There were cases where Quiznos franchisees faced extremely high royalty fees. For example, a small - town franchisee found that after paying the high royalties, there was barely any profit left. The high fees made it difficult to cover costs like rent, staff salaries, and inventory. This led to many franchisees having to close their stores, which was a real horror for those who had invested a lot of money and time into the business.
Sure. There was a franchisee who had signed a contract with Quiznos. They were told that a new store in a nearby shopping center wouldn't be a problem as Quiznos was carefully planning store locations. But right after the franchisee opened, Quiznos opened another store just a few blocks away. This led to both stores competing for the same limited customer base. The franchisee's sales dropped significantly, and they couldn't even cover their monthly expenses. They tried to talk to Quiznos corporate about it, but got little help. Eventually, they had to close down the store and lost a large amount of money in the process.
One franchise horror story could be a fast - food franchise where the franchisor promised high - traffic locations but ended up putting new franchisees in really bad areas. The franchisees had to deal with low customer numbers and high rent. Another could be a fitness franchise where the franchisor suddenly changed the brand image without consulting the franchisees, causing confusion among customers. And there was also a case in a retail franchise where the franchisor overcharged for supplies, squeezing the profit margins of the franchisees.
One horror story could be about a 7 - 11 franchise having major pest problems. Rats were found scurrying around the store, especially in the back storage area. It was really disgusting and led to a lot of customer complaints and loss of business.
There are stories where a McDonald's franchise location had issues with supply chain disruptions. For example, they constantly received the wrong food items or not enough of the popular ones. This led to customer dissatisfaction as they couldn't get what they wanted. And the franchisee had a hard time getting the corporate to sort out the supply issues effectively. It was a nightmare for them trying to keep the customers happy while dealing with these problems.
Some franchisees have reported issues with the quality of supplies provided by the franchisor. For example, the printing materials were of sub - standard quality. This affected the final product they were offering to customers. Customers started to complain and go elsewhere. Despite bringing this to the franchisor's attention, no proper solution was provided. The franchisee's reputation suffered, and they had a hard time rebuilding it.
One horror story could be about a franchisee who faced unexpected high rent increases. They were doing well initially, but the landlord suddenly doubled the rent. With the tight profit margins in the subway business, this led to huge financial stress and eventually the franchise had to close down.
They can cause financial losses. For instance, if there are construction works outside a subway franchise for a long time which the franchisee has no control over. It can reduce foot traffic and sales. Franchisees still have to pay the same fees to the franchisor while making less money.
A common horror story is that the training promised to be hands - on and comprehensive but in reality, it was just a few days of rushed sessions. Franchisees were left on their own to figure out things like equipment maintenance and advanced printing techniques. This made it difficult for them to provide high - quality services from the start, which affected their customer base and profitability.
Sure. There was a home - cleaning franchise where the franchisor took a large percentage of the franchisees' revenue for 'advertising' but there was no visible increase in business due to it. Also, in a tutoring franchise, the franchisor provided really outdated teaching materials. Franchisees had to spend a lot of their own money to update them. Another bad one was a pet - care franchise where the franchisor didn't support the franchisees during a local crisis that affected the pet - care industry.