JAN-PRO Franchise Complaints

723 thoughts on “JAN-PRO Franchise Complaints”

• Jerry; try to get some sleep – i see it from your postings that you are spending far too much time in front of your computer, all hours of the day and night. It might help you put things in perspective. Talk to the mirror, brother.

• To the person who hides by using the name man in the miror. I think your question should be targeted to jan-pro. How can they sleep at night by knowing that they have riped off and destroid so many families around the country. man who hides behind the mirror is that the best you could do is to tell people to sleep and not stand up when they are getting ripedoff. I have received calls from people all around the country who were ripedoff by jan-pro. From hard working people who lost there life savings. How do you think they are sleeping.

  By the way man who hides behind the mirror you posted a Big Lie on your post Dated January 22 nd. Now what do you have to say about that. Everybody reading this post go back up and read his post dated January 22nd were this person posted that 80% of small businesses are franchises. That is a bunch of BS! You thaught you could just make some stuff up and post it and not get caught.

  When will I and so many people who have been ripedoff by jan-pro be able to get some sleep? When they finally stop ripping of people and we finally get justice.

• 24 days. That is the total time anyone is given to purchase a Janpro franchise. From the initial review of the FDD, 14 days are mandatory to review all information discussed and GIVEN in writing before you are asked to come back and sign anything. Afterwards, there is a mandatory 10 additional days for what is called a cooling off period, where if you discover anything fishy, you are allowed to WALK AWAY from any responsibility and not be held to the contract. I just spent nearly 2 hours reading all the posts to date and I am amazed that people are faulting the system AFTER the fact. If buying a franchise is such a scam, then why did you ever get involved in the first place? The simple and most honest answer is that you didn’t do your due diligence in fully understanding what you were getting into. Now, I know “Jerry” and others will immediately accuse me of being somehow tied to some corporate interest, or that I am some sort of lawyer but I could really care less. I do not work for Jan Pro but I have owned a franchise in the recent past that I still manage on the side for my brother. I have found that this system, like most things in life, has its positives and its negatives. Nothing in life is ever perfect, nor would any sane person expect a franchise based business to generate enormous amounts of cash. It simply isn’t in the design. What a franchise based business will do is offer stability, and/or build experience to new entrepreneurs building onto a proven formula. I am amazed to read so many posts about being so called “ripped off, bamboozled, and simply being taken for a ride while some one else made all the money. I laugh at that because these people have absolutely no idea how to run a business. None. And if there is one lesson for anyone reading this and thinking about investing in a franchise business or any type of business at all. First, if all you have is a Highschool education, spend at least six months at a local community college taking basic business courses so you can have a base of knowledge about how to run a business. Second, consult anyone working in the tax field, either someone on the Net or a local office and find out either by reading on your own or talking with someone about the tax implications of running your own business. And third, do your own research. Do not believe ANYONE, not even me, or even these so called “disgruntled” former Janpro franchisees. Because by “Jerry’s” own statement, he could be a sleazy lawyer walking the blogs looking to stir things up and fish him a few more clients.

  My two cents….after royalties, management fees, insurance, etc…

  Peace…

• @■common-sense lacking a bit
  For you not to have owned a Jan-Pro franchise do not give us your opinion because you are on the outside in …thank god for people like Jerry and anybody else who speak out when people are getting ripped off…..I talked to Jerry over the phone and seen proof of where he was ripped off …(how would you fell if I ripped your mother off) Jan Pro is money hungry and that is why they do not care if people are losing life savings….The Jan Pro system is setup to rip off the franchisee point blank look at all the fees …..(they sell you on the american dream of owning you own business then charge a fee for everything. The only reason why they are ranked in the top franchise in entrepreneur.com is because they sell so many accounts to new franchise not because the franchise are happy or growing thier business. The business is model is flawed but flawed only for the franchisee because it is a win -win situation for Jan Pro , Jani King and etc….Before anybody invest in a so called cleaning company call at least 30 current franchisee and question them about the company do let jan pro select the list for of franchisee to call and get thier honest opinion. I have a four year business degree and I had a meeting with jan pro and the contract has so much double talk that you will be signing your rights away once you invest…think about it what is in the jan pro contract protects you as a franchisee from jan pro screwing you over……NOTHING. Jerry is telling the truth anytime people start to speak out about the truth the first thing that will happen is someone trying to discredit that person and it is clear that is what ■common-sense lacking a bit is trying to do …because for you not to have a jan pro account or know someone who has been scammed by jan-pro why are you even writing on this blog …get a life

• Bill,

  I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post. However, you seem to take a vindictive vexatious approach to what it is I attempted to convey. You have apparently skimmed over my post and failed to realize I am still a current franchise owner, albeit now a silent partner with my brother. I don’t think you realize how inconsequential your argument was against the one I made. First, if you had read my post, you would have noticed a couple of sentences where I stated that people should do their own research, thus empowering themselves to make the right decision about this or any business—really sound advice when dealing with any sort of monetary investment. Second, I also noted that they should not be influenced by ANYONE, including me, and should rely exclusively in their own research and due diligence—but you somehow omitted that from your post as well. You on the other hand have taken the time to attack a different point of view which differs than your own. That clearly shows your incompetence in being able to properly articulate your indifference to this business. I will acknowledge, again, since apparently you missed it the first go round, that this business offers more stability than financial growth. If I were to recommend it to anyone, it would be for a second source of income or one of any other businesses an entrepreneur would want to vest time and money into. It works, if you manage it to work. It will not work if you mismanage cash flow, lack the ability to articulate and develop customer service and business relationships with your customers, and most important, lack the hunger to run your own operation. This after all is a SERVICE based industry. We do not provide products as our selling points, but rather a service which is highly subjective to the ebbs and flows in a number of key metrics—economic, social, and in a highly competitive industry. Again, to summarize, if you bought into this system because of what one person said to you during a presentation and then failed to do your due diligence in following up, checking references, and having a clear vision of what to expect, I do not see how any reasonable person could fault “the system” and not take some acknowledgement that they too had a vested interest in doing their homework before signing anything. I think that anyone who can broadly paint any scenario with a single sided approach and completely remove any responsibility for their own actions is truly misguided and has failed to realize how taking ownership of one’s actions can impact one’s life.

  Peace…

• Jan pro is a scam soon everybody will know it…. Think about this if they offered you a certain amount of contracts they have fulfilled thier part of the contract …. Please tell me where you can pay for something and a company can offer something to you and if you reject it they do not have to refund your money….. If you invest in jan-pro prepare for the rape like a prison inmate

• They prey on latinos and blacks ( this is a scam )

• To “jerry” and ” the truth” and all others like them, you guys are absolute morons and you really should stop embarassing yourselves in public the way that you are. Jan-Pro isnt the problem here. Its your lack of business and common sense that is at fault for your unsucessful ‘attempts’ at entrepreneurship. I must admit, the Jan-Pro business model is very flawed and allows very little room for growth and profitability, but like anything in life “it is what you make it’. Jan-Pro doesnt promise success or instant wealth. It provides an opportunity from which you must attain those things with your blood, sweat, and tears. There is no other opportunity that will allow you to become a businessman with little or no capital, credit, or business know-how (which is part of the problem). Many of you cant even write in complete sentences or without misspellings, so I know that your business and financial acumen (look it up) is even worse. If many of you had taken the time to READ and UNDERSTAND the FDD before your signed the contract, then you could have possibly saved yourself the misery and headache of being in the uncomfortable situations that you have found yourself in. In reality, they havent hidden anything about the way that they operate from anyone here! They told you upfront and gave you the chance to exit without commitment. You chose to stay so LIVE WITH IT!!

• @ Current Jan-Pro of North Illinois Franchisee …your momma is a moron

• This is not grammer school this a compliant forum dummy….@Jan-Pro of lllinois

  You have to be from corporate …You should be looking for job becuase Karma is a b&$@$

• If you are for or against Jan-Pro I believe this board/blog is losing all credibility due to the nameless bickering. If you have something consequential to say have the guts to put your name behind it. Whether you are for or against them stand behind what you say.

• This post is in response to a person who calls himself a “Common sense lacker”

  1. You are not given 24 days.

  2. The Fdd is Missrepresentful, Deceitful, Hard to understand, and Fraud.

  3. Oh and Guess what! When I went to my deposition in Boston jan-pros attorneys admitted and said that the Fdd is very hard to understand. Even jan-pros attorneys cant understand it.

  4. There is NO mandatory 10 additional days.

  5. To the person who calls himself a “ Common sense lacker ” Ok so if I get this right you happened to just wake up Monday morning and do a search for jan-pro scam or jan-pro rip-off and you happened to find this website and then you decided to spend the next 2 hours reading all of these post. Well I’m not buying it. You can deny it all you want but we know that you are someone from corporate. Besides on your post you told us not to believe you and I can tell you right now that we don’t. If it looks like crap and it smells like crap then It’s jan-crap.

  6. You asked why did we buy a jan-pro franchise. We did so under false terms. We were lied to. They withheld information. They Misrepresented many things. They were deceitful and Fraudulent. But hey don’t worry we are getting the real truth out so that no more people get rip-off . There will be news on this fraud soon. It will be on TV.

  7. To the person who calls himself a “ Common sense lacker ” You said that you don’t work for jan-pro but that you used to own a franchise. But that now somehow, in someway, you now manage it for your brother. Are you sure it’s your brother and not your Third cousin that lives in Kentucky! Is your brother Richard Kissane the president of jan-pro?

  8. You said that we shouldn’t expect to generate huge amounts of cash. Well we also didn’t expect to get underbid accounts that pay less than minimum wage! People also didn’t expect to get there account rip-off, stolen away for no reason. That is a crime that needs to be prosecuted with prison.

  9. You said that you are amazed at how many people have posted that they were rip-off by jan-pro. I’m not, infact I know close to 100 people who have been rip-off by jan-pro. Wait until we go to trial and you will hear some really tragic stories. Then you will be really amazed.

  10. At the end when you wrote the following royalties, management, and insurance. You forgot to mention Deceitfulness, Fraud, Rip-off of accounts and underbid accounts that pay less than a third world countries minimum wage.

  11. You try and suggest that I’m a lawyer trying to stir things up. You want to know who I’am ?
  I’m a simple American who loves his country. I’m an American who doesn’t like to see jan-pro rip-off and destroy peoples lives. Who am I ? I’m one of the many lead plaintiffs from around the country. I’m Jerry Vazquez an American standing up for his fellow Americans and looking for justice.

• This website is called unhappy franchise for a reason Joseph and the rest of the Jan-Pro ,Jani-King and coverall supporters stop trying to deny the people the truth…this company is a fraud and we have some surprises for Jan-Pro.

  Free at last

• Richard Kissane knows this is a ripoff , we should get together and call all the black and latino leaders to do a march.

  This a legal scam do not invest this company!!!!!!!!!!!!

  If you let any lawyer read that contract they will tell you it is a scam.

• Velocity Sports Performance At-A-Glance
  Key Personnel: Richard Kissane, President and COO
  David Walmsley, CEO
  Loren Seagrave, Chief Performance Officer
  Concept: A business devoted to helping athletes in every sport, at all ages and all skill levels, realize their athletic potential through advanced sports performance training programs scientifically designed to maximize human sports performance.

  Market Position: Currently, Velocity Sports Performance is the only nationally franchised sports performance training company. At this point, the primary competition is from independent private coaches who typically do not have the resources, support, or facilities that each Velocity Sports Performance center does. While the company expects other entities to mimic this operation in the future, management is taking maximum advantage of the current market to solidify its position as the category leader. The ultimate goal is to make Velocity Sports Performance an international brand.

  Target Market/Market Potential: Velocity Sports Performance targets six primary market groups: student athletes ages 8 to 20; recreational athletes; elite amateur athletes; professional athletes; occupational athletes (people whose jobs require physical strength, speed, and agility); and active seniors.

  Training modules include: Speed, agility, and coordination; strength and power; flexibility; energy system development; and muscle regeneration.

  More than $4.1 billion is spent annually on private coaching and sports instruction (Fitness and Research 2000 Report). Velocity Sports Performance expects to capture a substantial share of that market, and even increase the monies spent in this area because of the unique aspects of the brand.

  Growth Projections/Strategy: The company began franchising on June 1, 2002 and sold 15 centers in less than three months. By year-end, operations will be open in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. International sales should begin in mid-2003.

  Conservative estimates put the company at a $50 million operation by the beginning of 2004.

  Franchise Facts: Each Velocity Sports Performance Training Center is a 10,000-15,000 square foot, enclosed, climate-controlled facility with 9,000-13,000 square feet dedicated to sports performance training. The training area includes a synthetic turf field, a 60-yard rubberized track, a hard court surface, and branded rubberized flooring for other areas of the center.

  The estimated initial investment ranges from $250,000 to $462,000, depending on location, and includes an initial franchise fee of $25,000, plus leasehold improvements, indoor surfaces, equipment, working capital, and other costs.

  Franchisee receive a full support program, including site selection and build-out assistance; staff recruiting assistance; training; grand opening support; marketing, advertising and public relations support; ongoing training and support.

  FOR MORE INFORMATION:
  Contact Richard F. Kissane or David Walmsley for more information on the franchise opportunity:
  Here is another company the Richard Kissane(Jan-Pro Ceo) is apart of also we should check them out too.

  Might be a scam also we might need to warn Nike and others partners with the company.

  Contact Richard F. Kissane or David Walmsley for more information on the franchise opportunity:

  Velocity Sports Performance
  2125 Corporate Drive, Suite 101
  Marietta, GA 30067
  Phone: 770-955-1000
  Fax: 770-955-1021
  Franchising Information:
  866-955-0400
  http://www.velocitysp.com

• If anybody wants to see a picture of Richard Kissane

  Go to this lin.
  http://www.sbomag.com/articals/SYOB/2003/syob_spring03_profit.html

  This is his new scam a franchise for training.

  He looks like Kevin Mchale from Boston celtics heyday.

• This is a total scam do not invest

• OMG, You are right. They pray on people take there many, little by little they take accounts away and to finish it off…The office people are so rude and nasty, all trashy, uneducated and mean. If you talk back they tell you will get a fee. There is a fee for everything. Please this is a total scam.

• It’s a Nation-wide scam!! Do not invest! You will regret it, it is a nightmare.

  There are so far 5 families in the state of Connecticut (that i know) that had purchase a franchise with a cleaning company. So far these, Hispanic working women have invested Sixty Three Thousand Dollars (63,000.00) because they were promised a set monthly income.

  If they give you two accounts, it will only be for a month or so, and then they will take it from you without explanation or making an excuse in order to give it to a new franchise owner so they invite more people to join. Employees from the company are also owners of a franchise and I am sure theirs are doing fine; some of them have the franchise under their names and some under their family names

  they charge all kinds of fees, don’t return calls ALL OF THEM ARE CLUE LESS OF HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS……

  No gasten su plata con esta parrandada de ladrones….

  Another victim
  bridgeport, Connecticut
  U.S.A.

• This is in response to someone who calls himself “ jan-pro of Illinois franchisee” However we know you are in reality the master franchisor so I will refer to you as the “master franchisor of Illinois” This is in response to your last post.

  1. You called me a moron. Then in your next sentence you said something that will give all of the executives at jan-pro and all of jan-pros attorneys a heart attack! I can just see Richard Kissane dropping to the floor. The following is what you said in your last post.
  “ The jan-pro business model is very flawed and allows very little room for growth and profitability.” So “Franchisor of Illinois” you admit that jan-pros business model is very Flawed!

  2. You said that jan-pro doesn’t promise success. Yes they doo. Infact they tell you that you will be able to make good money and that you will be able to grow your business and hire employees. Infact they have Ads that say that you can make $100,000 Dollars !

  3. You said that if we would have understood the fdd that we could have saved ourselves the misery and headache. When infact the fdd is Deceitful, and Missrepresentfull. When I went to my deposition in Boston jan-pros attorneys admitted that its very hard to understand. Even jan-pros attorneys can’t understand it!

  4. By the way “Master franchisor of Illinois” I just heard about the new dirty scam your trying to pull. That new dirty scam is really low. I don’t think that certain Government agencies are going to like it. I don’t think that the IRS or District Attorney will be to happy to hear of it. Maybe someone should call the local news station.

• Thanks I was going to meet with them now I am not.

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• Do not let jan-pro con you out your cash I know personally how it can happen please run away

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• Here is something for all of you to dwell on. Haven’t been here for a while, but looks like things are heating up again.

  I read the FDD. The FDD states that Jan Pro forwards the franchisee’s check on the 13th of the following month. Our master franchiser was paying us on the 15th of the month. O.K., two days? I could live with it. Now we are going to be paid on the 30th of the following month?! Isn’t this a breach of contract, unless the two parties involved agree to the change? Or can we use the FDD as toilet paper and the big book means absolutely nothing. Just something for show, to keep the Feds and SEC off their backs.

  Maybe someone can help me here, but I can’t seem to find in the FDD, (kind of like reading IRS tax code), where it says Jan Pro will find your accounts for you for $20 an hour, or less from what I’ve been reading. I ran the numbers, it’s not worth it. And for those of you getting accounts under $20 an hour, God Bless You! Franchisees lose money on these accounts!

  Yep, I told myself I wouldn’t do any more of this posting, but today, I couldn’t resist. There was actually something to comment on today.

• Jan-pro Exposed on TV. Did you see the news report on Tv? Jan-pro was exposed on Telemundo chanel 52 last Friday 2-26-2010. The name of the Tv program is
  Al Rojo Vivo with reporter Maria Celeste. People that were riped-off by jan-pro came forward and said how jan-pro was ripping them off. There will be another report coming out on another Tv station this time it wil be in english. Once I get it confirmed I will post it. They will most likely also be posted on Youtube.com

  Hopefully more of us go to the media so that no more families get hurt.

• My mothers friend works at jan pro and is a hispanic women she has alot to say about this franchise

• What is the starting salary for a Ops Manager for Jan Pro, maybe the former Ops Mgr can answer or anyone else who may know.

  -thanks Jason

• Jan-pro was Exposed on TV. Go to the following link and you can see a news report that came out on Tv. People here talk on how jan-pro Ripped then off.

  http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/shows/Al_Rojo_Vivo/video_player?uuid=7d4cfdb4-97e0-4799-9b76-6a38d058e95f

• I am totally turned off with Jan-Pro… Never in my life have I ever wanted to kick someone ***…

  They lie, steal and cheat the owners out of their hard earn money. I’m thinking that I own my business and the bottom line is I’m a glorified employee of Jan-Pro.

  What ever you do, I beg you… DO NOT INVEST YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY WITH THIS FAKE *** FRANCHISE COMPANY.

  Don’t believe the hype! The only way they are the FASTEST GROWNING FRANCHISE BUSINESS is because they wait until you finish paying for your business upgrade,make up lies, take your business and sale to another franchise owner.

  THIS IS A PYRAMID SCHEME!

• F*ck jan pro

• I am trying to get my local TV station to run a story on the scam of cleaning franchises. If you are serious about stopping this scam please take 5 minutes of your time and email telldave@wnep.com. Tell him your story. I think if enough people let him know how these companys screw people he may run the story. He is the investigative reporter for the local news. Thanks

• Hi Mark, Can you tell us were this station is located at ? Can you give us there website? Could you give me a call. You can find my number by going to this other website complaintsboard. or you can e-mail me

• FYI The url of the website is contained in his email address (wnep.com). All the station info is there.

• Piss off 2 the highest of pisstivity wrote “…the bottom line is I’m a glorified employee of Jan-Pro.”

  What part of being a janitor is considered “glorified”? Just wondering…

• That is the wrong email. I am very sorry. The email address is Dave.bohman@wnep.com

  Come on everybody..let’s get this story ran!

• Thank you Administrator I just wanted to make sure. Thanks.

• Chuck Watkins I agree with you. It is a breach of contract and fraud. You are absolutely correct on your coment about the Fdd only being for show to keep the Feds, the Federal Trade Comision and Sec of there backs. On our first day of training they gave us some paperwork and new changes that they had just done. These were changes that would only hurt us and benefit jan-pro only. Not only that but these changes were confusing and hard to understand. Just like that they surprised us and changed things on us. Its not an Fdd its toilet paper.

• Jan-Pro is a scam. They will take your money and not give you work. I signed a contract with them almost a year ago now. I have not recieve any work yet. They say give us your money and we will find the work. (WHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I hope before I leave this world.

• Please expose this scam ……they are really just taking your money and we have to fight them

• WOW….I’m reading all these complaints and is having second thoughts I live in the Texas region,Houston to be exact I received a package and is considering investing,Im a former business owner myself that had a fail business in the trucking industry & was looking for something to supplement what I used to make which is over 80 grand a year,I went in to a counciltation and was shown all these big promises of making 50+ thousand a year easy,can anyone in hear tell me if u have experienced bad practices or scams in my region,I know everyones money counts and some have invested their life savings i see thirty or so names in here but does the success stories out weigh the tragedy stories,just need some helpful advice,Im at the end of my rope do to the economy and dont know which way to turn to keep my family feed

• can Jan-Pro work????????

• Jarrod,

  NO ONE can promise to make you 50k a year. READ the material CAREFULLY, you DO NOT own these contracts and there will be NO written guarantee to make any money.

  I am currently working on a book that will teach the average individual how to make money in this business.

  Will some people make money working for Jan-Pro, … yes. And some people also win the lottery.

• Former Ops-Manager,

  I have been waiting for you to return! I really could use your support and advice. Is there any way I can contact you away from this blog?

• I just now found this website, I thought I was the only one who was ripped off by these people. These people have screwed me out of so much money its not even funny. They just recently took my last two accounts from me for no apparent reason and charged me over 400.00 on top of that. If there is a class action lawsuit against jan-pro I sure would like to know how to get on board.

• Hi Dennis, if you go to complaintsboard you can get my e-mail adress and phone number there. I’m a lead plaintif in the case and I can give you more information. Hang in there Dennis, you are not alone. We hope to get justice soon.

• I read the following article and thought I would share it . The Coverall Trial begins in May. Lets all say a prayer so that all of those people who got Ripped-off and hurt by Coverall finally get Justice.

  Federal Judge: Franchising Sounds Like Ponzi Scheme
  Posted Thu, 2010/04/01 – 19:12 by Corbin Williston
  Is franchising “a modified Ponzi scheme?” Last week, a federal judge said it might be.

  Janitorial franchises have long been a source of embarrassment for the franchise industry, and frequently attract purchasers with few assets and poor command of English.

  A 2001 report by the GAO on FTC enforcement of the Franchise Rule found that from 1993-2000, Coverall violations had affected 2591 investors, and JaniKing violations affected 900 investors.
  A 2005 news article in the NY Times noted complaints by Brazilian immigrant franchisees of Coverall in Boston, and a settlement of Coverall litigation in Los Angeles in which franchisees alleged fraud.
  An August 2009 interview with Franchise Times quoted Coverall making this claim:
  Jacqueline Vlaming, Coverall’s general counsel, said, “Every franchise owner who runs it like a business can make money.”

  In the most recent lawsuit, Pius Awuah and 10 other franchisees relate similar stories:

  1.They paid Coverall North America a “franchise fee” in exchange for which
  2.They were promised a minimum dollar amount of client accounts to service each month.
  3.Coverall entered into the contract with the clients and billed the clients.
  4.Coverall assigned the franchisees to clean the client premises, and
  5.Coverall would remit money to the franchisees after deducting various charges.
  The franchisees alleged in their Complaint that they were never given the amount of business they had been promised, and that the degree of control which Coverall exercised over them meant that as a matter of Massachusetts law that they were really employees of Coverall.

  After filing suit, the franchisee attorneys uncovered damaging information and Coverall moved to seal court documents. In an interlocutory appeal, a 3 judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals said in October 2009:

  Coverall has been charged–it has not been found liable in this case–with activities that could be viewed as highly unattractive[cite omitted]

  It is not necessarily the disclosure to competitors that makes the district court’s order a matter of concern. Others, including enforcement agencies and potential plaintiffs, may find the disclosures of interest in ways that would not serve Coverall’s interests. [emphasis underlined in original]

  The lawsuit continued and on March 23, 2010 the District Court ruled in favor of the “franchisee” plaintiffs, holding that they are in fact employees.

  What has attracted attention within the franchise community is the Judge’s comments about Coverall’s assertion that its business was actually the sale of franchises. Traditionally industry trade groups such as the IFA have maintained that franchising is not an industry but rather a business model (although the IFA has on other occasions defined franchising as an industry).

  Judge Young stated:

  Describing franchising as a business in itself, as Coverall seeks to do, sounds vaguely like a description for a modified Ponzi scheme – a company that does not earn money from the sale of goods and services, but from taking in more money from unwitting franchisees to make payments to previous franchisees.

  The Judge went on to say that he believed that in fact Coverall was in the business of janitorial services and that under Massachusetts law the “franchisees” were really employees of Coverall. But the use of the term “Ponzi scheme” and the interlocutory ruling have caused this case to gain wide attention.

  An interesting issue raised by franchise law firm Nixon Peabody is the impact of the Massachusetts statute and case law on post-term non-compete clauses.

  The IFA issued a press release criticizing the ruling as a threat to franchising in Massachusetts. As far back as 1998, the IFA took the (then) unheard-of step and filed an amicus brief opposing a janitor who filed for unemployment after being fired from his job at West Sanitation Services. (Matter of Francis, 688 N.Y.S.2d 55)

  A bigger threat to Coverall might be the bad publicity which has caused it to lose contracts with Boston-area clients such as Legal Sea Foods and Cheescake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE). Both restaurants paid Coverall, but the mostly Hispanic cleaning staff did not get paid.

  Coverall said it had properly sent money to the Boston “franchisee” and that it bore no responsibility for seeing that the workers were paid. After media reports, Coverall paid the wages. Legal Sea Foods terminated Coverall due to concerns about worker mistreatment, Cheescake Factory terminated Coverall due to a number of concerns, and the Massachusetts Attorney General is investigating the janitorial industry, according to the Boston Globe.

• On Facebook

  I am a victim of Jan Pro / Soy una víctima de Jan Pro

• Former Jan-Pro Operations Manager!!! I was considering purchasing a Jan-Pro franchise and buying at the FP-20 level about a year ago. I had trouble reading through and understand the FDD, but H.T. seemed to be determined to get me in ASAP to buy this franchise. I wasn’t sure why, but I was hesitant to purchase the franchise, so I decided to try things on my own.

  I’ve found that this business is not so easy to learn, as people are not willing to discuss how to price jobs, etc., etc., etc.

  Are you in a position to lend some help to an aspiring business owner? Also, is there a way to contact you away from this blog? Please advise.