JANI-KING Franchise Complaints: Add your own – or defend the company – below.
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) Entrepreneur magazine lavishes high praise on the Jani-King franchise opportunity via its 2010 franchise rankings. Entrepreneur ranked the 10,000+ unit Jani-King #8 overall in the 2010 Franchise 500, the #2 low-cost franchise, the #1 home-based franchise and #7 in the “America’s Best Global Franchise” category.
In a time when many individuals are struggling to make ends meet, the Jani-King franchise opportunity – with its low start-up cost and guaranteed cleaning contracts – seems especially enticing. But do a bit of digging and you’ll find some troubling – and remarkably consistent – complaints from Jani-King franchise owners.
Lawsuits allege a cleaning-contract shell game.
In an August, 2009 Franchise Times article on lawsuits leveled against commercial cleaning franchise companies, Julie Bennett writes:
…the lawsuits, filed recently in Massachusetts against all three companies and in Pennsylvania, Minnesota and California against Jani-King, contend that the cleaning companies misrepresent their offerings, because they do not have sufficient customers to guarantee each franchisee the amount of monthly cleaning business they purchase. Instead, the lawsuits allege, they breach their contracts by underbidding the amount of time and staffing required for each job, refusing to allow franchisees to inspect cleaning jobs or bid sheets before accepting or rejecting a job, offering geographically inconvenient jobs and unjustly taking jobs from one franchisee to re-sell them to others.
Consumer complaint sites are abundant with specific complaints about the Jani-King franchise, the franchisor and the regional master franchisees who recruit unit-level owners.
On the Complaints Board, 2009-08-22 letshelp wrote
franchise is a scam
I purchased a Jani-King Commercial Cleaning Franchise after reading they were a great franchise opportunity in several franchise magazines. During my initial meeting with the regional director I expressed concern over the 40% they take off the top of what clients are billed. He told me not to worry as they take all their fees into consideration when giving a cleaning quote to a client.
When they started offerring me contracts I would do the math and tell them there was very little profit in some contracts and absolutely none in others. I was told this was a low profit margin industry and I had to learn to work some “break even” contracts for I would get additional business from those same clients ( floor waxing ).
I accepted some of these contracts since they are only required to offer you the amount of cleaning business you purchased (with the franchise cost ). If you don’t accept the accounts they are not required to offer you anymore.
Once I started working accounts, the operations director would go by the account every month to evaluate the franchisee’s performance. He would always find something negative to write about to justify taking the account away from the franchisee and reselling it to a new franchisee. So the franchisee ends up losing the original franchise fee and whatever fee he paid for the accounts he was working at hardly no profit.
I later learned this type of scam preys on people who have never been in business for themselves – so trust the Franchisor. If anyone is looking into purchasing this type of franchise, do yourself a favor and run a Google or Yahoo search on Jani-King. They have had numerous lawsuits and government complaints. I lost all my savings, but hopefully others can learn from my mistake.
85 days ago, Rickety Rabbit responded:
Almost the same thing happend to me in Boston. I bought a Jani King franchise in 2006. I paid $15, 000 for $4000 per month in business. Minus the 22% Jani- King takes off the top. With what is left I pay for labor, chemicals, and equipment.
Jani King has it so they do not have to provide you with the $4000 per month in business, they only need OFFER it to you. If you refuse it, that’s it. They don’t owe it to you any longer. You had your chance. But here is what they do. They underbid the account by hundreds of dollars. They make false promises to the business owner, and do not tell the franchise owner about it. When the business owner cancels because the promises are not met, the franchise owner is left to make a decision. Take care of the promises never mentioned to you ( such as delivering the newspaper ever morning, or a free strip and wax every month) both are actual cases, and both would have put me in the negative for profit.
So I was forced to give it up. No fault of mine. Also the account is not supposed to cancel before one year. If they do Jani King promises to file suit with a killer legal team. Which they must have because they are still in business. However they only use it to defend itself from angry franchise owners.
They purposely offer you accounts that are way underbid, or too far away. When you deny them, they no longer owe you the account. If I could do it all over again I would invest in real estate on Venus before having to deal with this again.
One last thing. I placed over 40 calls per month to the district manager for four months straight. Not one call answered not one call returned. I had to buy an existing franchise that was already working with history in order to pay the bills while waiting for my $4000 in business. Now I am about to lose those accounts to under bidders. Can you believe that? In this economy there are those worse then Jani King that UNDERBID them. Sorry. Very sorry.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE JANI-KING FRANCHISE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Recent developments have left franchisees worried and uncertain about their futures. To advocate for greater…
The Building Kidz Worldwide franchise is an opportunity to own a preschool & childcare center…
PAINT NAIL BAR has undergone some significant changes since franchisees contacted us with their complaints,…
U.S. Veterans magazine has removed JDog Brands as its #1 "Best Franchises for Veterans" list.…
More than 400 Veterans & military families who invested in JDog Brands franchises have failed,…
Genevieve McDaniel is a former franchisee turned franchise researcher, franchisee advocate, advisor and fiercely honest…
View Comments
To jerry ?? From Indiana??
I have talked to veterans who have been ripped-off by these Fake cleaning franchisors.
It's really trully sad the way these fake franchisors hurt and ripoff our veterans who are going out there and loosing there lives for us to have freedom.
I talked to this Gentleman to an American veteran who had to get an Attorney and take legal action because they were Ripping him off.
He was also starting his own class action Lawsuit.
How can you do this to our Veterans? How dare you!
1st amendment, Jerry "v", Iloveamerica, friend of "guest":
Ok. Give them my information, I will be more than happy to work with them, get them on the right path and handle things the correct way. What more do you want from me?
Oh, you don't have his information, this person doesn't exist, he's a "charge is louder than fact" I'm sorry, I'm on the "short bus" too often. I catch on eventually.
I don't do anything to Veterans but thank them for their service, appreciate their bravory, pray for them and their families, buy them a meal when I see them in restaurants and offer my assistance to them in any way possible.
Funny, people like you, guest and the attorneys, SEIU members that are your friends only "use" veterans when it suits your purpose. For that, I hope you rot in HE--!!!! You bore me, you tire me. Let's agree to get off the Veteran Issue.
To jerry the looney monkey in Indiana who says that he is waching me and that he is going to come and get me.
In response to one of your June 30, 2010 comments
You say that you have been in this business for 25 years then why were you working for jan-pro? Shouldn’t you have your own business with 100 employees. I guess its much easier for you to be a goon for jan-pro than to do real work. The best advice you should have given Lee is to stay away from cleaning franchisors because they control you and they can take all of your accounts away at any time for any reason. I have witnessed managers get mad and just want to take accounts away from people for no reason. Just read all the comments all over the internet of all the people who have been ripped-off.
1st amendment, Jerry "v" , SEIU Member, Attorney at law, Iloveamerica, friend of "guest"
I had my own company for over 8 years. I had over 150 full and part-time cleaners working throughout the State of Florida. Been there, done that. Maybe that's why/how I know so much more than you, your "friends", your "partners" , your "attorneys" etc........ Real work, wow!!!!! Stripped Floors, Cleaned Toilets, Mopped Floors, used Back Pack Vacuums, used Auto-Scrubbers, Propane Burnishers, Propane Stripping Machines, Cord Electric Burnishers, Battery Burnishers, Dump Trash, Wash Windows, Polish Concrete, Polish Marble and so much more than you, guest , SEIU members etc... (by the way, all of the equipment listed are machines used by people in the past 25 years of the commercial cleaning industry)
You've witnessed what? How could you witness that, remember, Jan-Pro STOLE your accounts, THEY DEFRAUDED YOU, They beat your dog, took your children, followed your wife to work and numerous other things (wait a minute, that wasn't you, that was SEIU goons)
Can you get up to SPEED, Please!
25 years inhaling cleaning products... now I understand.
To jerry?? From Indiana ??
Who said that he is waching me and that he is going to come and get me!
For those of Anago who don’t know him he works for the cleaning franchiors and is getting paid alot of money $$$$$$.
He is in here 7 days a week 24 hours a day trowing all kinds of mud at the wall to try and see what sticks but nothing does.
The cleaning franchisors are desperate and are trying to do damage control.
They will Lie and say anything on these blogs to defame me but Jerry from indiana ?? Wont reveal his real name ?? He said that he is an insider at jan-pro but then he says that he doesnt work there???????????? Which one is it ???
Then he says that he is going to reform jan-pro but how can he do so when he said that he doesn’t work for jan-pro ??? Again which one is it. He is just a monkey lying and saying anything because the cleaning franchisors are afraid that they will get in allot of trouble for ripping of so many people.
The money making Racket is coming to an end. Even a Judge called them a modified Ponzi Scheme!
To jerry??? from Indiana ????
Who said that he is waching and stocking this blog and that he is going to come and get me!
So now you say that you had 150 people working for you. Then you say it was in Florida but now your working for jan-pro as a manager in Indiana, which one is it ????????????? Nobody believes anything you say.
Its funny how you say that you had 150 workers. If you made so much money why did you get a job as a manager working for jan-pro. You make no sence at all. I can see right through your LIES.
Why do you LIE so much??????
Anybody with there own business and 150 workers doesn't get a job with jan-pro as an operations manager. I don't believe a word you say. You are nothing but a LIAR just like jan-pro.
The only money that you are making is the money that jan-pro is paying you to come in here and do Damage control but your Racket Scam is coming to an end. A Judge recently called this fake cleaning franchising a modified Ponzi Scheme!
1st amendment, Jerry "v" , Iloveamerica, friend of "guest":
You realize your on the "jani-king" post right? Any way, I'm lost again, where am I? Oh yes, I'm a liar. You claim to "know me", if you "know me" then you know I'm not a Liar. So which is it, YOU KNOW ME or you don't. I'm still on that "short bus" that "guest" gave me coinage for.
So am I still working for Jan-Pro or not, if I am, then when did I ever say I was an Operations Manager for them? If you'll "cut and paste" where I said that and show it to me, I would appreciate it.
I know it's difficult for you to "walk and chew gum", you've already stated numerous times that even the Jan-Pro attorneys that you met with told you that the FDD was hard to understand and that you had a right to sue them over the language and the fact they stole your accounts, committed fraud, perjury, rico violations, chased down your mother, beat your dog, made fun of your wife, called your children names etc... I know, you are the TRUTH and I'm a LIAR.
To someone who calls himself jerry ?? who says that he is from Indiana or Florida ?? Who said that he is waching me and that he is going to come and GET ME !
Let me see. Your in here everyday. Your on here 24 hours a day. You protect the cleaning franchisors specially jan-pro. It's only obvius that you own a Master franchise and that is why you are posting all this crap. The way I see it it's both you own a master franchise and you are also getting paid to come in here and bable all of your monkey dung!
You said that you were an INSIDE PERSON. Then recently you said that you were with management. Then you said that you would never ever and no way in hell buy a unit franchise but you sure PUMP other people into buying one. You however said that you would buy a Master franchise. Which shows that you probably own a master franchise. Either way jan-pro and the cleaning franchisors are paying you alot of MONEY $$$$$$.
Finally you try and be funny and add some more of your monkey dung remarks. I guees since you can't deny that these fake cleaning franchises have ripped-off so mnay people like single Moms, Veterans and hard working American Families you have to resort to your not funny pshyco bable remarks, but I asure you that for the people that lost there houses or livelihood because of the cleaning franchiors scam it's not funny at all . We have so much overwhelming proof that it will singe the hair of a MONKEYS back!
1st amendment, Iloveamerica, Pimp my "attorney", SEIU member, Illegal alien supporter, friend of "guest", guest and Jerry "v".
Physco bable. "hair off monkey's rear", " slinging monkey crap", "troll", "Liar", "fool", "coward", and so many other names you've called me by is amazing that you accuse me of "physco bable".
So, I go from being a "no body", to being "operations manager", to being a "fraud", to being a "master owner", well at least I'm progressing up the "food chain".
I feel for anyone that loses money in a business. Whether that business is cleaning, restaurant, gas station, food store, clothing store, fitness place etc... But you know what? Sometimes it happens. That's Life. Just because it happens doesn't mean the person(s) that loaned them the money, showed them the store, stocked their shelves with products is at fault. Sometimes, people think that owning a business is "cool", but its not just "cool" its alot of work, tears, sweat, blood, time, effort and guess what ? sometimes when you do everything right, you still lose!!!!!
Owner/Operator systems have been around for decades! Even in other businesses such as trucking, restaurants, learning centers, daycares, etc.... Your problem is, you want to blame someone for your "loss", guess what? you've got no one else to blame but yourself.