As a franchisee, there may be times when some issues or disputes with the franchisor crop up.
At times such as these, you might wonder what the best approach would be to resolve them. Getting the franchisor to address them just for you might not work as well as you would think it would.
Sometimes, the better approach is to work with other franchisees to resolve franchisor issues. Reach out to them, and you will likely find that they too have been facing similar problems. If you approach the franchisor as one, you might get a better response from them.
Engaging with other franchisees within the network can help you:
When you reach out to other franchises, you might notice that there are some common issues. As mentioned, it may be easier and more effective to get the franchisor to address them together. It also tells the franchisor that you are working as a team and will not take things lying down.
You can speak with other franchisees, via informal connection or an advocacy group. Both of these methods have certain benefits as it would help you:
You can decide what level of interaction you want to maintain with the rest of the franchisees. Your decision will depend on aspects such as:
If you are in direct competition with other franchisees within the network, you mustn’t discuss any sensitive issues like pricing, etc. While it’s always beneficial to share positive experiences, you must maintain caution while raising any complaints or discussing matters with the franchisees.
It’s crucial to keep in view that while you are one part of the broader network, you have a legal relationship with the master franchisee or franchisor and not the rest of the franchises. Your agreement will have details of your obligations and rights (which may be different from the contracts of other franchisees), and you need to follow those. Some of the differences that could exist:
How you operate your franchise could be different from other franchisees due to factors like:
In simple words, if and when a dispute surfaces with the franchisor, the problem you face may be entirely different from the issues the rest of the franchisees may be facing. Even if everyone wants to work as one, it might not be practically possible to pursue cumulative action if different franchises have different issues or complaints with or against the franchisor.
Despite all the differences you may have individually, there might be some issues that are common across all the franchisees such as:
When you identify common issues, it gives you the chance to urge for a change. While doing so, you must keep in view all the key differences you have with the other franchisees.
Once you have had discussions with other franchisees, you will notice the common issues which you need to address. Resolving these issues could involve various approaches, such as:
Since every situation will be different, there is no thumb rule as to how you should approach the issue. In some cases, group action works better than individual action, while at others, it might be wiser to work alone.
The Parliament recently conducted an inquiry into the Australian Franchise Industry. During this inquiry, they discussed how effective collaboration could be between franchisees in a franchisor. The highlights of the investigation included:
The results of this inquiry are projected to bring about significant transformations within the franchising industry in the country. When there is better understanding and cooperation between franchisees, it can boost morale and help create positive working relationships between all the franchisees and their franchisor. This can benefit everyone in the equation and create a better working environment and seamless work processes within the network.
In many ways, working collectively with the other franchisees in the network will benefit you and find a suitable solution to your issue and will help all the franchisees as well.
If you want to know more about setting up a franchise, feel free to get in touch with us at The Franchise Institute. You can call us on 1300 855 435 or fill in this contact us form, and one of our experts will contact you as soon as we can.
Thanks for reading,
The Franchise Institute Team
1300 855 435