Why Good Faith Is Needed in the Law - Opinion

Ron Gardner is the managing partner of Minneapolis-based Dady 
& Gardner, P.A. and limits his practice to the representation
of franchisees.

Frequent visitors to this website will relate to this paragraph:

"Franchisees face an uphill battle whenever a franchisor makes
a decision that is in contravention of the franchisee's rights. In 
an estimated 95% or more of today's franchise agreement, a 
franchisor is given almost unlimited ability to "modify the system."
This gives franchisors the ability to inflict hundreds of thousands
of dollars in additional CAPEX investment by the zees (in the event
of a change of image or product line requiring new equipment) and
/or the creation of massive amounts of additional operating costs 
... (particularly labor costs associated with "improved products"),
all in the name of what is "best for the brand."

Click here: Ron Gardner | BlueMauMau, Franchise news for franchisees
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McDonald's / IFA Delay Franchise Fairness Legislation

Franchisees In California Concede Defeat, For Now. - Franchise Law
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Nothing to See Here!

Oak Brook  has begun a PR offense to counter revelations about the stress 
McDonald's Operators are experiencing. The two articles mentioned here 
are subscriber sites so I won't post a direct link. If the articles become 
publicly available a link will be posted.

Since it's the industry leader Nation's Restaurant News is always pretty 
nice to McDonald's. This week's article begins:

"Officials from McDonald’s Corp. pushed back against reports of mutiny
among its owner-operators this week after public comments from McDon -
ald’s franchisees revealed ongoing discussions with the franchiser over 
its rent structure, value strategy and remodeling program. An Aug. 6 
article on Bloomberg.com said two groups of California franchisees were
“going rogue” by having meetings, listing grievances and suggesting 
negotiations with McDonald’s to Lee ..."

The Chicago Tribune has done nothing but puff pieces on McDonald's for
the past three years so this interview with Jeff Stratton is probably kind of 
fanciful. He's officially the first executive in McDonald's history described 
as "Burly".

"MEET MCDONALD'S U.S. PRESIDENT
The Chicago Tribune looks at the challenges faced by Jeff Stratton, president of McDonald's USA, as the burger giant faces weak sales growth that has created angst among the chain's 3,100 franchise operators. The burly 57-year- old is intense and confident, but he has yet to create any sales momentum despite a renewed focus on faster service and lower-priced items. "

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Steak 'n Shake Allowed to Pull Plug on Franchisee Computers

If franchisees don't allow the franchisor to fix prices the home office 
will turn off your POS? Yikes!

Steak 'n Shake Allowed to Pull Plug on Franchisee Computers | BlueMauMau:

Smashburger's Tom Ryan Talks Nontraditional Marketing

While he still needs a haircut former McDonald's guy Tom Ryan is using 
social media, word of mouth, and clever promotions to build sales.

Maybe restaurant operators don't have to spend 8% - 10% of sales on 
advertising and promotion (including discounting)?

Smashburger founder talks building brand with nontraditional marketing
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Would You Like Fries as an Attachment to That E-mail ?

With two college students in the family (and their friends hanging out) we 
order a fair amount of pizza, wings, etc for delivery. It's probably been five,
maybe six, years since we ordered by phone. Building a pizza on-line is fun.

But will on-line ordering work at a quick service restaurant? That's a whole
different thing. The article posted below makes a good case for it working in 
drive-thru. It's doubtful one can make the same case for the inside counter. 

Simply because - no one knows when the customer will walk in the door. But, 
when they do walk in the door they will expect just to grab the bag of food and 
leave, not stand around for four or five minutes waiting for the order to be 
prepared. 

On-line ordering is coming but it certainly won't revolutionize the industry and 
it won't really speed up service inside the restaurant.

Click Here >  Drive-thru done right | FastCasual.com
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Is Your Debt Load Too Heavy?

Various rules of thumb exist to indicate excessive debt levels.
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Math is Hard!

Good news - McDonald's spokesperson says franchisee rebuilds only cost 
$1 million.

McDonald’s Franchisees Go Rogue With Meetings - Bloomberg
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The Internal Conflict at McDonald's - Attorney Robert Zarco

Is a Franchise Revolt Brewing Against McDonald's?: Video - Bloomberg:

More on Steak & Shake Pricing

"John A. Gordon of Pacific Management Consulting group, a chain restaurant analyst, has studied restaurant franchisor pricing practices in similar circumstances, and has this point of view. "Virtually all US restaurant franchisors allow for pricing variability to meet market conditions and do not mandate pricing. The United States is way too diverse in demography, competition, and cost to build and operate for forced store pricing to work, today.” He said forced pricing would have been a 1960s era strategy."

Bluemaumau REPORTS
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