Unhappy Franchisee is a website where franchisees, franchisors, franchise industry professionals and some individuals with an unhealthy preoccupation with franchising get together to disclose, discuss and debate the hidden world of franchise owner discontent.
Active disputes currently on UnhappyFranchisee.com:
Children’s Orchard:  Franchisees of a troubled chain started a negative website to get their franchisor’s attention.  Unfortunately, the attention is coming in the form of lawsuits – four so far this year.
Play N Trade:  If business is like a video game, franchisees complain the PnT franchisor has been using cheat codes to zap’m with an non-viable business model.  The state of California agrees.
Curves …read more

Unhappy Franchisee is trying to put itself out of business by giving franchisors tips on how to keep their franchisees happy (and avoid ending up on the UF site).
Please post your thoughts and suggestions to this post: Top 10 Ways to Keep Franchisees Happy? Share your Thoughts
Here’s what they’re looking for:
If you are an unhappy franchisee (or unhappy ex-franchisee), what could your franchisor have done to keep from creating unhappy franchisees? Where did the trust and confidence break down? What could they have done to build a stronger, more collaborative environment?
Can you remember the moment your relationship changed? Specific …read more

[Pictured:  Corey & Robyn Rivera in happier times]
Related:  Unhappy Franchisees Offer Insider Advice to Franchise Buyers
(FranchisePick.Com)  Imagine that you and your significant other dream of owning a gourmet coffee shop.  You find a great company called Java Jo’z that helps people start and run their own Java Jo’z coffee shops.  The Java Jo’z people are extremely nice, and just require a $30,000 deposit to make your dream a reality.  If you have any trouble finding a location or getting financing, they say, we’ll give you your deposit back. 
So you sell your house to get the $30,000 deposit.  But …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  We were immediately impressed with how friendly and family oriented the entire Cuppy’s Coffee organization was…. Once they had our money, everything changed. 
Criston Menz on UnhappyFranchisee.com.
Next week, at the AAFD (American Association of Franchisees and Dealer’s) convention in Newport News, VA, Cuppy’s Coffee will celebrate the first anniversary of the highly touted Fair Franchising award they received from the franchisee association.  The award was granted despite widespread complaints about the company’s franchise practices, including its habit of not returning $40,000 refundable deposits.  The award has since become a prominent marketing tool in selling more franchises and collecting …read more