Cleaning franchise: a low-cost business opportunity or a really, really bad job?
(UnhappyFranchisee.Com) If you’re considering a cleaning franchise – any cleaning franchise – do your homework and read the many complaints that seem to be common to most of these companies – even the household names.
Entrepreneur magazine continues to promote the controversial janitorial / commercial cleaning franchises in its Entrepreneur 500.
With low cost of entry, (often) guaranteed cleaning accounts and some of the most aggressive franchise advertising in the industry, janitorial franchises will surely continue to recruit many new franchise investors despite (and maybe because of) these tough economic times.
Are you starting a business or buying a job? The Commercial Cleaning segment of franchising has long been a target of criticism as promoting buy-a-job scams that especially target unsophisticated, minority and/or immigrant buyers. In fact, the FTC and Maryland Attorney General issued a guide to commercial cleaning franchises.
A judge in Massachusetts ruled that janitorial franchisor Coverall exerts such control over its franchisees that they should be legally considered employees, not business owners.
Here are some of our recent posts discussing the complaints, allegations and controversies around janitorial and commercial cleaning franchises. Your comments and insights are invited at the bottom of each post.
If your franchise isn’t listed here, or for general complaints, go here:
Commercial Cleaning Franchise Complaints
Janitorial / Commercial Cleaning Franchise Information
FTC Guide to Buying a Janitorial Services Franchise
FTC’s Janitorial Franchise Buyer’s Guide
FTC Guide to Buying a Janitorial Services Franchise
Commercial Cleaning Franchises: 10 Reasons to NOT Buy One
Janitorial & Cleaning Franchise Scams
All Pro Cleaning Systems
ALL PRO CLEANING SYSTEMS: Another Janitorial Franchise Lawsuit September 26, 2010
Anago
ANAGO CLEANING SYSTEMS Franchise Complaints
Bonus Building Care
BONUS BUILDING CARE Franchise Scam Complaints
BONUS BUILDING CARE Defendants Named in Franchise Racketeering Lawsuit
BONUS BUILDING CARE Franchise Called a Janitorial Pyramid Scam
BuildingStars
BUILDINGSTARS Franchise Complaints
CHEM-DRY
Champion Clean
CHAMPION CLEAN Using Bogus Franchise Statistics July 29, 2009
Cleannet USA
CLEANNET USA Franchise Complaints
CLEANNET USA Franchise is a Scam, Attorney Claims
Coverall
Heits Building Services
HEITS BUILDING SERVICES Franchise Complaints
JANI-KING Franchise:
JANI-KING Franchise Complaints
Jan-Pro Posts:
JAN-PRO: Janitorial Franchise Warning October 14, 2009
JAN-PRO Threatens UnhappyFranchisee.com December 27, 2011
JAN-PRO UnhappyFranchisee.com Responds to Jan-Pro Threat December 27, 2011
JAN-PRO: Is JAN-PRO Franchise a Scam? December 29, 2011
The Janitorial Agency Franchise
THE JANITORIAL AGENCY Franchise Lawsuit Alleges Fraud, Racketeering
THE JANITORIAL AGENCY Franchise Lawsuit Alleges Fraud, Racketeering
THE JANITORIAL AGENCY Employees Named in Racketeering Lawsuit
THE JANITORIAL AGENCY Allegedly Claims Another Victim
THE JANITORIAL AGENCY Scam or No Scam? November 11, 2011
MaidPro
The Maids
THE MAIDS Franchise Complaints
THE MAIDS Franchise Marketing: Misleading or Uninformed?
Mint Condition
MINT CONDITION Franchise Complaints
MINT CONDITION Franchise: Is CEO Jack Saumby Making Illegal Earnings Claims?
MINT CONDITION Franchise Misrepresenting Turnover Rate?
Octoclean Janitorial Services Franchise
WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO YOU KNOW A JANITORIAL FRANCHISE WE SHOULD INVESTIGATE? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
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View Comments
It's a shame that certain companies in our industry take advantage of others by promising the success and independence of running their own business, but then undermine their efforts to succeed. It will be interesting to see the outcomes of some of these lawsuits. There are many quality cleaning service companies trying to do things the right way.
OpenWorks are a fraud issue you contracts and then several months down the road they snatch them away from you. Their accountant department is very bad on keeping up with volume.
I see a new trend where Jani King, Anago, and Stratus are trying to take over the advertising in commercial cleaning services Nashville, TN to the point where if you try to give a bid now and you don't own a franchise, the potential client doesn't want service period. They have taken their cleaning in house. The franchises have caused a complete loss of faith by businesses in the cleaning industry in general. These commercial franchisers are vampires feeding off people's dreams. Why nothing gets done to stop them is the real question we should be asking. They pick on minorities, lie, mislead, and account churn all while facing no real consequences. Why not keep doing it? I wish every so called judge, attorney, and government official could walk 6 months in one of these franchisee's shoes! Then, maybe these companies would be forced to refund everyone's money. Again, it's not if racketeering, fraud, and other things are happening, it's why is it be ignored nation wide?
Yes, a cleaning franchise is a low-cost business opportunity, there is no need to start a hoodz cleaning business from the scratch, you can buy a cleaning franchise and run simply a business.
The franchises still play the same game, under bid contracts to get them, stick a franchisee in that account, wait for the complaints to roll in, and then begin their game of re-sell that customer to as many franchisees as possible. That is, until the customer is fed up, or the franchisees are ready to give up.