SCHOOL OF ROCK Franchise CEO Dzana Homan Faces Tough Questions
School of Rock franchise owners are growing increasingly angry as CEO Dzana Homan dismisses and trivializes their concerns in an email some have called “delusional.” They are also growing frustrated with the lack of response and intervention by parent Sterling Partners despite complaints of bizarre, disturbing and potentially illegal speech and actions by Ms. Homan. UnhappyFranchisee.Com invites Dzana Homan to share her side of the story – and to address some tough questions prompted by recent allegations.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) Last week we posted complaints submitted by School of Rock franchise owners who claim that the once-promising School of Rock franchise organization has been seriously and increasingly damaged since CEO Dzana Homan took the helm in 2014.
The controversy has gained momentum as increasing numbers of School of Rock franchise owners (anonymously – for fear of retaliation) appeal to private equity owner Sterling Partners to intervene.
We have posted an index/overview here: SCHOOL OF ROCK Franchise, Sterling Partners Controversy: It’s All About Dzana (Topic Index)
Our initial post and subsequent complaints can be read here: SCHOOL OF ROCK Franchise Complaints
We then grouped the increasing number of complaints (preminantly about Dzana Homan) here: Is Dzana Homan an Abusive CEO? School of Rock, Sterling Partners Controversy Grows
Despite repeated invitations, Ms. Homan has not responded to us directly. She sent an email to franchisees basically denying that there is a problem and defending her track record: SCHOOL OF ROCK Dzana Homan Responds to Franchise Complaints
The allegations have become increasingly serious and grown to include claims that Ms. Homan makes racist, discriminatory and homophobic statements, that she is psychologically unstable and prone to angry outbursts, and that franchisees and corporate staff live in fear of incurring her petty and vindictive wrath. Further, several franchisees have challenged the claims she made in her defiant email as blatantly untrue.
The complaints and allegations against Dzana Homan are serious, but remain just allegations and opinions. We continue to invite Ms. Homan to address these claims and allegations, and will provide her with every opportunity to refute, disprove or disclaim any statements of fact or opinion she believes are false. It is our policy to publish rebuttals and corrections with the same prominence as the original complaints.
Last night, we emailed this message to School of Rock CEO Dzana Homan and copied her assistant to make doubly sure she received it.
Unhappy Franchisee Invitation to Dzana Homan, School of Rock CEO, 5/29/17
To: Dzana Homan
CEO, School of Rock 5/29/17
Dear Ms. Homan:
This week, UnhappyFranchisee.Com will be continuing to cover the growing number of franchisee complaints about your leadership, management and alleged behavior.
A growing number of these franchisees are calling for Sterling Partners to provide new leadership.
I know you attempted to dismiss the complaints as that of a handful of disgruntled franchisees, but we can assure you that we have been contacted by a significant number of franchisees from all different regions and tenure as franchisees.
We understand the serious nature of these allegations for you and want to give you every chance to refute, rebut or deny the allegations if untrue, and explain, clarify and/or apologize if they ARE true.
Excuse the bluntness of the following questions but we want to give you every chance to address them without beating around the bush or mincing words.
Franchisees and possibly employees have stated that you are prone to sudden angry outbursts. Some have said that you suffered some sort of anxiety attack at the latest franchise convention and had to be helped off the stage.
- One of the commenters stated that you drink vodka and orange juice during work hours at the corporate office. True?
- Do you acknowledge that your behavior has been erratic and unprofessional at times? Can you explain this? If true, have you sought professional help for any of these troubling occurrences?
- Did you ever state to a coworker that “This is why you don’t hire women with kids, children are a weakness.” or something to that effect?
- Did you ever state: “Get that fat Asian bitch out of my school”?
- Did you ever state “Why didn’t you tell me she was gay? I could have flirted with her to get what I want”?
- Did you ever state your intention to “make [an employee’s] life miserable with meaningless work until he quits”?
- Did you ever state that a coworker wasn’t “pretty enough for L.A.”?
- Did you ever state in a meeting “I wish I had a little animal that I could squeeze” while crushing paper as if killing a small animal?
- Did you fly first class for a school event, stay in a 5-star hotel then not show up at the event?
Regarding statements you made in your email to franchisees:
You stated, “I instituted a monthly CEO Call – a meeting where I was alone with the owners and allowed for Q&A.”
A franchisee stated that these calls were frequently cancelled and that you haven’t had a “monthly CEO call” since August, 2016. Is this true? If not, when was your latest call?
You stated: “we have added two Corporate Music Directors whose sole job is to advise the system on music-related programs.”
A franchisee has challenged your statement, saying “these are two people who work full time in corporate schools as Music Directors. They answer questions on a help desk part time for a network of 200 schools.”
Can you please support your statement by naming the two corporate music directors who work solely on music-related programs for the system?
You stated “During my tenure, we added a number of new channels to solicit system feedback including creating Innovation Teams for core departments: Operation, Marketing, Events, Education and AllStars.”
A franchisee has stated “The Innovation Teams of which she speaks were virtually non-existent in that they didn’t last very long and were left to sit idle… Instead, they were shut down and Ms. Homan took whatever actions she wanted.”
Is it true that the Innovation Teams you cited in your email “were shut down” and are no longer active?
In your email, you state “I am a little dismayed that an owner felt s/he had no other choice than to go to an external party to voice frustrations. As a CEO, I am here to serve each of you and look forward to continuing dialogue…”
It IS unfortunate that franchisees do not feel that you are willing to engage them in respectful dialogue, and feel the need to communicate anonymously through a third-party website for fear of repercussions.
However, Ms. Homan, that appears to be the reality of the situation. Perhaps if you participate in this discussion by responding to our questions openly and honestly, you can restore the confidence needed to one-day conduct such discussions within your system.
We know that there are a lot of questions here, but we encourage you to accept the fact that this discussion is not going to go away, and these serious allegations cannot be spun or dismissed with unsupported statements.
We write in the hope that you will address these issues openly and honestly.
We want to give you every opportunity to defend yourself and your professional reputation.
At the same time, we hope that you’ll acknowledge that without the investment of time, money and passion of the franchise owners who built the schools and serve their communities day in and day out all year long, the School of Rock system would not exist as it does today.
The franchise owners – not you and not Sterling Capital – built the School of Rock.
The least you could do is address their complaints openly and honestly.
All the best,
ADMIN
UnhappyFranchisee.Com
DISCLAIMER & INVITATION: Views and statements are those of the comment authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Unhappy Franchisee or its staff. We don’t know Dzana Homan and have no inside knowledge of the School of Rock. Anonymous allegations should be seen as a starting point for independent inquiry and decuction. Unhappy Franchisee provides a forum for all sides of this issue to state their opinions and debate the facts. We extend an open invitation to CEO Dzana Homan, School of Rock executives, Sterling Partners, franchise owners, and staff for comments, corrections, clarifications, affirmations and/or rebuttals. UnhappyFranchisee.Com has no special relationship with any franchise or related company and has no hidden agenda or ulterior motive in its reporting. Please comment below or email us in confidence at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail.Com.
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The entire system needs an overhaul. The problem isn’t Dzana’s alone. Sterling has allowed her to do whatever she wants. Why?
Is she getting them what they want? If the goal was opening franchises at all costs, then the answer is yes.
The Schools are successful because the owners who run them dedicate time and effort far beyond what they get back from them financially.
We get zero USEFUL support from the company. There are schools failing, and nobody is helping them.
Being one of many, many owners with a successful background in the professional sector, I have experience working for international brands. With that came the opportunities to work with and for people from many different countries and cultures, as well the opportunities to manage teams on opposite sides of the earth. As a Sr. Mgmt. level employee, I made sure to always try to do what was in the best interests of my teams, not focus on my personal needs and wants. If it called for me to be on a call at 3am, then that’s what happened.
In my experience, everything has to fit into the specific needs and wants of Ms. Holman, including time of calls with owners all the way to how to run a program. As owners, we are the ones in the trenches every day trying to make it work with little support or meaningful guidance. Sure, we can make it look like the easiest thing in the world because we care so much about the schools and the kids, but rest assured each day can be a struggle. It is a labor of love, as no matter how many students you think you need to break even….in actuality you should probably triple it.
And then, there is the loss of beloved employees…..long time SoR employees who helped build the School of Rock brand only to see it come crashing down. Some have been forced out while some have been advised by physicians to leave because the stress and frustration are causing health problems. Gone are the days when you knew the CEO cared, although you might not always agree. Gone are the days when the COO and VP of Marketing would come to your big show when invited and spend the next day with you discussing pain points and offering solutions until there was a successful platform in place to address your concerns (which has yet to happen).
And the fact that schools were opened internationally with no concept of the country/state/local laws and requirements and effectively leaving them “hanging” for years with systems that cannot be used effectively outside of the US is astounding. Couple that with the fact that there was no trademark protection outside of the US and you have international owners struggling to separate themselves from the imposters.
At some point we all “drank the SoR koolaid” and were extremely excited about our futures in a brand that we all believed in 100% only to have the taste become very bitter. If Sterling will do the right thing and care about this brand, the owners and the potential for us to make School of Rock a household name we can certainly “sweeten” the pitcher and see everyone achieve success in a business that they love. Our royalties and fees are exorbitant…. so either lower them or give us the quantity and quality of support that one expects for such high costs.