Last week we posted the snarky email message from Ben & Jerry’s making fun of rival Häagen-Dazs’ supposed redefining the pint as 14 oz. rather than 16 oz.
Read:  Who’s Phonier? Haagen-Dazs? Ben & Jerry’s?
Being openly criticized on the immeasurably powerful FranchisePick.com blog obviously sent shockwaves through the factories to the boardrooms of Häagen-Dazs.
And rightfully so.
Today, we received this response to Ben & Jerry’s email from an obviously shaken Häagen-Dazs:
You may have seen a recent message from Ben & Jerry’s calling out our decision to downsize our Häagen-Dazs cartons.
While the reality is that size sometimes matters, we continue to believe that …read more

(FranchisePick.com) A while back I asked for nominations for companies to be considered as Top New Franchises.  Several franchisees of Monster Mini Golf wrote to praise their franchisor (Read:  Franchisees Are So Happy, It’s Scary).  I also heard from a number of customers who raved about the indoor miniature golf concept.  I called the founder, Christina Vitagliano of Providence, Rhode Island, and found her to be a caring, enthusiastic person interested in seeing her franchisees succeed.
Unfortunately, the little firm got nailed with a trademark infringement suit by the Monster Cable company while trying to attain a Federal Trademark Registration.  …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) They say that good franchise companies don’t sell franchises, they award them.  After all, franchisors are trusting their franchise owners with their most valuable corporate assets:  their brand names.  Their reputations.  The goodwill they’ve spent years and millions of ad dollars cultivating.
Sometimes that trust is severely misplaced, and the franchisor gets its very own Franchisee From Hell! By definition, the aggravation, bad press and brand-damage of a Franchisee From Hell! wreaks on a franchise system clearly outweighs and franchise fees, royalties or ad contributions the FFH! could ever contribute.
Of course, Franchisees From Hell! are much appreciated by the …read more

On its website, Canadian restaurant franchisor Eggspectation claims it is “a company committed to innovation and eggcellence.”  It claims that its team members are “energetic, friendly and well trained… brand ambassadors.”
Last Thursday, according to the Canadian Press, the Eggspectation “Brand Ambassadors” emptied the contents of one of their franchisee’s restaurants onto the Montreal city sidewalk.
Stunned passersby had to navigate through a half-block of tables, lockers, equipment, food, documents and furnishings.  Pedestrian opportunists grabbed personal items out of lockers, bottles of liquor and food items until the police arrived to shoo them away.
Employees showed up to work only to see the …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) Related Reading:
Fortune Article Spotlights Butterfly Life Franchise Woes
Butterfly Life Franchise Lawsuit in Forbes
Franchise Pick’s Most Volatile Posts of 2007: A Wrap-Up
Franchise Dreams Becoming Nightmares for Many Fitness Club Owners
Will the REAL Butterfly Life Franchise Please Wave Its Wings?
IS BUTTERFLY LIFE A GREAT FITNESS FRANCHISE?
Read interviews with Butterfly Life franchisees at UnhappyFranchisee.com
In Stuart Goldman’s recent industry article (Lights Out) about struggling 30 minute fitness franchise concepts provides interesting insights into several fitness franchise chains, notably the embattled Butterfly Life.
According to Goldman’s article, Butterfly Life is in litigation with franchise owners, who allege that, among other things, Butterfly Life …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) Read interviews with Butterfly Life franchisees at UnhappyFranchisee.com
Failed, failing and still-struggling club owners of the Butterfly Life women’s fitness chain have not been shy in voicing their displeasure with BL President/CEO/Founder Mark Golob and Chairman/Founder Thomas Gergley [pictured, below].
On recent FranchisePick.Com BL posts (see here and here), Golob gets the most blistering comments, with some characterizing him as “a glorified used car salesman” and “con artist” who recently sold his home for close to $2 Million and is now building his retirement home on 40 acres “with all the dead and/or dying butterflies’ money.”
Thomas Gergley does not …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Read interviews with Butterfly Life franchisees at UnhappyFranchisee.com
Finding reliable information on a given franchise opportunity can be a challenge. Sometimes you have to sort through wildly conflicting views and accounts.
For example, we sought out information on a fitness franchise opportunity called Butterfly Life in our post IS BUTTERFLY LIFE A GREAT FITNESS FRANCHISE?
The comments seem to be describing two different companies.
Mary Says: …the corporate staff has always lacked competence and professionalism from the beginning.
Kathy says: …There are many clubs all over the US that find a year or two later they are not even close …read more