Recently we wrote about a failed CertaPro Painters franchise owner who claims that the CertaPro franchisor is to blame for the losses he suffered.
He has made it his mission to warn prospective franchise owners about what he calls “the dark side of the CertaPro franchise.” (Read: CERTAPRO PAINTERS CertaPro Sucks: The Movie, The Gripe Site)
The franchisee, Tom, states: “I believe they must KNOW they are making money at the expense of others and that most new franchisees are probably destined to fail.”
Commenter “Randy” claims to be an early CertaPro Painters franchisee who also failed. Randy, however, claims that the CertaPro franchisor provided a realistic picture of the risks and challenges involved with the CertaPro business, and provided valuable training and guidance. He admits to not following the advice he was given, and accepts blame for his failed business.
Randy writes:
“I am a former CertaPro Painters (CPP) franchisee. I am also a failed franchisee. I took a chance, and invested everything I had in the business. I was one of the first franchisees in California. I worked with CPP to establish methods to successfully qualify a franchise for the necessary Contractors License. I was also there when the laptop software was introduced to estimate and keep track of the jobs and quotes.
“I don’t blame CPP for my failure. There are so many reasons a business can fail, and a franchisor can only control a certain amount. They warned me that the painter pool was one major problem. I tried to hire good people, and I had a few, but there were some that undermined my business. They told me how to track expenses, plan a successful business, and got me great prices on paint and supplies with top quality stores. Was it their fault that I kept buying stuff I didn’t need, and wasting time I shouldn’t have?
“CPP gave me the tools that would allow me to charge a higher price. The brand and support was there, so customers were willing to pay to have a professionally managed business take care of their needs. CPP gave me the structure to run the business day to day. They gave me an office staff that gave the customer confidence, which got me more jobs.
“Gee, was I wrong to believe that it was my fault I failed? You mean I could have blamed CPP for my inability to run my own business? It was CPPs fault I had crackheads on my crew? That I only looked at the money coming in, and not the bills I had to pay? That I should never had taken a job painting a Lawyer’s house or a crazy lady with 10,000 sq ft. new construction, unheated in January where she was the contractor? Gee, my life would be so much better now if I could have just blamed CPP…wait, no it wouldn’t. Whatever happened to taking 100% responsibility for the decisions you make?
“I did learn that I make a much better employee than a business owner.
“I failed, not because CPP didn’t give me my money’s worth, but because I ran the business into the ground. I stopped doing the marketing that I should have done, I didn’t plan well for down time. I had some bad painters on my crews. I took on a few jobs that I shouldn’t have (and had been warned by CPP to avoid).
“Some people shouldn’t be in business for themselves. Some people shouldn’t be in the service business. Some people don’t need a franchise to succeed. It was not CPP’s responsibility to determine if I was the right fit. They did some research to see if I might make it, but nobody can tell until the rubber hits the road.
“As a footnote: There has been a new franchisee in my area since I failed. He is flourishing, and has been for 10 years. It’s not the system, it’s how you use it.”
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CERTAPRO FRANCHISE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
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terrible franchise. lost everything except my family. they weren't prepared for the pitfalls of being a painting franchise in the south. just now paying back all my credit cards. have a judgement against me for more than $100,000 from cpp. if my business failed how do they expect me to pay them that money?
Tom,Don, and the others that speak out against Certapro are 100% correct. Certapro screws their franchisees, and fails to set them up. Why won't Certapro allow people with prior painting experience to buy a franchise? Because the painter knows the numbers(royalties and margins) will never allow for personal success. Stay away from Charlie Chase and his goon squad!
Well on another end of the spectrum from a sub contrators veiw. We did all the work while the franchise got all the money. Once we got the contract it was all on us. To contact customer. Get materials. Help pick their colors. Place samples we never had a option to decline contracts or the threat of firing us was used. I a women ran a crew of over 10 guys at a time. Taken on 2-3 projects. We were the best sub contractor in town. We had great feed back from customers and they all loved having a women supervise the project. Made them feel safe. What our problem came to be is more than a few times we had those not so pleasent customers who were after something for nothing and aftet completing the progect they would refuse to pay full price. Even after our A+ rating only because they were those kind of people not because there was anything wrong with the job and our franchise owner allowed customers to in the end. Pay what they wanted to. Leaving us to pay out of pocket while the franchise owner still took his percentage of the original contract. Is this really the way to treat a sub crew who brought you in 1 mill in revenue a yr every yr for three yrs straight. I soon found it to be to much of a risk to take when they hold no liability to collect full contracted price.
I want my money back from Bob Sauer from CertaPro painters. A horrible experience. Mother momths and job is still not done. Now he wants to send out a 3rd painter. Really?
Read more about the sleazy "reputation management" tactics of Aviatech, hired by CertaPro.
http://certaprosucks.org/aviatech_strategy.shtml
Then there's "Larry Carnier", who was a staunch supporter of Certapro and Jani-King (also an Aviatech client and also with a lot of negative stuff online).
http://certaprosucks.org/larry-carnier.shtml
I have no doubt the "Randy" who wrote about being a happy CertaPro franchisee was part of the Aviatech "reputation management" effort. It was taking place in late 2010, just as "Randy" appeared here. Is this the sort of stuff a reputable and ethical company would do? Certapro advertises "quality" and "customer care". That's disproven by customer complaints. But don't take my word for it. Read the customer complaints.
http://www.certapropainterscomplaints.com/comments/
It sounds to me that many of these customer complaints sound like the consequences of using subcontractors -- subcontractors who are paid only about 50% of the price of the paint job.
I've also posted information for customers who may wish to report the use of undocumented immigrants, btw. http://www.CertaProLawsuit.org
Notwithstanding objections from Certapro shills, face the facts: It's a deceptive and defective franchise which has buried a graveyard full of failed franchisees. Certapro's "plan" is a demonstrated failure and has caused unconscionable harm to customers and franchisees alike. How the hell do those people sleep at night?
The in-defense-of-certapro commenters here are undoubtedly employees of Certapro. Why else would they decline to provide their names? Even Aviatech used names (even if they were fake).
Why am I speaking out but other screwed-by-certapro franchisees are not? Well, a prime reason is the gag agreement they are forced to sign in order to get out of their franchise agreement:
http://certaprosucks.org/popup_nondisparagement.shtml
Why would a reputable, honest, ethical, franchise feel the need to silence failed franchisees -- and to force them to LIE to prospective franchise buyers?
What happens to too many of those "satisfied" franchisees?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=TKk686JRUHU
Let the Certapro shills who post here offer an absolute proof of their (false) assertions: Offer a release to all former franchisees from the gag agreement they were forced to sign.
Why would a reputable, honest, ethical company hire an attack dog to do stuff like this:
http://certaprosucks.org/Lies/index.shtml ?
(Hint: They fear sunlight.)
P.s. If you'd like to see how well it works for Certapro franchisees and their customers, check out
http://www.certapropainterscomplaints.com/comments/
Real people.
Real names.
Real bad experiences.
And it appears to me that many of these experiences are due to (1) "No experience necessary" (to buy a Certapro franchise) and (2) the use of subcontractors and/or the use of undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, it can result in customers being screwed and franchisees going out of business.
Certapro Painters: "We put the pain in painting".