[mike1986]

What do you do if a franchiser gets lazy and is not putting the work in?

For example, they have £800 per week of regular work but are only doing £400. Do you then remove work from them and move to another franchisee?

Also what if a franchisee has an injury and needs to take a few months off work? How does the work get covered whilst they are off sick?

Thanks

[Perfect Windows]

What do you do if a franchiser gets lazy and is not putting the work in?

For example, they have £800 per week of regular work but are only doing £400. Do you then remove work from them and move to another franchisee?

Also what if a franchisee has an injury and needs to take a few months off work? How does the work get covered whilst they are off sick?

Thanks

I'd discuss it with them and find out why.  If it was just a desire to do less, then I'd offer the work to other franchisees.  If there was a deeper problem I'd deal with it.

After a certain period there's a right to start covering the work if they are off for a long time.

This summer I'm going to encourage the franchisees to arrange mutual cover for illness whereby they cover one another's work in case of longer term absence.  I have ideas for how they can handle it but I won't have say in how it runs, as it's for their own benefit as independent businesses.

Vin

[Smurf]

So basically if they don't work or slack you don't get your cut what is due on their round?
What happens if it's really bad weather they can't work and/or when they want to take a holiday say for 4 weeks how will you survive to the lifestyle you are accustomed to? 

[Perfect Windows]

So basically if they don't work or slack you don't get your cut what is due on their round?
What happens if it's really bad weather they can't work and/or when they want to take a holiday say for 4 weeks how will you survive to the lifestyle you are accustomed to? 

Nope, no income if they are off.  The fee is based on what they actually do.   One of our guys regularly takes three week holidays and, guess what, I'm pleased.  People need a break from work.  The happier the franchisees are, the happier I am.

Whereas I've been told that anyone buying  a DPD delivery franchise pays the fee regardless of being off plus they pay for whomever covers their work.  Madness.

My "lifestyle"?  You've obviously never met me.

Vin

[Nick Day]

Why would they not pay to cover their business? After all  is their business.

[Perfect Windows]

Why would they not pay to cover their business? After all  is their business.

I should have been clearer. As I understand it they have to pay the franchisor to cover their work.  That smells.

Vin

[Nick Day]

Smell of what???
You have to cover your work!!

[Marc Stock]

So basically if they don't work or slack you don't get your cut what is due on their round?
What happens if it's really bad weather they can't work and/or when they want to take a holiday say for 4 weeks how will you survive to the lifestyle you are accustomed to? 

Nope, no income if they are off.  The fee is based on what they actually do.   One of our guys regularly takes three week holidays and, guess what, I'm pleased.  People need a break from work.  The happier the franchisees are, the happier I am.

Whereas I've been told that anyone buying  a DPD delivery franchise pays the fee regardless of being off plus they pay for whomever covers their work.  Madness.

My "lifestyle"?  You've obviously never met me.

Vin

Exactly, good post. At the end of the day the franchisee is running his own business and its up to him how hard he wants to work.

Do you offer your franchisees any incentives vin for pushing themselves?

[Nick Day]

I personally don't think that window cleaning is a great percentage type Franchise.
That is why many Franchises are now doing a fee per month Franchise.
It allows for quick expansion, no need to police their books, and far less bookwork for the Franchisor.
I know that some of you have a problem with taking a fee when the guy is not working. I would suggest that if you rented a unit or purchased a vehicle on lease etc. you will find that they have no interest in your working/holiday status.

[SeanK]

So basically if they don't work or slack you don't get your cut what is due on their round?
What happens if it's really bad weather they can't work and/or when they want to take a holiday say for 4 weeks how will you survive to the lifestyle you are accustomed to? 

Nope, no income if they are off.  The fee is based on what they actually do.   One of our guys regularly takes three week holidays and, guess what, I'm pleased.  People need a break from work.  The happier the franchisees are, the happier I am.

Whereas I've been told that anyone buying  a DPD delivery franchise pays the fee regardless of being off plus they pay for whomever covers their work.  Madness.

My "lifestyle"?  You've obviously never met me.

Vin

Exactly, good post. At the end of the day the franchisee is running his own business and its up to him how hard he wants to work.

Do you offer your franchisees any incentives vin for pushing themselves?

No their not they are working for Vin, when it come to window cleaning franchising is just another way to employ without the hassle of employing.
The difference between an employee and a franchisee is the employee will get a wage no matter how hard they work and
the franchisee wont, they both have the boss to answer to if they break the rules, read your last line again.... Do you offer
any incentives, only a boss has the power to do that.

[CleanClear]

So basically if they don't work or slack you don't get your cut what is due on their round?
What happens if it's really bad weather they can't work and/or when they want to take a holiday say for 4 weeks how will you survive to the lifestyle you are accustomed to? 

Nope, no income if they are off.  The fee is based on what they actually do.   One of our guys regularly takes three week holidays and, guess what, I'm pleased.  People need a break from work.  The happier the franchisees are, the happier I am.

Whereas I've been told that anyone buying  a DPD delivery franchise pays the fee regardless of being off plus they pay for whomever covers their work.  Madness.

My "lifestyle"?  You've obviously never met me.

Vin

Exactly, good post. At the end of the day the franchisee is running his own business and its up to him how hard he wants to work.

Do you offer your franchisees any incentives vin for pushing themselves?

No their not they are working for Vin, when it come to window cleaning franchising is just another way to employ without the hassle of employing.
The difference between an employee and a franchisee is the employee will get a wage no matter how hard they work and
the franchisee wont, they both have the boss to answer to if they break the rules, read your last line again.... Do you offer
any incentives, only a boss has the power to do that.

A clever franchisee would just take a nominal amount, then top it up himself ?       

[Perfect Windows]

Exactly, good post. At the end of the day the franchisee is running his own business and its up to him how hard he wants to work.

Do you offer your franchisees any incentives vin for pushing themselves?

No.  All of our franchises are based upon working three days.  If someone wants to work two days I'd explain the financial implications then help them to get to where they want to be.  Similarly, if someone wants to work four days, I'd explain the workload implications and help them get to where they want to be.

What we need is happy franchisees.  Each person has different things that make them happy.  Pushing people to do a level of work that they don't particularly want to do isn't the way to keep them content.

Vin

[Perfect Windows]

No their not they are working for Vin, when it come to window cleaning franchising is just another way to employ without the hassle of employing.
The difference between an employee and a franchisee is the employee will get a wage no matter how hard they work and
the franchisee wont, they both have the boss to answer to if they break the rules, read your last line again.... Do you offer
any incentives, only a boss has the power to do that.

No, Sean, they are not working for me.  I don't offer incentives (as I said above) and I don't direct their work.  I give them help, guidance and a very well tested structure to run their businesses but I don't direct them in any way, shape or form.  They are free to organise their business in any way that's effective; they all choose to do it in a way that I can prove works.  They're paying for that expertise so they'd be mad not to.

If they want time off they take it.  If they want more work they get it.  If they want less work, they can have it.  If they want to work five days one week and none the next week forever more, they can do it.  I don't know many employees with that flexibility.

Vin

[Perfect Windows]

I personally don't think that window cleaning is a great percentage type Franchise.
That is why many Franchises are now doing a fee per month Franchise.
It allows for quick expansion, no need to police their books, and far less bookwork for the Franchisor.
I know that some of you have a problem with taking a fee when the guy is not working. I would suggest that if you rented a unit or purchased a vehicle on lease etc. you will find that they have no interest in your working/holiday status.

The problem with a flat fee would be a question of incentives.

Our fee is a percentage.  No matter how full someone is, if they want more work we will keep on giving it to them. 

If the fee were flat, then once a franchisee had got to the point where he could just afford to pay our fee, we'd have an incentive to start a new franchisee (so we get a new flat fee).  Why would that possibly be to the benefit of existing franchisees?  As I keep saying, we want happy franchisees, not ones who are scrabbling to pay us because we're incentivised to sell franchises as fast as we can rather than filling existing franchisees.

I suspect flat rate franchises are being sold because it's good for the franchisor, not the franchisee.

Comparing us to leasing or rental agents who don't care about holidays is not really a reasonable comparison.  They don't care about their customers except enough to know they can keep up payments.  A leasing company doesn't care if you bankrupt yourself after 4 years and a month if their lease is over 4 years. 

We (and I can't say this often enough) want happy franchisees.  Not particularly for a moral reason (though that happens to be a big part of my makeup), not for the good of my health but because happy franchisees will earn oodles of cash and stay with us for ages, in the process resulting in better profits for us than if unhappy franchisees were jumping ship every few months.

Vin

[sunshine windows]

As has been pointed out, if they are slacking it needs dealing with. Unlikely to happen though, as the more they work the more they earn.

Ive structured our franchises so each one of us can have at least one weeks holiday a month if desired. Add on job are in abundance to fill the gaps if they want to work right through the month.

We also have a mutual agreement that if cover is needed, the guy covering the work gets 60% and the person who's work is covered still gets 40% for having extra holidays. Not a bad deal I think.

[Marc Stock]

I am thinking of franchising my business Vin.

Im currently at £50k turnover and have anout 2 weeks still to book in over the alternate months.

Was thinking of offering a percentage scale, so the percentage goes down slightly as their turnover increases, encouraging growth.

I heard that Subway really push their franchisees which has been the way they have been able to grow.

Also how do you protect your franchise. For example you could get a frachisee who becomes very successful on your franchise and become so financially  independent they could try  to do a hostile takeover on you. How do you prevent that?

[Perfect Windows]

I am thinking of franchising my business Vin.

Im currently at £50k turnover and have anout 2 weeks still to book in over the alternate months.

Was thinking of offering a percentage scale, so the percentage goes down slightly as their turnover increases, encouraging growth.

I heard that Subway really push their franchisees which has been the way they have been able to grow.

Also how do you protect your franchise. For example you could get a frachisee who becomes very successful on your franchise and become so financially  independent they could try  to do a hostile takeover on you. How do you prevent that?

Again, if the percentage scale goes down as they turn over more your incentive is to recruit new franchisees who will pay you the higher percentage on their new work.

I'm not really concerned with what Subway do.  As I keep repeating, I'm inthis for the long-term so I want happy franchisees, not ones I'm whipping.

No idea at all what the final question means.  You own the rights to your name, image, etc.  Doesn't matter how big the franchisee gets; they are yours.

Vin