JDog Franchise Owners, Insiders Weigh in on JDog Brands Holiday Layoffs

2023 was the year that many deceptive franchise sales representations by those selling JDog Junk Removal & JDog Carpet Cleaning franchises to military veterans began to unravel.  Claims that JDog is “recession-proof,” and that they are on a mission to reduce veteran unemployment took a hit when Tracy “Mrs. JDog” Flanagan announced that they were laying off staff, including military veterans, because of that economy that doesn’t affect their business.  The irony wasn’t lost on JDog insiders, including current & former franchisees, who shared their thoughts with me.   by Sean Kelly (UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  This is a companion post to:  “Recession-Proof” JDog Franchise Lays Off Support Staff; Blames Economy In a series of impersonal emails sent to staff and franchisees, Tracy & Jerry Flanagan paid tribute to the support staff they fired – right before the holidays – by not mentioning their names nor acknowledging their contributions. Nor did they provide any assurance that the remaining franchisees – whose fees and royalties fund the entire operation – would not have already-lacking support services cut. Nor did they acknowledge the negative affect the economy and high interest rates are having on their franchisees’ businesses. Nor did they mention any sort of royalty adjustment or grace periods, or the elimination of any of their onerous corporate fees that are forcing owners out of the business from sea to shining sea. No, JDog franchisees had to endure hearing how hard things are for Jerry & Tracy Flanagan, Terry Corkery their remaining minions and their non-veteran backers at Julip Run Capital: “Tough Year for JDog… Several Closings… Many Signed Locations Never Opened…New Sales Down Dramatically…”  Tracy & Jerry Flanagan Get JDog franchise expose updates:  JDog Franchise News & Discussion Newsletter Sign-Up

JDog Insiders React to Holiday Layoffs

“Why won’t they share the names of the employees they let go?”

“[Name withheld] is no loss as far as franchisees are concerned.  He was awful… a complete ass.”

“Katie was sweet and actually cared!”

“Dolly Morrison was amazing… she’s gone?”

“Tracy needed a coordinator for a podcast 11 people listen to?”

“[Name withheld] liked to talk down to the owners.  I guess Kevin Copa & James Caudle can pick up the slack on that.” “Kevin claims the solution is to sell more franchises to increase brand recognition.  How’s that working out, Kev?”

“We Were Sold a Supposedly Recession-Proof Business”

An anonymous JDog insider contributed this reaction to Jerry & Tracy Flanagan’s email

A recession-proof model? JDog markets itself as a recession proof model. In a recent JDog Brands Facebook post, they claimed that they offer a proven business model with low start-up costs, excellent profitability, and entrance to a recession-proof industry. Yet inside sources state that the parent company of JDog Brands has been laying off employees for several months. In fact, on Friday, December 1, they laid off 5 people from the corporate  office citing the difficult economy as a reason. In that email, Tracy Flanagan acknowledged that many locations are currently struggling. While bemoaning the negative effect of a bad economy behing closed doors, they continue to market this failed system to the public as being part of a recession-proof industry(!) What they don’t tell you is that every time the economy sees a downturn, local markets are flooded with people who open their own junk hauling businesses. Unlike other national junk removal franchise systems, this brand lacks the recognition necessary to ensure that customers still find JDog owners during slow sales periods. Owners speaking on condition of anonymity have expressed frustration to me that they were told the model would be recession-proof, yet they are struggling to make ends meet and keep their doors open. Attempts to talk with corporate about the difficult times are met with the same lackluster advice of putting out more door hangers and being more active on their social media. They also openly express confusion at how one of the founding partners of this failed franchise system can cite poor economy as a reason for closures and layoffs while the company continues to market itself publicly as being part of a recession-proof industry. These same owners also falsely state that the entry costs are low.  They are anything but.  Most owners getting into the franchise system currently can expect to spend between $125,000 and $160,000 getting this business up and running.  At the same time, the profitability claim is highly questioned considering the unacceptable failure rate. If the concept is so highly profitable, why have they disclosed terminating more than 200 veteran-owned franchises? It is believed that the franchise system has not been able to sell any new locations since July of 2023. Given the fact that they rely heavily on fresh revenue from new franchisees, it’s not surprising that they’re currently laying people off in order to stay afloat. Perhaps they need to adopt a business model based on making each franchise territory profitable rather than recruiting new franchisees to replace the veteran franchisees sinking in debt with no meaningful support – from a company that doesn’t have a single corporate-run territory?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW. We will continue to seek the opinions and experiences of all involved (confidentially or anonymously, if preferred) in order to provide military veterans considering this (or other) franchise opportunities the information they need to make informed decisions on behalf of themselves and their families.   

JDog Franchise:  Additional Posts & Supporting Documents

All JDog Franchise Posts (Most Recent First) Does Spadea Lignana Bully & Silence Military Veterans? May 1, 2023 This Franchise Scheme Sells, Sues & Silences American Veterans   May 1, 2023 The Veteran-Targeted Franchise Trap That FOX News Built.   April 28, 2023 Is Julip Run Capital Exploiting Veterans & Military Families? April 20, 2023 Letter Suggests Jerry Flanagan Was Removed From JDog Franchise for Sexual Harrassment April 19, 2023 JDog Franchise for Veterans: Open Letter to Tracy & Jerry Flanagan April 18, 2023 Does the JDog Franchise Program Exploit Veterans & Military Families? April 17, 2023 Some Franchisors & VetFran Exploit Veterans Even After They’ve Failed December 7, 2021 OPEN INVITATION:  Unhappy Franchisee extends an open invitation to all those discussed to provide corrections, explanations, clarifications and/or rebuttals.  We will correct factual errors & alternative views fairly.  Anonymous or signed comments are welcome below or can be emailed in confidence to UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com. 

Sean Kelly is an independent investigative journalist with 35 years of franchise industry experience.  Since founding UnhappyFranchisee.Com in 2006, his reporting has exposed & shut down several predatory franchise & investment schemes.  Sean Kelly is a franchise watchdog who prompted and aided the FBI investigation that shut down the 165-victim multi-million-dollar NY Bagel franchise scam and landed perpetrators Dennis Mason & Joseph Smith in federal prison.  Sean was featured in the ABC Four Corners expose of 7-Eleven wage theft in Australia and has served as an advisor to Dateline NBC.  He has withstood bullying, intimidation & frivolous lawsuits as high as $35M and never lost.  His crack editorial staff and fact checkers include Chick, Gem, Red, Pru & Joanie the Rescue Chicken. Contact the author at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com This initiative is dedicated to the memory of my father, Raymond J.Kelly, who served with the U.S. Navy during WWII and piloted a landing craft in the Normandy Invasion, D-Day, at Utah Beach… and my brother Paul, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam.  Two honorable men that are deeply needed and dearly missed. Tags:  JDog layoffs, JDog downsizing, JDog, JDog franchise, JDog Junk franchise, JDog Carpet cleaning franchise, JDog staff cuts, JDog fires employees, JDog franchise for veterans, Jerry Flanagan, Tracy Flanagan, Kevin Kopa, James Caudle, Terry Corkery, Theresa Corkery, Sam Kensinger, Dolly Morrison, Kristen Akers, Katie Miller, veteran unemployment, deceptive franchise, veteran exploitation