7-Eleven Franchise Complaints

236 thoughts on “7-Eleven Franchise Complaints”

• Is he still there? I thought he left already. It’s shame on him.

• So Bruce Maples gets paid over $100 000. and all those perks?
  My god is this for real?

• Yuuuuuup…..ask him or your FOA prez

• Think about this friends.
  In some states there has been some proposed laws about “GOOD FAITH FRANCHISE LAWS, this is where we need to look into to have a even playing field with 7-11.
  The National Coalition to be a viable organization must be devoting time and money to lobby Legislators of your state implement ” Fair Franchise Laws”
  On the other hand 7-11 along with other Franchisors is spending a lots of money and time lobbying Congress and your states against this.
  Think ” GOOD FAITH IN FRANCHISING BILLS INTO LAW” is the most important issue on the table for us 7-11 Franchisees.

• Jack….that may be our only hope…..lives and livelihoods are at stake. What is NC standing for?……more golf!

• Jack: Do you know what’s status of your mention? Where can I find the information? This is really IMPORTANT issue for living as a franchisee. Right now, FZ doesn’t have human rights except working hard and hard.

• Falcon:
  I have spent about a hour last night on these sites after I read Jack made some sense to me.
  ASK.com + Google.com
  Write ( Good Faith Franchise) a lot information comes up.

• Falcon, Mike, fed up fred.
  In my state California recently the Good Faith Franchise Bill got defeated.
  My son who works a law firm said there was intense lobby from IFA to defeat the Fair Franchise Laws with all Franchisors working hard to defeat the Bill.
  He tells me that Massachusetts , Vermont and Maine along with other states have bills also for some form Fair Franchise Laws.
  So unless Bruce or the next Chairman (hopefully) gets the National Coalition to do their jobs which is to look for our rights organize a lobby along with other Franchise Coalitions and lobby for us at a state to pass a bill we will have no voice.
  ALL WE WANT IS TO HAVE A FAIR CHANCE TO RUN OUR BUSINESS 7-11 AND SEE THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR.

• If franchisees put aside their differences and petty jealousies and get unified they could be a real force for change….the reality is most are not making the $$$$ they should but are convinced by the franchisor that they are the only ones struggling.

• Dick
  This is where the FOA’s and the National Coalition come in.
  Get a professional Chairman to run the NCASEF with no attachments to 7-11 Corporate.

• All franchisees should know what’s our human rights through “Fair franchise law” and “Good Faith franchise law”. We need to wake up. As long as we know the law fair enough, don’t worry about the threat by franchisor.

  Let’s have a new chairman who can protect the franchisee.

• It must be getting hard to get re-elected since Bruce is doing the rounds of the FOAs lately.

• Well of course Bruce is making the rounds……he needs them now. Before he could care less about the average franchisee.

• Making the rounds with support of Joe d Pinto. It could be worth a
  new water contract!

• All 7-Eleven Franchisee, PLEASE, PLEASE DEMAND that your FOAs vote AGAINST Bruce Maples and the status quo.

• BM loses!!!! Joe Galea is the new National Coalition President ! :)

• Thank God

• That’s good news. By the way who is Joe Galea?

• Joe Glea is ok guy. From West coast. As long as he don’t sit in SEI lap.
  Lets hope..

• i heard national coalition going to litigate 7-11 soon on camera’s they installed in stores.

• Congratulations Joe Glea. You have a lot of responsibility, because BM made nothing for the franchisee so far. First of all, I would like to recommend you that until you take a position, ask BM do not make any decisions. SEI may approach him to get his approval before he goes. We can get together step by step to improve FZs’ human rights.

• Good start by getting Bruce replaced.
  Next Franchisees ” Do Not Go To Las Vegas”. Show 7-11 how happy you are with them, let’s give them a LOW TURNOUT at the 7-11 Experience, so vendors will think twice about buying booths.
  End last lets all get together as ONE and fight for our independent status.

• Jack I agree with you……BUT…..franchisees will TALK behind closed doors about unity but if big daddy 7-Eleven is watching they are good boys. Franchisees will tell YOU not to go to Las Vegas but they will be on first flight. Why? I don’t know….Joe Galea beat Bruce by 500 votes out of 3600 available (55-45) he should have won 80-20……what happened many TALK big but are fearful of SEI. SEI does not care one bit about any franchisee their only vision is “who is next?” If your stores struggle $$$$ get out….next…..if you say no to a program….get out Next?…..There will be MORE franchisees at Las Vegas in January than last year….and then franchisees will say “why is National Coalition not doing anything?”

• Old Dog you are so right,
  These Franchisees don’t realize how much they are making things hard for themselves and all of us. I know a couple zees that just did that last year.
  I hope Joe Glea comes hard at 7-11 on the DVR and other issues, I’m still not confident that National Coalition will have the BALLS to do what’s right for us unless they spend some and $$$$ they have on their coffers.
  Golf outings are not important now, we have issues on the table with Dallas
  that will determine the future of all Franchisees in the next 2 years.
  Don’t go to Vegas Please.

• Now that the new team is assembled at the NC and waiting in the wings to take over, let us not resign ourselves to our old ways. Keep the NC on its toes. Demand that they protect your rights! That, after all, is their primary objective. Is it not?

• What “new team”? Only the Chair and the Treasurer were replaced….there is still four other members of Exec. Board. Plus to my knowledge only Chicago has new President, the other 39 association’s have not changed. If you want accountability start with your own group. Unlike past Chairs who thought they had absolute power Joe G. understands the power resides in the Board…..made up of 40 groups.

• Well Mr Dole, my local FOA membership DID vote on this issue and MADE the President vote the way of the majority….

• Excellent Anonymous…..how many franchisees have leadership that responds to member needs? Too few I am afraid….so many franchisees hide in the shadows and will speak bravely in the private conversations but will gladly franchise another store……we are our own worst enemy.

• All FZes will realize sooner that we are no hope. At that time they are figure out what’s problems there. SEI will take enjoyment for a while, but they don’t know also what’s problems.

• Las Vegas is for SEI Management employees only, remember that Franchisees. Give them a Vegas Experience.

• SEI is now luring FZs to vegas by offering a Lincoln MKZ. It must be hard to fill up the hall s nowadays! I am sure all the new FZs with stars in their eyes will be there in full force to soak in the radiation of the Sun called SEI.

• Read the fine print…..if you win you get to drive your FC to their weekly terror meetings, then fetch supplies for the market manager.

• “SEI is now luring FZs to vegas by offering a Lincoln MKZ.”

  Great. Then when they seize your stores they’ll take your car too. Then where will you live?

• Great article in BlueMauMau about 3 federal agencies coming together to investigate the “franchisee/franchisor” relationship/

• It’s coming, within the next 2 to 3 years. 7- 11 and other Franchisors will bend their knees a little, they will not have a choice.
  The new cycle of Fair Franchise Laws will be here.

• Do you think we will ever go back to the 2004 contract or something like it?

• Actually need to ho back to at least the 1986 agreement (without equity building) to regain some semblance of independence.

• No complaints? How about Las Vegas?
  SIMPLY DON’T GO, LET 7-11 BE THERE BY THEMSELVES, Low attendance the vendors will love that ?

• Very true NY ZEE. SEI is trying hard to FORCE FZs to go to Las Vegas. I have had two calls from my FC already on top of him asking me if I am going verbally during his “Quality Visit” every week. What a joke. I hope something positive comes out of the undercover FZs program being reported in New York. Hope fair franchising becomes the law of the land and corporate greed will for once take a back seat.

• I understand that this is a forum for negative comments but I want to also give a different perspective. If you obtain two stores, you will make money. Corporate is a bitch to deal with but if you do what you are supposed to do (having promotions from new sales plan out and displayed by day 1, scoring well on cleanliness/structure inspections, attend quarterly RI meetings) you will be fine. My wife and I started out with one small store, we made enough money to basically cover our bills. We played the game to obtain our second store and got one that had 16 pumps. The gas is where easy money comes from. long story short, we just walked away with $14,000 last month before paying the loan. I work less than 40 hrs a week and enjoy my weekends off with my family. The support from corporate is a joke. The maintenance contracts are also bullshit. All in all, we are making decent money but would not buy another one.

• Well said Brian. I dont know where your stores are located, but in my neck of the woods (i.e. southern california) the corp attitude is nothing short of tyrannic. We get LONs, Breaches, threats of Breach, etc. etc. on a daily basis. It is so bad that the Market Manager and the FCs are practically running our stores and we are just spectators. CDC is out of control with their pricing and fees (when they sold it to us on the promise that there would be lower cost of goods….). New FCs fresh out of college are trained to intimidate Franchisees. They have no clue how a business is run. But they do know how to get their message through. I can go on all day, but if there is anyone out there thinking of franchising a 7-Eleven, please do your due diligence and ask them how much control will they have after you franchise the store. Try to get it in writing. The direction they go will show you how they operate.

• AnyNYmous
  The same in the East. What a great Franchisor 7-11 is. My F C simply has NO CLUE about the business, A College degrees does not guarantee a good businessman.
  How about the Training and Support the Give Us!
  What Greed they are displaying right now, with Project E.
  Look at those charges from F M, more than $4500. it only takes months to get it right, how about the new FZs who not no any better when these come up.
  Corporate lottery and accounting! and on and on and on and on.

• Wait a minute Brian…you are making excuses for SEI because you are happy “walking” away with 14K last month. Is that the norm? Is that above or below average? What is your taxable net? 7-Eleven is the only franchised business I know where the franchisee risks bodily injury or death on a daily basis. We all know a franchisee who was killed or beaten in a store or lost their life because of bad health and stress. Is the ROI worth it? Does multiple stores make it easier? With added crap from corporate I say the franchisee needs to net at least 175K AFTER taxes…and no one I know see’s gas as a “money maker” for franchisee…..we lose money selling gas.

• Gas commission in california is a joke! I congratulate Brian for his windfall. Hope it continues!

• Brian, I have a gas store with over a million gallons a year and if I have a snow storm over 12 inches I lose lose all my commission for the month to cover plowing the lot so I can have the gas pump ready to sell more gallons.
  You have not been around long enough to know how they decided to take away $25000.00+ a year of commission.

• You don’t even need 12 inches….3 or 4 over a several hour period will require multiple plowings….in the days when we could “manage” the retails to maximize profits a decent gas store did OK….before all the changes I could easily convince the FC/MM/gas person in Dallas to follow my strategy on prices we sold high average gallons for the market 120K+ had 2nd highest CPG in market (always at least 4 cents above average) and if gas is priced right FOR YOUR STORE the inside sales were good….now some robot in Dallas who is a slave to outdated software knows best…….the men and women in the stores know what is best but our masters in HQ run the show…..I hope WAWA CASEY’s and QT never find out SEI’s secret to success

• I have experienced all of what everyone has mentioned. There is certainly no respect for franchisees or our welfare, from 7-E. I went through a period trying to sort through my options…..I had just paid a lot of money to franchise two stores, and it seemed like my franchisor was paddling against me. I came to the same conclusion as Brian. Why poke the beast…. I do what they want to minimize the time that I have to spend on that nonsense. Then I work on what I need to do, to make a living out of the stores.

  My biggest concern is that the brand has lost direction, and as smarter retailers do a better job of identifying with customers, it has hurt all of us.

• I agree with you. There is no expectation from SEI’s management team. They don’t know what/how to do. It seems like no one has real retail experience at all and do work at desk only. Please read what I wrote so far this web site. This business model should be take a look by US government.

• Base on the Bloomberg, SEI made $540M profit in 2012 and the # of store is 8,500 in the US. This means that the each store should generate the net net profit $63,500 after cost of good, sales and marketing exp, general admin, payroll, etc….

  Are you making the net net profit $63,500 in your store? I expect that all franchisee’s net net total profit should be $540M simply. Because 7-11 franchise’s business model is 50:50 split the profit between franchisor and franchisee.

  What do you think?

• I agree that a substantial amount of revenue has shifted to the franchisor over the course of the last 10 years. Unfortunately, I don’t see any serious effort from franchisees to ensure that things are re-balanced. FOA’s seem to be more for social purposes than business.