JAN-PRO: Is JAN-PRO Franchise a Scam?
Have you had any experience with the Jan-Pro franchise (or similar company)? Please share a comment below.
Jan-Pro is a commercial cleaning company that claims to be Entrepreneur magazine’s #1 Fastest Growing Franchise in 2008 & 2009. According to Entrepreneur, there are currently more than 8100 Jan-Pro franchises in the U.S. The franchise investment ranges from $3,300 to $54,300.
According to the Jan-Pro website, “The JAN-PRO® Franchise System is structured around the Master Franchise Concept. This concept takes advantage of a decentralized structure where each Master Franchise Owner acts as the Regional Franchisor in their exclusive market.”
So, Jan-Pro “Master” franchisees sell “Unit” franchises and support the “Unit” franchisees in their territories. “Unit Franchisees” do the actual cleaning of buildings, and are supplied with cleaning jobs from their Master. According to JAN-PRO “Unit franchisees are assigned their first customers once they have completed training. JAN-PRO® staff will be there to provide assistance every step of the way, designing a complete work schedule and teaching how to complete each task in a proper and timely manner.”
According to the JAN-PRO® website:
When you become a Unit Franchisee with JAN-PRO, you will enjoy:
– Support from your regional master franchise office.
– A steady income stream. You’ll receive monthly income from the customers provided to you by your master franchise owner, without the expense of an accounting system and the worry of collecting the receivables.
– The benefits of a recognized name. According to 2008 Entrepreneur Magazine, the #1 Fastest Growing Franchise overall. Most building owners and managers prefer working with a larger company that has a good reputation, excellent references, and professional customer support and service.
– Professional relations. Quality control, customer account inspections and customer support are provided by our specially trained technicians.
– Unlimited growth potential. Additional customer accounts will be provided to build your business at a pace that meets your need
However, messages left by commenters alleging to be JAN-PRO unit franchisees claim that JAN-PRO Master Franchisees failed to provide the required cleaning jobs, and then refused to honor their guarantees.
Recently, Tryingtomake it wrote on ComplaintsBoard.com:
I purchased a franchise with Jan Pro. I’ve been with them for almost a year. My husband had to go there and threaten them to get the first account. I had to hound them for months to get the second one. They keep giving me accounts where the people are pissed off and it takes us months to get them where we want them. They still have to give me one more account and I will hound them until they do.
By the way did I mention that even after you get all your account you will sill not make enough money because you WILL have to pay someone to help with the cleaning since they seem to bid extremely low so by the time you finish paying the royalty fees and your employees, you don’t have any money left to even buy yourself a soda. Personally I think its a scam. They most probably charge more to the client that what they led us to believe.
I have no one to blame but myself for not fully researching this before buying into it. Oh well live and learn. For anyone out there thinking on doing business with the Jan Pro. Think twice. One lady took the manager and pinned him to the wall (she got her money back)
krussi wrote:
we purchased a franchise a little over one year ago. We received accounts from another franchisee as you state for people who are not happy. They are suppose to fill the franchise within 120 days according to our franchise agreement or return the franchise fee. After one year we only were half full.
We decided to enforce the 120 days and gave them notice, they say they offered us enough to fill the franchise, it our word against theirs, they will not return our franchise fee. As you stated the only way to make any money is to clean them all yourself. I too think this is a scam. They did not fill our accounts but we find out that the guy taking our accounts just bought his franchise two months ago; they cannot fill ours but take someone elses money.
Has anyone else out there taken them to Court and won? There was a case in 2004 Guzman vs. Jan Pro. I spoke with Guzman’s lawyer, I wish I would have researched more fully as well because Mr. Guzman had the same issues and he won. His lawyer told me to get out as fast as you can… I will pursue getting my money back, this is fraud.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS JAN-PRO A SCAM? DO EXPERIENCES VARY BY MASTER FRANCHISE TERRITORY? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
This post was originally published April 19, 2009. Some comments were lossed due to computer error. If you with to contact site admin, email UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com.
N LYNN on April 26th, 2009 5:09 pm wrote:
We have an account we no longer wish to service – it doesn’t pay enough for all the work required.
We gave them notice that we would no longer be working that account, but they say we can’t quit it until they find someone to fill it. I don’t think they are trying very hard.
I don’t see anything about timeframes on our paperwork – how long do you think we are obligated to work this account?
guest on April 28th, 2009 11:20 am wrote:
I’m thinking about getting into this business. Can anyone comment on how well they are doing?
michael on April 29th, 2009 11:12 pm wrote:
if you need help let me know i can help i was hands on for so called jan pro
READ MORE ON JAN_PRO:
JAN-PRO Franchise Complaints August 11, 2009
JAN-PRO: Janitorial Franchise Warning October 14, 2009
JAN-PRO UnhappyFranchisee.com Responds to Jan-Pro Threat December 27, 2011
JAN-PRO Threatens UnhappyFranchisee.com December 27, 2011
Commercial Cleaning Franchises: 10 Reasons to NOT Buy One February 25, 2010
FTC’s Janitorial Franchise Buyer’s Guide October 14, 2009
Call Jerry marks in red bank nj. He is a franchise lawyer and can help…
Pingback: Janitorial / Commercial Cleaning Franchise Issues : Unhappy Franchisee
Start-up Cost of $100,000 to $500,000, and requires a total investment ranging from $125,000 to $1,500,000 no wonder why the master franchisee is trying to get the investment back from the unit franchisee. The unit franchisee = pay a big fee to join Jan-Pro and you will be a janitor not a business owner. The master needs time to recuperate the money and the unit franchisee is the perfect target regardless. Please do not put your money in this BS, you will be sorry. THEY ARE NOT IN THE CLEANING BUSINESS. THEY ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING FRANCHISES. When is the last time you did see an ad from Jan-Pro selling cleaning accounts? You will not see one because Jan-Pro is more interested in franchises. Franchises = Revenue. AGAIN THEY ARE NOT IN THE CLEANING BUSINESS.
i paid alot of money to start a cleaning bussiness with jan-pro now i regret it how can i take my money back? any help please. anyone who is thinking to do the same dont do it..
I am from Canada and am interested in the business but I am single and afraid to put what little money I have down. What would someone suggest to do.
I bought a contract and I say Con tract from vanguard cleaning in Cincinnati ohio….warning this company is unethical and totally incompetent. From the start there all smiles but after they get your money they turn into pillow talkers with other franchiser.one certain associate uses his power within the company to try and lure desperate women franchise owners to sleep with him in order to get contracts.i received my first contract only to find out from another franchise owner that after 2 days of cleaning it that it was gonna be takin away from me in a matter of days in which it was.i never received any help from vanguard in any type of way.they treat you like there your boss and the grossly under bid the contracts.dont buy a franchise with vanguard cleaning based out of Cincinnati ohio.
It is a business! You can not expend 1,500 and think you will get millions of dollars in 3 months.. Always you find unhappy people with companies, franchise, families members and other. The think for any business is expend money, work hard, do the best you can to make your money. In business every body know that you will see money after months of hard work. Some people can talk bad thinks about companies and they never talk about their self because they are the best worker. There is thousands of opportunities out there take it and make money!! Don’t pay attention to people that don’t know anything about business. It is hard at the beginning. First year is tuff!!
@ Robin,
Research janitorial businesses online, to start on YOUR OWN. You don’t need a franchise(and all their associated fees) to get a cleaning business going. There are many tutorials on Youtube and other resources you can use (like CanadaOne and other small business related sources..). It doesn’t take a lot of money to start, and getting your first account only costs you time. Insurance and other related requirements(check with local gov’t) is not costly(I pay less than $500 per yr. for 1 million coverage).
I know for many being part of a franchise breeds a sense of security(falsely) and you feel you’ve got someone to “hold your hand” and walk you through and along, but believe me – those “feelings” won’t be long lived. And you may feel your prospects of getting good accounts better with this “big” national company “recognised” in all these “Entrepreneurial” magazines , but , local economics dictates what they can get. And believe me, most are ‘bottom feeders’ when it comes to getting accounts, remember, salesmen work on commissions in a tight market(check your phone book and just see all the cleaning companies) – they underbid and in some real crapholes at that. They don’t care – THEY don’t clean ’em ,YOU do. And, you never really “own” the account, the franchise does. You’re no more than a “glorified” employee/’sub-contractor’, IMHO.
I wrote about an experience I had with Coverall at that thread, you may want to check it out(I might in time repost it here). These cleaning franchises work in a similar fashion,see what others experienced at other threads . That said, ANY business venture is never a “sure thing” , it takes determination, dedication, “stick-to-it” attitude – in the good times AND bad. It can be a rollercoaster, but when you build it yourself- IT’S YOURS.
Enjoy the ride ;)
You’re welcome :)
I have had a Jan Pro franchise for several years. I love my Jan Pro franchise.
This is a business. Many people who buy a business expect the Master Franchise to do their work and babysit.. I have seen allot of whining from existing franchise owners saying they can’t make any money. The Master Franchise is there to support, but it is your business act like a business owner and run your business. I had a 10K – 12K per month business working a full time job on top of it. I made allot of money. You kidding, I love my business. Many of the people who purchase a business do not have the mindset or the work ethic and expect to be spoon fed. I agree you can run across a bad Master Franchise owner. If you do try to work with them to develop a relationship. You also have other means, you can get with the Jan Pro corporate team if your Master Franchise owner is not holding up his end of the deal.
Jan Pro is a great business!!
Purchased franchise in 2013. Everything was okay until operations management. Will go into accounts to make promises not in contract. Falsely reports things to cover himself. More of dictator than representative. Im thinking of going to court against Jan Pro, they do not follow their own guidelines. Staff tries there best from keeping you to talking to Master Franchisor. I’ve been in cleaning for 20 years, the pricing is not good on alot of accounts offered. Just tired of ops mgr !!!!! No way of running business
I recently bought into a contract thinking I will be running my own business but they seem to treat me more like I’m their employee rather an owner. They call me constantly knit picking about things that are not even relevant or true and once I reach out to the companies I clean for they seem to not have any complaints what so ever in fact they seemed to be very pleased. They are making up complaints to take your accounts away to give to new franchise owners because they do not have enough work to distribute to everyone their taking money from. This should be illegal! not to mention they pay when they feel like paying and it’s like working for less than minimum wage, you cant hire anyone to help because they dont pay enough or even at all. I want to start a class action lawsuit anyone that would like to jump on board can email me [redacted] we can discuss, thanks!
I recently went to Unhappy Franchisee and saw that there were several negative reviews concerning Jan-Pro Northern New Jersey. Most of these reviews date back to 2009 and are no longer relevant and contrary to the most recent comment, we have plenty of work to distribute to new and existing Franchisee’s. Note: the comments listed above are not from Franchisee’s of Jan-Pro Northern New Jersey.
My wife and I bought this company in late 2015 and we very much care about our Franchisee’s and we are dedicated to helping them succeed. Since taking over the company we have replaced the existing staff with caring, professional and dedicated individuals that are focused on service, training and growth of the organization, while supporting the Franchisee. We believe that a happy and successful Franchisee, will only make our company better and stronger. Check out our website http://northernnewjersey.jan-pro.com to see that we are Franchisee focused and note that October 8th, 2016 we are hosting a Franchisee Appreciation Day at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Fairfield NJ. I do hope you will post some of my comments as we are truly a new Jan-Pro Northern New Jersey and look forward to helping Franchisees reach their goals, while providing superior service to our clients.
Sincerely,
David Carson
President, Jan-Pro Northern NJ
Jan pro is a scam the master franchise owners get rich by taking your money and giving you the run around. I purchased a account from Phill and Tuck and was extremely disappointed. It’s been times when I didn’t get my check from them in months and those guy’s are not buisness men they are master scammers! Once you give your money to them everything will change. I recommended so many people to those guys and everyone had the same problems. They want you to pay them to work for them. Your not a sub contractor your an employee of them with no rights. My brother was even sued by them . Ps their devil’s
Jan Pro is a Rip off Company they lie and they make you Thank you go be making so much money and it’s a lie . I worked my self to the bone For then . I always had 10 ratings for cleaning and was with them for 2 years and didn’t even bring home over $116 dollar amount . Jan Pro was taking all these fees out on me and I cap telling them I didn’t understand how there company works . They tell you what you won’t to here and when they get your money and get your and get you to sign the paper work . Then a lot of stuff start being twisted and they become heartless and I Thank it’s so wrong for Jan Pro to do this to people . I took my last Thanking that ever thing I had to say was true and trusted Avery thing they had Jan Pro had to say . They New that Cleaning was new for me and they took A vantage of that and that’s so wrong . I had to lean as I worked how thing really is with Jan pro . I will never make that mastake again .
Couple of my friends and i just looked into this and thought it was a good idea until i came across these comments and read up on past experiences. Anyone out there that would want to have a quick phone call/email to talk about what happen vs. what we should look out for? ([REDACTED]) is my e-mail please reach out!!!!!! ASAP…. there is a 20% off total investment promotion if we sign in 2018 which we would like to utilize before time runs out.
NOTE: Sorry, Jigar, we don’t allow personal contact information in the comment section ADMIN
I bought a Jan-Pro “franchise” in South Carolina many years ago, when the truth about franchises was not as well know as it is today. They low-balled every bid to bring in customers and then sold those “accounts” to their franchisees. The actual time it took to clean the jobs was always way more than I was told. After doing the math, I saw that I was making about the same pay as any other standard low-skill job. When I reduced the work time on each job in order to raise my pay, the customer inevitably complained, and Jan-Pro would seize the account, claiming that I had violated franchise policy. Then they took the account, re-sold it to another mark, and did the same to them. After six months of this, I confronted the owner angrily and got most of my money back. Steer clear of Jan-Pro.
I bought a franchise in western Canada. 1st off they never got me the desired amount of accounts I had paid for
2.the pricing on the accounts they did get was ridiculous. One of the accounts went in-house for financial reasons and that was pretty much it. They never offered to get me any new accounts or anything. Waste of time and money. I dont recommend dealing with them. Oh and they take 20% of gross revenue so your basically getting minimum wage. Great business model if you’re the master franchisee but not for anyone else.