey.Com at one time seemed to be useful and well-intentioned.  I’m not sure of its status currently). All are somehow driven by a self-serving motive. For Entrepreneur magazine, the 800 lb. gorilla of franchise rankings, it is ad sales and perpetuation of the franchise myth of great opportunities galore.
The 2009 Franchisor of the Year award was …read more

Are you familiar with the It’s Just Lunch franchise dating service? Share a comment below.

According to the It’s Just Lunch dating service franchise website “It’s Just Lunch is a fun, proactive approach to your personal life.  As first date specialists, we arrange fun lunch dates and drinks after work for busy professionals… Our matchmaking is responsible for thousands of marriages and serious relationships…”
Since we began writing about It’s Just Lunch 2 years ago, we’ve received only negative consumer comments.
Casey wrote:
I had a HORRIBLE experience with It’s Just Lunch. I advise anyone to put your money elsewhere. Take yourself on vacation …read more

Are you considering investing in a The UPS Store franchise?
You can gain a world of insight into franchise ownership from the thousands of comments left by current and past The UPS Store franchise owners on FranchisePick.com and the Unhappy Franchisee websites.  Here are come recent comments.
From the post THE UPS STORE Franchisees: Drop-Offs Can Drop Dead
Critics of The UPS Store franchise claim that UPS has turned franchise owners’ locations into glorified “drop boxes” and unfairly compete with them directly.  Many feel that UPS intentionally undercuts franchisees’ business by offering customers the option of printing their own labels, then dropping their …read more