HOME HELPERS / DIRECT LINK Franchise Complaints
(UnhappyFranchisee.com) Home Helpers franchise complaints: Are you familiar with Home Helpers senior care franchise? Please share your opinion below! Thank you.
According to its franchise listing at Entrepreneur.com, “Home Helpers provides care and companionship services for: seniors, new moms, working parents, those recuperating from illness or injury and those needing continuing care for lifelong challenges. These services include assistance with meals, light housekeeping, transportation, errand services and much more… Home Helpers is affiliated with Direct Link, an in-home emergency monitoring system.”
Senior care is one of the fastest growing segments in the franchise industry. Yet while many senior care franchises have shown significant growth in recent years, one company has seen many of its franchises cease operations: Home Helpers.
In fact, since 2008, more than 200 Home Helpers franchises may have ceased operation. This chart shows the number of U.S. Home Helpers franchises in operation, by year:
| YEAR | Home Helpers U.S. Franchises |
| 2011 | 500+* |
| 2010 | 658 |
| 2009 | 678 |
| 2008 | 745 |
| 2007 | 699 |
* Home Helpers stopped providing Entrepreneur with franchise numbers in 2011. A recent press release simply states there are “more than 500” Home Helpers locations currently.
Why did so many Home Helpers franchises fail?
It’s hard to find the exact cause. A recent franchise prospect asked their sales representative about recent closures and was told, shockingly, that “the bottom 20% always fall off.”
There are numerous complaints on Rip-off Report website, though most are dated.
Back in 2008, Anonymous wrote on RipOff Report:
“Home Helpers is a big scam franchise and its parent company Strategic Franchising. Anybody who wants to buy a franchise should stay away from buying a Home Helpers franchise or any of their franchises for that matter. They are a complete waste of time and money and they are only interested to take your money and squeeze you dry. They say that they are low cost, but they charge you for all kinds of fees. There is no national advertising but you get charged through the nose for the non-existent national branding.
“Their marketing products are overpriced and any and all advertising you do as a franchisee is all out of pocket. They send you to all sorts of companies in which they have a ‘partnership’, but they do not guarantee success and the ’discount’ you get is negligible. You do not get any support, unless you count calling other franchisees and asking their permission to use their own formulated flyers.
“The ‘operations’ department are composed of non-franchisees and people with NO EXPERIENCE running a business or even in Home Care. They are hardly ever there and have no idea about any questions that you might have 99.9% of the time. You are on your own…which completely defeats the purpose of buying a franchise in the first place.Your fellow franchisees are your biggest competition even if you have a set “territory”. They will backstab you and ruin your business any way they can because they are all hungry and need any and all clients they can get. They are not above personal attacks either.
“They are a high pressure sales franchise and call you relentlessly during the sales period even at 10PM. Even if you ask them to remove your name, they call you even more. After you buy a franchise, you can never get a hold of anybody. LITERALLY. They talk down on you on the phone literally and talk to you like you are some kind of idiot. Not surprising as the VP for Operations, Emma Dickison looks down on everybody , never provides any answers and talks condescendingly to anybody and everybody who raises a concern.
“They guarantee money in 90 days. Obviously the guarantee does not work but they do not do anything about it, they just tell you that you didnt follow their “success formula” even if you did to the letter. It is just more bogus advertising to draw people into their web of half truths.
“They say that they will happily buy your franchise back if you don’t think the business is for you. They say that it is a ‘NO RISK’ franchise. They don’t tell you that you have to pay all the fees for the next six months while they try to sell your franchise for you for current market value and pay you for how much you originally paid for your franchise, MINUS $10,000 transfer fee to the new owners.
“They are relentless and money grubbing. They are number 1 in entrepreneur magazine for 2008,2007 and 2006 because of all the lies and half truths they push down your throat during the sales period. All they are is number one in sales. Nobody keeps track of how many there really are. Home Helpers Franchising is like getting on the Highway to Financial Bankrupcy.
“They say that their business model is designed for financial independence and you, as the franchisor, not to be operating the day to day. The truth of the matter is that their top franchisee do not even operate in his own territory and operates out of a run down building in a very bad area of his town. Another ‘successful’ franchisee just recently moved out of his own home office to rent an outside office and was finally able to afford an assisstant after 6 years of operation. Do the math, it clearly shows hollow promises and misleading advertising. A lot of the newer ones are not even operational after 18 months and eventually sell or surrender.
“They do not show franchisee income unlike Goddard Schools franchising. Probably because their franchisees do not make as much as they would like to portray.
“They have a 5 day training class where they basically encourage franchise owners to spin stories and basically LIE just to ‘relate’ to the people they are marketing to. A whole afternoon of workshop is dedicated to this story-telling event, anywhere from having a fictional father suffering from cancer to a fictional child with down’s syndrome.
“Bottomline, you are paying Home Helpers franchising $45,000 of your hard earned cash for a few books, a day of bashing its ‘competitors’ and how to bad mouth them, a 5 day “training class” where all they do is present vendors and get you to spend more money and little else. Nothing that you can’t learn at your local SCORE, nothing you can’t learn from any marketing textbook and obviously, an expensive way to buy yourself some disappointment, harrassment and headaches for months to come.
“This is a totally worthless franchise. Some are successful while a whole lot are not. The few that are just happen to be lucky, more power to them…but they are still a far cry financially from what they tell you during the selling period. They are more than happy to take your money, but it will be till kingdom come if you need your money back. They will find all sorts of fees to charge you just to hang on to your money. Time and time again.”
What do you think?
Anonymous definitely has an axe to grind, and his/her allegations are a bit dated but… there also must be some explanation for the rash of franchise failures other than “the franchisees didn’t follow the system,” or “the company wasn’t selective enough in accepting franchisees.”
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE HOME HELPERS / DIRECT LINK FRANCHISE? IS HOME HELPERS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY OR A FRANCHISE SCAM? SHARE A COMMENT – POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE – BELOW.
I feel the exact way. I spent a lot of money and was told that they would help jump start it to get more clients and this never happened. My royality fee and branding fee was always sent in on time but I kept getting a threating letter stating that they would take it away if payments were not on time. Getting these letters and lack of help was frustrating. I worked at arranging a payment plan with one of their people and she left and then I got a letter than they were going to take it away ant they did. They told me that they were not going to sue me but instead give me back2,000 dollars and told me that If I hadn’t made it by now I never would and recommended me to go into another business. Where was the can do attitude or you can do it and we will back you up. This never happened. They sold me by telling me that I would never have to advertise Home Helpers that It would advertise it self and trust me I had to market it and advertise it. Yes they did bash other home care companies and spun all yarns and had all the vending companies come in and sell their stuff. Honestly I was mislead and my hard earned money was taken. It took me years to save this money and to have it ripped off from me which they did. I would not recommend this company to anyone.
Home helpers hollidaysburg – I so not recommend applying they are full of bs they say they work around your schedule they do not; they don’t have resources nor training the pay sucked I had to quit because the management was poorly organized I would rate 0 stars out of five the main director is mean I had a friend who was written up for being admitted to hospital
I am very disappointed at this franchise. I live in a low income area, majority of clients have Medicaid, state assistance. They promised to help to apply to the state, and my big surprise was, that they don’t take government payments, they told me they only work with private paying. Their personnel have no idea on how to get contracted by Medicaid, they told me they have personnel with the knowledge on every state regulations, but at the end they left me on my own, I had to go and ask for support to my competitors . I found out that in order for me to get the state permit I will need to help people without charging them for the services ( volunteers hours) after all this waste of my time on trying how to figure out how to get my license and Medicaid) I run out of funds, it is impossible to work with Home Helpers and direct Link. By the way this is the second year and still haven’t received the direct link products.
Same here. I want to file a class action lawsuit! we had over 700 credit score when we started with them, we are now $30,000 in debt thanks to them!!!!!
Amen I quit that place is horrible to work for I was in hospital sick they have all my clients away then lied said my clients didn’t want me back I’ve been pushing the issue to have this company shut down in many states this is not fare to are elders this is plain out sad! Eau Claire wi
The previous five descriptions of Home Helpers franchises are very misleading.
It would appear to me that two of them are not franchise owners at all, but rather worked for one of the franchises.
Each franchise is independently owned and operated, so any employee related issue would be specific to that office and not a reflection of the company as a whole. As for owner complaints, I am sorry to hear of any negativity regarding your experience. I have been a Home Helpers franchise owner for nearly eight years and only have positive experiences to report.
Senior Care is a growing and fascinating field, but as with any business, it can only be what you put into it. This is not a high profit margin business and your day to day life is filled with constant human interaction. So, if you are looking for a quick and fast buck and money to roll in with little work, then this business would not be for you. If, however, you are looking for a rewarding and lasting career where you can make a difference in the lives of others, AND you are willing to put in the time, then I recommend it.
I have never put my successes or my failures on anybody but myself. For me, taking care of the elderly and disabled is not just a career choice, it is a passion. For the last nearly eight years, I have made a living and grown a very successful business with my Home Helpers franchise, doing something that I enjoy. And that is pretty hard to beat.
I looked into this franchise in April 2017 along with three others that I was considering. From the beginning, I got bad vibes from the salesman who kept calling and leaving messages. When I tried to call back, I got voice mails. Finally, the salesman called me, and when I told him that I had read some negative reviews he became very defensive and rude. The first thing he asked me was if I had the franchise fee of $57,000 and if I would have additional money for startup. The total would be approximately $100,000 upfront. He kept arguing with me whenever I asked him questions because he realized that I am not one to easily part with my money. Fortunately, I was saved by a phone call, and I quickly ended my phone conversation with him. I am in the process of opening my own Agency with the help of SCORE, SBDC, and the Women’s Business Center for a mere fraction of what it would have cost me with HH. I am getting all the training I need for free and I have great mentors to guide me. I have also researched every aspect of this business on my own because I wanted to have a thorough understanding of the ins and outs.
This Home Helpers company in Corsicana, TX is a JOKE. These people have NO clue what they are doing, how to manage or even properly run a business. They start their employees of at $7.25 and house when they get paid a minimum of $18 per hour. The employee never makes $9.00. Corsicana Home Helpers also never gives the employee more than 20-25 hours a week but they want you to work a minimum of 5-7 days a week with 3-4 per day. That’s ridiculous. They can’t get their paperwork right, client care is NOT their top priority!!! BUT taking clients money IS THEIR PRIORITY and not providing the best care for the client. It’s sad. I’m not sure how this company in Corsicana is still running. It’s sad how they live with themselves not living by what they say they will do. “Making life easier” for them not the client
This Home Helpers company in Corsicana, TX is a JOKE. These people have NO clue what they are doing, how to manage or even properly run a business. They start their employees of at $7.25 and house when they get paid a minimum of $18 per hour. The employee never makes $9.00. Corsicana Home Helpers also never gives the employee more than 20-25 hours a week but they want you to work a minimum of 5-7 days a week with 3-4 per day. That’s ridiculous. They can’t get their paperwork right, client care is NOT their top priority!!! BUT taking clients money IS THEIR PRIORITY and not providing the best care for the client. It’s sad. I’m not sure how this company in Corsicana is still running. It’s sad how they live with themselves not living by what they say they will do. “Making life easier” for them not the client
I was a Home Helpers/Direct Link owner for 12 years before we sold/retired. Granted, in the beginning they were not very supportive but under new leadership and management they were a great franchise to be part of.
Many of the failed franchises were probably due to people buying a franchise thinking it was a “easy buck” until reality sinks and you have to actually work hard to succeed!
Now retired, I am proud of the thousands of clients we helped and would to it all over again!