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Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 16
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This was the best description I found while researching today, right before I called the guy and told him he was full of it
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Students beware - this is a seriously bad business venture for most. I operated a franchise in south western Ontario about eight years ago, and I personally lost $10 000 of my money (borrowed off of a student line of credit) to this horrible franchise "opportunity". They start off by selecting you because of your 'vast potential,' and you are pressured to sign a 40 page contract laced with legal jargon on the spot, or else you will lose out on this 'valuable opportunity' to the next eager student waiting for their chance - I was told I wasn't even allowed to go over the contract with my parents, for fear of leaking valuable information (I was 19 - an adult, yes, but still pretty naieve). Then there's the "training." You absolutely cannot learn how to properly quote and perform truly professional painting jobs (both interior and exterior, diagnosis, prep, and all), plus all the other nuances of running a business for the 1st time in a 3-day training seminar. I was promised that I would be accompanied for my first three estimates - and believe me, I was good at cold calling, so I found the jobs fast - but my regional supervisor canceled out of meeting me for every single one, stating that I was one of the "best" in the training seminar, so he wasn't worried about me. I lined up a summer full of contracts that were completely undervalued thanks to my stellar "training," and was sunk before I even began. We started work, but every job ran short on money - Student Works Painting takes their 30% cut off of the top of every job, regardless of whether or not you run short, then the paint store was paid, then the workers (they control all payroll activity, too) and then you, the franchisee. The workers are paid by piece-work, so of course they start to quit when the pay gets too low. When I realized about a month in that I was tanking fast, I met with my manager in tears, and told him I wanted to close the franchise because, just going into 2nd year university, I could not afford to lose any more money. He threatened me with a $30,000 law suit if I backed out, because of a stipulation in the contract that I signed that I would be personally responsible for the losses that Student Works Painting Corp. would incur by not having a franchisee in my area. Interestingly enough, he failed to provide me with a copy of my contract, despite multiple verbal and written requests on my part (and that little old thing they call the "law"), and he successfully ducked me for the rest of the summer. Still fearing legal recourse because I had no copy of what I signed, I opted to finish completing the contracts that I had lined up - without searching for new ones - despite knowing that I would be losing money, and I began paying my workers out of pocket just to keep them with me in order to complete the work. This was because in several jobs, after Student Works got their cut, and the paint was mostly paid for, there was nothing left even for my workers (in one case, I paid for some paint out of pocket, too). Then there was the fact that my regional supervisor was also running his own painting business, and would take all of the big contracts from us franchisees - a furniture store, a restaurant/bar, a college - as a FAVOUR to us, because we simply were "not equipped to handle them." Overall, this was a miserable experience - I am approaching 30, and I still have not come close to paying off what I lost from this venture - I was unable to attend law school because of it, despite maintaining a straight A average as an economics major. You simply cannot learn all there is to being a professional painter using the "coles notes guide to painting." I am sure they will try to paint me as an idiot, but believe me, I am far from, and this nightmare could happen to anyone. If you have already committed to them, GET A COPY OF YOUR CONTRACT - they will try to argue this due to "valuable" trade secrets, but it is your right by law - and be very careful; you will be pressured to line up as many jobs as you can, as quickly as you can, and you will be inundated with corporate propaganda newsletters to tell you how much money all the other franchisees are making (in our newsletters, it was always the same 4 people for all of Ontario, and they were all in the GTA). Do not let this affect your estimates, or you will pay in the end. Franchisee beware - I wish you the best of luck.
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