UnhappyFranchisee.Com gave Dickey’s Barbecue Pit credit for stepping up to the “plate” and helping James Neighbors get his Johnson City, TN franchise open.

We’re sad to report that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit decided to terminate franchise owner James Neighbors just three months after his Grand Opening for falling $1200 behind in his payments.

Dickey’s forced him to close his store, and is suing the 54-year-old franchisee for more than $600,000 in liquidated damages that they say he owes them because his store failed.

Here’s the back story:

After UnhappyFranchisee.Com posted James Neighbors’ complaints about lack of corporate assistance in getting his Johnson City, TN Dickey’s Barbecue Pit franchise open (read  DICKEY’S BBQ Is Dickey’s Overselling its Franchise Opportunity?), we emailed top management at Dickey’s about his frustrations.

We’ve learned that Dickey’s management contacted James Neighbors, listened to his concerns and frustrations, and vowed to work with him to get his Dickey’s Barbecue Pit restaurant open.

As financing the new venture was a major concern, Dickey’s helped Neighbors negotiate more favorable payment terms with his contractor, Venator .

UnhappyFranchisee.Com Helps Franchisee Get Franchise Assistance

According to the Johnson City, TN Dickey’s Facebook page, James Neighbors’ store opened Thursday April 10, 2014 at 11:00 am.

Although there were some customer complaints regarding long lines, long wait times and some mistakes by the rookie staff, Neighbors characterizes the launch of his Dickey’s Barbecue Pit as a success.

The previously unhappy franchisee says that Dickeys is working with him to provide the support he needs.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit franchise owner James Neighbors wrote:

Dear Sean,

I want to update you on my issues with Dickey’s and the Franchise itself.

I have had a few conversations with representatives from Dickey’s and they are working with me to resolve all of my issues that I have previously complained about.

When I made the post I reacted out of anger, fear and lack of professionalism on my part.  We have came to a mutual agreement and understanding and are working out the issues we have between us.

Our restaurant is open and we are doing Great!  Dickey’s has shown interest in us and has made genuine attempts to help us through our troubled times and make up for any misunderstanding or communication issues.

I would like to remove my post or have this letter added to the post and show that it is resolved.

Our restaurant is serving “The Best” barbecue in Johnson City, TN and our numbers prove it.  Our customers are happy and we are on our way to becoming very successful.

Dickey’s has shown support for us and is encouraging us in every way with training, advice and recommendations to help us reach our full potential.

I appreciate their response and hope we have a long lasting and successful relationship.

Sincerely,

James L. Neighbors

April 18, 2014

UnhappyFranchisee.Com does not remove comments, complaints or posts, but we have updated the prior post to reflect that the issue had been resolved with Dickey’s.

Unfortunately, Mr. Neighbors’ contentment with Dickey’s Pit Barbecue was short-lived, as you can read in this update:

DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT Franchise: Roland Dickey Sells to, Then Sues, Registered Sex Offender

DICKEY’S Franchise: Open Letter to Roland Dickey, Jr.

This post was originally published April 22, 2014, and updated August 5, 2014

Also read:

DICKEY’S BBQ Is Dickey’s Overselling its Franchise Opportunity?

DICKEY’S BARBECUE PIT Franchise Complaints

DICKEY’S BARBECUE Franchise, Jerrel Denton, Roland Dickey Jr. Sued for Fraud

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