In a tale of passion, poultry, and murder, Gerardus Heijne is being tried for choking his chicken franchise partner.
In a high profile Australian murder trial,  Gerardus Heijne, 45, is on trial accused of murdering Frank Cianciosi, 51, at the couple’s luxury East Perth penthouse last year. The two had been together for 25 years and were the master franchisees of the Lenard’s chicken chain.
Last week a work colleague, Jason Mitchell, testified that the day after the alleged murder Mr Heijne had remorsefully told him that he was responsible for the strangling of Mr. Cianciosi, and had re-enacted the killing for …read more

If you want to find the straight scoop on franchising, you have to learn to recognize and be able to navigate the pervasive opinions of two groups:  The Cloud Merchants (CMs) and the Angry Franchise Ranters (AFRs).

The Cloud Merchants portray franchising as a magical paradise where happy franchisees frolic with a euphoria induced by being their own bosses, controlling their own futures, being in business for themselves but not by themselves, and a success rate so high only self-defeating morons who spit in the face of the Success Fairy will not succeed.
Conversely, the Angry Franchise Ranters portray franchising as a …read more

Darlene McDaniels, the Bizzia Human Resource go-to gal* and blogger at Interview Chatter, has weighed in** on the Pizza Time controversy, sparked by the franchise owners’ innovative use of hypothermia as a management technique.  Luke “The Iceman” Benjamin and his wife Gretchen (aka Mrs. Freeze) allegedly shut off the heat in their pizza shop and told employees  If you don’t want to work here quit, otherwise shut up…
In her post For Managers Only: Pizza Time Out, Darlene states:
These are harsh words that will only ensure that Luke Benjamin will not attract quality employees to Pizza Time…
We are living in a …read more

Whistleblower Dan Baxter didn’t get heat, but he did get fired.
According to a report by King 5’s Jesse Jones, the Pizza Time employee who contacted the press about the owners forcing employees to work without heat has been terminated. According to franchise owner and husband-of-the-boss Luke Benjamin, the firing was “amicable” (meaning that the Benjamins won’t contest Baxter’s unemployment compensation application).
While whistleblower stories make for great drama, don’t look for Russell Crowe to portray Dan Baxter any time soon. The employee, who was already suspended, not only initiated and starred in Jones’ initial story, he actively fanned the flames …read more

The story of the Lacey, WA Pizza Time franchise owner who supposedly made its employees work without heat has quickly become a case study in PR crisis management.  The pizza shop owners have been vilified by hundreds of angry comments online, and threatened with boycotts and picket lines.  Neither the franchisees nor the corporate office has issued a statement nor responded in any meaningful way.
The business guru bloggers of b5 Media’s Bizzia channel have been volunteering their tips and advice in comments and posts.  In the BrandCurve post Pizza Time, or Hypothermia Time?, Katherine Liew discusses three options the owners …read more

On the heels of Pizza Hut’s viral video effort, the 25-unit Pizza Time franchise chain has gone viral, too… much to their dismay.  The King 5 video of the Pizza Time owners who allegedly forced their employees to work in sub-freezing temperatures as a punishment is being delivered across the net.  Check it out:

The blogosphere weighs in:
Franchisee From Hell! Awards: Luke Benjamin, Pizza Time
Lacey, WA Pizza Time owners Luke & Gretchen Benjamin were immediately winners of our prestigious FFH! award, putting them in such distinguished company as Subway’s Cousin Vinny Agnello, Holiday Inn franchisee Charles Morais, and Quiznos’ sex offender …read more

Can the Lacey, WA Pizza Time survive its self-induced crisis?  Will the owners realize hypothermia is not an accepted management tool?  Could YOUR advice help these owners get off the road to entrepreneurial self-destruction?  Let’s find out… leave a comment below.
Yesterday I awarded the owners of the Lacey, WA Pizza Time the Franchisee From Hell! Award.  Today I am feeling sorry for them.   After initially shooting themselves in the foot by using threat of frostbite to motivate employees, they immediately reloaded and fired again with remarkable precision.  It’s clear that they simply don’t get it.  Perhaps you can help.
I am …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