Is FIESTA AUTO INSURANCE & TAX SERVICE a Great Franchise?

The “Tax Only” franchise is dead!

Yes, the Tax Prep franchise was given last rites and declared dead a few days ago right here on Unhappy Franchisee by John Rost, President & CEO of Fiesta Auto Insurance & Tax Service.

Mr. Rost was commenting on a post about JACKSON HEWITT Franchise Complaints when he broke the sad news.

(Technically, he said that the “Tax Only” franchise concept is a “dinosaur,” and since dinosaurs are dead we deduced that he was declaring “Tax Only” franchises dead as well.)

Luckily, there just happens to be a replacement concept for those of you facing extinction.  It’s a franchise two-fer, a veritable service business combo meal called Fiesta Auto Insurance & Tax Service.

Mr. Rost was gracious enough to provide his unbiased insights in the comment section of the Jackson Hewitt post. 

Writes Mr. Rost:

The business environment is constantly changing. Those that believe they have the best system and do not adapt will be swallowed by those that constantly innovate. Consumers get tired of boring brands and poor management along with politicians including the IRS who can damage a system or put it out of business. It is my belief that the “Tax Only” franchise model is a dinosaur. This was a great idea in the past as many franchisees were able to create wealth working only in the tax season. Unfortunately as more tax companies were created along with software available for the independent tax shop the population has more choices. The increased choices ultimately diluted the market and locations originally preparing hundreds or thousands of returns continued to see their market share decrease.

Fiesta Auto Insurance and Tax Service is the only national franchise system that incorporates both a full service insurance agency and tax service. Our franchise owners have a year business opportunity that provides more options for success. Most Fiesta Auto Insurance customers visit the office to make their monthly insurance payments. Having a customer visit monthly improves our customer loyalty and builds customer rapport. This loyalty translates into creating tax customers and places our franchisees in a position of building a business instead of searching for clients every December.

Consider the tax only model where they have a customer visit once or twice to complete the tax process. Then they do not see their client for another year. If the client does appear again they will most likely have the tax return prepared by a new face as most hire seasonal help. How much loyalty will that customer have to the brand based on one or two visits and then twelve months of nothing? Having RAL’s is not the issue. The tax only models cannot brand year round to the consumer and therefore are forgotten. The tax only franchise system is a dinosaur and will continue to see declining results until they ultimately fail or innovate.

If you are interested in a solution to the current tax only opportunity please visit http://www.FiestaFranchise.com and contact our offices for more information.

John Rost
President
Fiesta Insurance Franchise Corporation”

While we do not always welcome blatant self-promotion, Unhappy Franchisee is a great admirer of chutzpah.  It’s a pretty ballsy move to self-promote a franchise in the comment section of a site called Unhappy Franchisee… so we’ll open the floor to comments.

Is the “Tax Only” franchise concept really dead in the water (or tar pit)?

Is the idea of bundling auto insurance and tax services as brilliant as Mr. Rost contends?

Why do “most Fiesta Auto Insurance customers visit the office to make their monthly insurance payments.”?

Are they actually hosting monthly fiestas?  Are there pinatas involved?

Because why else would customers pay their insurance in person unless there were pinatas involved?

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH FIESTA AUTO INSURANCE & TAX SERVICE?  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.