MATCO TOOLS Franchise Complaints

4,850 thoughts on “MATCO TOOLS Franchise Complaints”

• The only “misrepresentation” came from
  MATCO

  I was Told my Bryan Maira and Doug Heersink
  Verbatim –

  *My route Would make money

  *I would come home to mountains of cash

  *The ONLY way I could fail was if I bought toys (boats,etc) instead of paying Matco with my MOUNTAIN of cash

  NOBODY can dispute it didn’t happen

  I will swear to it in a court of law, as will my husband

  And BELIEVE me I will!!!!!

• Ever wonder why Matco has to resort to fraud and our government for FRESH MEAT to throw in their Churn and Burn Machine?

  H. Lawrence Culp
  President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
  Danaher Corporation
  Washington , DC
  Sector: CONGLOMERATES / Conglomerates
  Officer since January 1995

  48 Years Old
  H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Mr. Culp has served on Danaher?s Board of Directors and as Danaher?s President and Chief Executive Officer since May 2001. He is also a member of the board of directors of GlaxoSmithKline plc. Mr. Culp joined the Company in 1990 and served in leadership positions in a variety of different functions and businesses before his promotion to President and CEO in 2001. His broad operating and functional experience and in-depth knowledge of Danaher?s businesses and of the Danaher Business System are particularly valuable given the complex, diverse nature of Danaher?s portfolio. His insights and perspective from serving on the board of one of the world?s largest pharmaceutical companies have also proved valuable to Danaher. These experiences, combined with Mr. Culp?s talent for leadership and his long-term strategic perspective, have helped drive Danaher?s sustained record of growth and performance through a full range of economic cycles.

  Forbes Rankings
  68th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2011
  1st on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2010
  Danaher – 366th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010
  191st on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2009
  Danaher Forbes 400 Best Big Companies in 2009
  See All Rankings >

  Compensation for 2010
  Salary $1,117,778.00
  Bonus $0.00
  Restricted stock awards $6,738,383.00
  All other compensation $514,854.00
  Option awards $ $4,258,985.00
  Non-equity incentive plan compensation $4,400,000.00
  Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings $2,244.00

  Total Compensation $17,032,244.00
  Options Granted
  Grant
  Date All other stock awards (# of shares of stocks or units) Number of securities underlying options Exercise
  or base
  price Percent of total options granted in fiscal year Grant date fair value of stock and option awards See More
  03/19/2010 – – $ – 0% $ –
  open
  02/25/2010 – – $ – 0% $4,648,463.00
  open
  02/25/2010 – – $37.27 0% $4,258,985.00
  02/23/2010 – – $ – 0% $2,089,920.00
  open
  02/24/2009 – – $ – 0% $4,449,114.00
  open
  02/24/2009 – – $52.59 0% $5,236,378.00
  02/24/2009 – – $ – 0% $ –
  open
  02/20/2008 – – $ – 0% $ –
  open
  02/22/2007 – – $ – 0% $ –
  open
  02/27/2006 – – $61.69 0% $21,178,365.00
  02/27/2006 – – $ – 0% $19,987,560.00
  open
  02/27/2006 – – $ – 0% $ –
  open
  – – 143,750 $66.91 4.45% $ –
  open
  – – 143,750 $74.33 4.45% $ –
  open
  – – 143,750 $82.99 4.45% $ –
  open
  – – 143,750 $68.35 4.45% $ –
  open
  – – 1,000,000 $46.62 30.6% $ –
  open

  Options Exercised
  Number of securities underlying options exercisable 2,440,000
  Number of securities underlying options unexercisable 1,150,000
  Value of unexercised options, currently exercisable $83,766,320.00
  Value of unexercised options, currently unexercisable $22,088,625.00
  Shares acquired on exercise 80,000
  Value Realized $3,811,000.00

  Don’t know what unexercised options,m currently exercisable means but $83,766,320.00 is not chump change. Or maybe it is.

• jd i have to disagree with you

  http://www.jobs-to-careers.com/Jobs/q-Matco-Tools/

  There are 4,640 Matco Tools jobs!

  THAT IS THE EXACT TEXT ON THAT SITE

• jd
  Come on dude, you think we dont know that is just a basic search word aggregator for a job site?

  Instead of addressing the issues you are trying to defend WHAT??

• IF jobs to careers did not mean that the 4640 jobs were not all Matco

  WELL, THEN, IN THAT CASE

  THE ONLY PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR

  **********MISLEADING**********

  WOULD BE JOBS TO CAREERS!!!!!!!!!!!

• SORRY JD

  you appear to be “grasping”

  better check footing, I don’t believe you have a leg to stand on………….

  the “people that have lost their franchise”

  MAYBE you should think about the

  **********NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE LOST THEIR FRANCHISE*******

  **********THE NUMBER OF DIVORCES CAUSED BY MATCO********

  *********THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT LOST THEIR LIFE’S SAVINGS******

  nothing MISLEADING about those numbers
  IN FACT, go to Matco’s OWN franchise docs, it states clearly
  **********49% FAILURE RATE***********

  Misleading? What is MISLEADING is Matco falsely presenting their franchise as a “good” opportunity

• https://www.facebook.com/gearwrench

  GEARWRENCH has a facebook page

  post there

  Sears, Home Depot, etc all sell Gearwrench
  CHEAPER

  Matco simply RE BRANDS tools and sells them for a higher price

  Gearwrench – just buy it cheaper someplace else

• Debbie

  Dont forget the number of people who have lost their homes…

  OR the number of people who took out second mortgages on their homes and are still paying for it after termination

  OR the number of people who had to file bankruptcy

  where did jd go anyway, he seems smarter than the average joe, definitely not a Franchisee

• https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professional-Distributor-magazine/39275048498?ref=ts

  Professional Dist magazine has a Facebook page too

  post there!!

• WHAT now JD???
  What NOW truth???????

  Can’t argue – can you????????????

  Well, it’s better you don’t, you really haven’t stated a single viable argument.

  That’s OK. Not everybody can handle this………….

• You all have stated multiple times, “the tool biz” isn’t for everyone, some people just are not cut out to sell tools

  Apparently, the “FACTS” are just a little too much for everyone………….

  FACT – 36% SBA LOAN FAILURE RATE
  FACT – 49% distributor franchise failure rate
  FACT – Matco routinely sells NON VIABLE routes
  FACT – Matco requires DBRs to perform warrantied repairs and in violation of LABOR LAWS does NOT compensate for the labor

• Just for JD,
  ————————————————————————————————————–

  IFA Convention to address veteran unemployment challenge

  IFA SmartBrief | Feb 08, 2012

  IFA will host U.S. veterans during its 52nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla., as part of Operation Enduring Opportunity, the franchise industry’s campaign to hire as team members and recruit as franchise business owners 75,000 veterans and military spouses and 5,000 wounded warriors by 2014. U.S. veterans and military spouses will be invited to the first IFA VetFran Pavilion, which offers tools and solutions to match veterans with franchise opportunities. The Hero2Hired Mobile Job Store Truck will be in the pavilion, where franchisors can get free, direct access to qualified veteran candidates who already have background checks and security clearances and learn about tax credits of up to $9,600 per veteran hired. In advance of the convention, IFA members will take part in a one-day event Friday to rehabilitate a park honoring military veterans at the Orlando Health and Rehabilitation Center, one of Florida’s largest nursing facilities and home to more than 50 veterans as well as 300 seniors and children. Veterans and military spouses can register here.

  ————————————————————————————————————–

  Any DA can read it takes a real intelligent person to COMPREHEND!!!

  But your right I found another kickback through the “Help Veteran’s Own Franchises Act” as well.

  Seems Matco might even make MORE money off Vets than the VOW offers!

• Does JD need his binky?

  Or do you still use your THUMB?

• I think the IFA knows wtf they are talking about! DON’T YOU!!!

  Just so you know IFA stands for International Franchise Association!

  The IFA, led by Don Dwyer Sr., established the Vetfran program through our Government.

  Vetfran is supposed to be a NON-PROFIT Organization and is (supposedly) not funded by the government.

  But for some reason Vetfran was established.

  My question is: If the government didn’t fund them then who did?

  Could it be the Franchiser who was creating the Vetfran Program to supposedly benefit our soldiers but gave him a direct line to soldiers who Mr. Dwyer needed for his Franchise Opportunities in “The Dwyer Group”.?

• Have I mentioned that “The Dwyer Group still exists and supports the IFA and Vetfran today!
  ———————————————————————————————————–
  VetFran Committee Members:

  Chairman – Lonnie Helgerson, CFE, Helgerson Franchise Group
  Vice Chairman – Mary Thompson, CFE, President, Mr. Rooter

  • Ron Berger, CEO, Figaro’s Italian Pizza, Inc.
  • Jerry Darnell, SVP, Strategic Development, Benetrends, Inc.
  • Scott Denniston, President, Scott Group of Virginia
  • Janice M. Dwyer, CFE, President, Luce, Smith and Scott, Inc.
  • Marisa D. Faunce, Partner,Plave Koch PLC
  • John Francis, PostNet Area Franchisee for Minnesota & Wisconsin
  • Christine Galli, Executive Director, Technology in a Box
  • Nancy Ghanem, President, NG Franchise Services, Inc.
  • Herbert Greenberg, President & CEO, Caliper
  • Chris P. Holman, COO & Director of Franchising, Advanced Maintenance
  • Joe Lindenmayer, Presdient, TSS Photography, Inc.
  • Mark Liston, CFE, VP Operations, Glass Doctor
  • Chris Loudermilk, Military Development Officer, The Dwyer Group
  • Bret Lowell, CFE, Partner, DLA Piper US LLP
  • Thomas Macintosh, Partner, Krass Monroe, P.A.
  • Andrew Perrin, Attorney, Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren
  • Michael H. Seid, CFE, Managing Dir., Michael H. Seid & Associates
  • Jerrod Sessler, CEO, HomeTask Handyman Service, Inc.
  • Chuck Southern, Corporate Liaison Officer, Center for Veterans Enterprise (ex officio)
  • Christopher Warren, Director Franchise Network Relations, Valpak
  • Marcea Weiss, Veteran Business Advocate, National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA)
  • Steve White, President, Signs Now

  IFA Staff Liaison, Miriam L. Brewer, Director Education and Diversity
  ————————————————————————————————————-
  I don’t see too many Franchise OWNERS representing an ORGANIZATION created to BENEFIT soldiers looking for careers in FRANCHISING do you?

  Looks to me like most are Franchisers and people that might BENEFIT from getting a Veteran established into a FRANCHISE!!!

  Janice Dwyer that name rings a BELL!!!!

• Well, it sure didn’t take long for the juvenile comments to be made, just because I pointed out the misrepresentations that a few have made. I could’ve used other terms rather than ‘lost their franchise’, but I didn’t.

  It’s obvious to see that Debbie and Todd can’t admit when they are wrong. Debbie puts the blame on the Jobs to Career website because the search terms she put in there came up with over 4k jobs and she assumed that they were all for Matco. Organized seems to understand what I was saying, so maybe he can explain it to her.

  Todd, I hope that you are coaching your son’s 5th grade basketball team with more tact than asking me if I need my binky or still use my thumb. Re-read your own post about the IFA. The IFA is talking about hiring and recruiting 75k to be both franchise owners and hiring them as team members. While this means that some of those will be recruited to be franchisees, others will be hired by frachisors and franchisees. Those franchisees and franchisors that hire veterans and have them on their payroll will be eligible for the tax credit, not franchisors that recruit franchisees.

  The people that attack come out and try to attack me by saying that Matco is a bad franchise. Please tell me in my comment where I said that Matco was a good franchise?

  Organized has it right, i’m not a franchisee and hadn’t even heard of Matco prior to hearing about it here. I will however point out the bs that people put on here. If you really want to help out your credibility, you should think and comprehend prior to posting and when you are wrong, admit it.

  Debbie, ‘I would kindly ask you NOT YELL AT ME – turn off CAPS – it is poor Internet etiquette’, since you kindly asked the same to Guest17.

• I’m not apologizing,

  regardless of their Intent or that All the JOBS are not Matco

  http://www.jobs-to-careers.com/Jobs/q-Matco-Tools/
  There are 4,640 Matco Tools jobs!
  THAT IS THE EXACT TEXT ON THAT SITE

  the EXACT TEXT

  Don’t feel special, dear, I’m not yelling at you, there is NO option told BOLD the text so CAPS are the only option

  It would only be yelling – if my entire post was in CAPS

• jd “The people that attack come out and try to attack me by saying that Matco is a bad franchise. Please tell me in my comment where I said that Matco was a good franchise?”

  well, maybe YOU should be CLEAR in your opinion

  Misleading, ah, much like the
  http://www.jobs-to-careers.com/Jobs/q-Matco-Tools/
  There are 4,640 Matco Tools jobs!

• Jobs to Careers obviously has no credibility

  they use bold colorful text to MISlead

  and then there is
  950 JOBS
  http://www.blackcareers.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?ncc=%22Matco+Tools%22

  OPERATION EMPLOY VETS……………………………
  950 JOBS http://www.employvets.com/results.php?facetcompany=%22Matco+Tools%

  http://www.jobs.net/jobs/matcotools-franchise/search/automotive-and-outside-sales-jobs/ST7L5NR76MY8JKTFXLTP/page/17/
  421 “jobs” listed

  My question is,,,,
  Why? If it is against FTC regulations to ADVERTISE franchise opportunities as actual JOBS –

  WHY DO THEY CONTINUTE TO DO SO?????????

  Matco Tools – You continually ADVERTISE for a franchise that is for sale, a franchise people NEED TO BUY, THIS is NOT a JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  THIS is my issue

  It violates FTC regulations

  These JOB SITES are not posing “JOBS”
  They are ADVERTISING franchise opportunities………..

  Plain and simply – THAT is wrong!

• I might point out that this site is

  Unhappy, yes UNHAPPY franchisee.com

  FRANCHISEE – a site developed so that Unhappy franchisees could post their grievances

  SHARE their stories

  Now, are we really to believe some random person was surfing about the net
  and just HAD to comment?

  Some random person, that is NOT personally involved, that has not SUFFERED in any way, was drawn to THIS site and compelled to share his insights??

  And did this random person really think that his few words of criticism would somehow be received as magnanimous words of wisdom meant to enlighten the obviously (in his opinion) the ignorant????

• Please tell me where i ever gave an opinion on Matco? You assume that because I stated something against you that I was for Matco. Maybe i’m here because I want to discredit posts that aren’t truthful or that are posted in a way to try and distort the facts.

  You lose credibility when you keep saying that there are 4k+ Matco Tool jobs out there, because you want the number to be higher. If you put Matco Tools in quotes, it’s 433.

• Debbie, I’ve been on this site from nearly the beginning. Admin and I helped some people stay away from Cuppy’s franchises.

  Think what you want. I’ll continue to post. You may want to pay attention to some of the things that I write. While I’ll most likely stay away from any operations of a Matco, I’ll point out any comments that I find misleading, like your jobs posting and Todd’s tax credit posting.

• Every year,

  HUNDREDS of new, unsuspecting, well intention ed, people yearning to be successful, own their own business, or returning American servicemen,
  REACH out, INVEST hundreds of THOUSANDS of dollars – with the dream of
  good future – invest in Matco Tools………….

  EVERY YEAR these HUNDREDS of now distributors devote 60,70,Plus hours to their new venture.

  EVERY YEAR these hundreds of new distributors perform Warranty Repairs without compensation

  EVERY YEAR these hundreds of new distributors drive whatever route they were given, devoted to excellent customer service, form relationships with their customers, go the extra mile and assist those customers, and truly want to be successful.

  EVERY YEAR Matco tools waits for those new distributors to reach that magic two or three year mark. That is about a long as any distributor can make it when they were given a NON viable route to start.

  EVERY YEAR Matco tools finds some reason to TAKE AWAY successful portions of distributor’s routes, often times the target of this reduction is successful routes happens to our American Service Veterans!!!!!

  EVERY YEAR Matco Tools unfairly terminates HUNDREDS of distributors

  I’m NOT wrong…………..

  I have documentation and PROOF

• jd
  “Distorting the facts” you are way off base there friend. Debbie and Todd are very trusting and possibly a bit naive in everything they hear and read, after all they were very trusting when they signed the dotted line with Matco believing in everything they were told and sold…which of course turned out to be detrimental to their financial well being.

• jd……”You lose credibility when you keep saying that there are 4k+ Matco Tool jobs out there, because you want the number to be higher. If you put Matco Tools in quotes, it’s 433.”

  Please just open the link:
  http://www.jobs-to-careers.com/Jobs/q-Matco-Tools/

  I’ve captured the graphic posted and put it on
  https://www.facebook.com/MatcoToolsDistributorAssociation

  Sir, ” I ” haven’t lost credibility…………

  Jobs to Careers – in my opinion, is NOT credible

  However; ALL I am doing is STATING what is CLEARLY in print on the Jobs to Careers site

  nothing is in quotes – I’m only stating , and showing on my FB page,
  what is PRINTED on their site

  I’m not writing the news, I’m just reporting

• Ah, i see……………

  Jobs to Careers didn’t MEAN what they SAID/printed

  Matco Tools didn’t MEAN what they SAID/promised

  However; the “Qualifications” to own a Matco Tools Franchise
  IS “High School Diploma”

  Apparently, they prey on naivete

  I’ll concede, it WAS detrimental to my financial well being

  Probably will have a LIFE TIME effect………………………..

  Out of work, left with devastated credit………………………..

  Employers CHECK potential employees credit rating, with my CURRENT credit rating BECAUSE of Matco Tools – I certainly could not now be a distributor

  And most certainly, NOW because of Matco Tools, I an UN employable……….

  and WHY??? because I did everything that was asked????????

  Todd, Tommy, Richard, and others ALL did everything THEY were asked

  Please don’t perpetrate the idea you are here to ‘simply point out the errors’

  Really? What’s in it for you??

  Because NOBODY does anything, for anyone, unless there IS something in it for them.

• No matter how many jobs are posted by matco, they are not jobs, but a business for sale, which is against the law to post on a job board, matco has screwed and illegally terminated hundreds of distributors, ruining their lives and credit.

  Matco is one big scam and people need to be made aware of that. Learn from us how matco treats people.They control just about your every move and they do not do this to every distributor, because of the ones who were in before they were franchises. Matco picks and selects who they want to terminate and give a hard time.

  The back of the trucks should say’ DRIVE OUR BUSINESS FOR US AND WE WILL DRIVE YOU RIGHT INTO THE GROUND”.WE ARE DRIVEN TO PUT YOU RIGHT OUT OF BUSINESS.

  MATCO, BEWARE, WE ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• That IS the point Tommy

  Some think if they stomp around they can distract from the truth

  They can’t

  Matco IS the subject of MULTIPLE Law Suits

  Matco WILL ANSWER for their deceit

  It doesn’t matter how many wish to engage in a fruitless war of words……………

  This WILL be settled in COURT

  That is the benefit of having the TOP FRANCHISE LAWYER in the business on your side :)

• jd,

  I am not buying the employment crap you are spreading about the IFA. Go to their web site and find one shred of proof that they promote EMPLOYEE’S! There is NONE!!!
  ————————————————————————————————————-

  AICPA Huge Tax Breaks for Franchisors and Franchisees

  What are they and how can you get them?

  October 23, 2008

  by Blake Christian, CPA/MBT

  Franchisors and franchisees of any size, operating in virtually any state, will generally be surprised to find that they are overlooking significant federal and state tax breaks that can generate annual tax savings in the tens of thousands for small businesses and millions of dollars for larger chains. There are over 8,500 federal and state tax incentive zones throughout the U.S., resulting in more than 20 percent of businesses having one or more stores or facilities falling into a state or federal zone.

  Since these tax benefits are generally only available in certain portions of a state, city or county, information about the program specifics is not readily understood by the companies or their financial advisors. Therefore, it is not surprising that over 90 percent of businesses that are eligible for these tax breaks claim little or none of the tax credits.

  These tax breaks come in the form of hiring credits, equipment credits, sales tax credits or exemptions, property tax reductions, Tax Holidays, etc. Collectively, these tax incentive programs are referred to as Location Based Incentive Credits (LBIC).

  More specifically, there are 42 states with Enterprise Zone (EZ) programs, which offer some or all of the aforementioned tax breaks. In addition, there are thousands of federally designated zones that allow for hiring credits, and other tax incentives.

  Businesses that take advantage of these LBIC programs are more competitive, since they typically have lower cost of labor, lower capital equipment costs, lower tax rates, better cash flow and higher business valuations.

  Franchisors can create significant value for their business, as well as their franchisees’ businesses by assisting in identifying company-owned and franchised stores and facilities that fall within these LBICs. LBIC programs have their roots in 1980′s England, when government leaders designed economic development programs containing tax incentives for operating in economically depressed towns/regions. The common denominator under these LBICs is to “incentivize” employers to locate or expand their operations in business districts that are surrounded by residential areas whose households are living at or near the poverty level. By having the private sector hire these residents, who are often receiving government assistance before receiving job offers, legislators anticipate that the private sector employers will ultimately hire and train these new employees with the long-range goal of keeping them off the government rolls.

  U.S. federal and state government agencies picked up on this concept and began designing similar programs throughout the U.S. The most significant benefit available under the majority of each of these LBIC programs involves a hiring credit for hiring local residents or other economically challenged employees. The hiring credits vary by tax program, but the ranges of annual credits per “qualified” employee are summarized below:

  Annual Hiring Credits

  State EZ Programs

  $500 to $13,000
  per employee

  Federal Empowerment
  Zone Programs

  $3,000 per employee

  Federal Renewal
  Community Programs

  $1,500 per employee

  Federal Rural Renewal County (WOTC) Program

  $2,400 per employee

  Federal Indian Tribal Lands

  $4,000 per employee

  In addition to the aforementioned federal and state income tax savings, there are a variety of existing and possibly enhanced, tax incentives available to business owners.

  Property Tax Relief

  In addition to potential property tax exemptions or rate reductions for operating in certain jurisdictions or being in a designated industry, 43 states also have some form of “tax increment financing” (TIF) program, which generally allow taxpayers to either obtain subsidized funding for a project in a Redevelopment Area (RDA), or receive a lower tax base in return for revitalizing an economically depressed area. To obtain these benefits, a taxpayer must generally negotiate with the RDA prior to beginning the construction or rehab phase. State and/or federal rehabilitation credits and low-income housing credits may also be available on such projects.

  Sales/Use Tax Exemptions

  State sales/use tax statutes are sprinkled with exemptions and credits for certain state jurisdictions or targeted/specialized industries.

  Certain cities and counties are also open to negotiate sales “Tax Holidays” for new businesses, whereby the city or other jurisdiction will either exempt taxable sales or rebate all or a portion of sales tax collected from
  the taxpayer.

  Other Benefits

  It is fairly common for the federal, state and local agencies to also offer other resources to companies operating in these economically challenged areas. Free business counseling, employee training/screening, low-interest loans or outright grants are often offered in these regions — although some research may be required on the part of the company.

  States and cities are also highly competitive in their efforts to attract corporate headquarters to their city or state. Many states and cities will negotiate with and offer a variety of customized incentive packages to businesses that will bring in larger groups of employees, building projects or other economic development to a region. These negotiated incentive packages can involve multiple years and millions of dollars for
  larger companies.

  Conclusion

  Companies that take the extra time to evaluate the available LBIC benefits available for their various facilities will often gain immediate tax savings and significant refunds for prior years under many programs.

  The permanent tax savings and cost reductions available under these programs can offer long-term competitive advantages in a challenging marketplace. A thorough review of your current company or client facilities and available program benefits can yield positive results. And if you have no facilities in a state or federal incentive zone, when you are considering a move or expansion, you have 8,500 jurisdictions across the country that can generate tax breaks.

  Blake Christian, CPA, MBT is a Tax Partner in the Long Beach office of HCVT LLP and is Co-Founder of National Tax Credit Group. For For additional information, please refer to http://www.hcvt.com. To try out the Zone-matching capabilities, visit http://www.ntcgtax.com/offers/aicpa.html. This link is available on a free trial basis for AICPA Corporate Taxation Insider readers.

  ————————————————————————————————————–

  Kind of interesting don’t you think!!!! jd

• ————————————————————————————————————
  Franchisors Benefit from Veteran Tax Credits
  Wednesday, January 4, 2012
  A report in the IFA FranBlog this week indicates that the Vow to Hire Heroes Act is helping ignite new hiring strategies in the franchising world.

  Because the tax credits associated with this Act expire in December of 2012, the time to act is now.

  Learn ways to recruit veterans and visit the first-ever VetFran Pavilion at the IFA Convention in Orlando, Feb. 11 – 14.
  ————————————————————————————————————-
  More…..
  ————————————————————————————————————-
  The Vow to Hire Heroes Act signed into law at the White House in November with the help of VetFran leaders Greg Tanner of Aaron’s, David Nilssen of Guidant Financial, and IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira, is spurring franchisors, franchisees and suppliers to develop new hiring strategies for 2012 to do the right thing for the nation as well as strengthen the franchise industry.

  The tax credits, ranging from $2,400 – $9,600 per veteran hired, depending on whether the service member has a disability and how long he/she has been unemployed, are another reason to act. It’s important to plan now to be able to maximize the benefit of this major tax incentive.

  According to the latest news from IFA 2012 Convention Exhibitor Lisa Rosser of The Value of a Veteran, there are other things you need to know:

  The credits expire at the end of 2012. Employers may take the credit for any qualified veterans hired between November 22, 2011 and December 31, 2012.
  There is no time limit associated to when the veteran left the service. Previous versions of veteran-related tax credits stipulated that the veteran had to have been separated/retired from the service within the last 5 years in order to qualify. This is not a stipulation for this latest version, so if you are considering hiring a veteran who left the service 10+ years ago and who has been unemployed more than 4 weeks, you can receive a tax credit for the hire.
  Qualified tax exempt (i.e., 501(c)) organizations may now claim the credit by hiring veterans.
  There is no limit to the number of qualified veterans you can hire and claim the credit.
  The IRS allows a company to carry the credit back 1 year or forward 20 years — this could be particularly attractive for small businesses.

  Meet Lisa Rosser and veterans at the IFA Convention in Orlando at the first-ever VetFran Pavilion to find out more about how companies are recruiting veterans, and visit The Value of a Veteran, which offers free “Ask the Military Recruiting Expert” sessions Jan. 10 and Jan. 23. Click here to sign up for a free consultation.

  Register for the IFA Convention Orlando Feb. 11-14.
  ————————————————————————————————————–

• Nice work Todd!

  You’ve spelled it out ;)

  Of course when you’re right – it is easy!

• Keyword is ‘hired’…franchisees are not on the payroll; therefore franchisors cannot take a tax credit for recruiting a veteran to be a franchisee.

  The other article is for tax credits open to any business looking to locate in an area that offers those credits. A franchisor could take advantage of those credits with company owned stores or a franchisee would get those credits if they located there.

  Please try again, actually don’t because I’ll just have to explain it again.

• Clearly Todd makes a point

  Regardless of JD ‘s take

  Matco DOES reap benefits from selling their
  franchises to Veterans

  Dispute the details if you like ~ and I’m sure you will…

  Fact remains – Matco financially benefits from
  Veterans

  If they did not ~ they wouldn’t be pushing
  So hard to get Veterans

• Irregardless of the existence of tax credits for
  Veterans – NOBODY can dispute the abuse!

  Todd having his route pillaged

  Richard suffering the same plight

  Matco CHURNS distributors~ period!

  Matco churns distributors and has no respect
  for Veterans

• Do they reap benefits from selling a franchise to a veteran, yes just as they do by selling to a non-vet.

  Do they get a tax credit as Todd implies for selling a franchise, no. To get the credit they have to be hired and have worked at least 120 hours for the employer.

• ya cant fix stupid, just saying

• maybe they count your training time as that 120 hours. you are in training for 5 weeks according to them. thats all that world class support.

• Todd, you HAVE the proof!

  You have posted the proof!!

  Some can TRY to dispute, but they are
  Just wrong

  Right on Todd!!

• Matco also reaps the benefits of Churning
  their distributors

  Matco also knowingly sells non viable routes

  Matco also strips away customers from successful
  DBRs until they fail

  Matco also requires DBRs perform warranty repairs
  And does not compensate their labor

  Matco also abuses the VetFran program

• ————————————————————————————————————
  Franchisors Benefit from Veteran Tax Credits

  That sounds like Matco does benefit
  .

• i remember back in class when we would talk about PSA contracts. the instructor would tell us that matco didnt make any money on psa and that they only did it to help us the dbrs. there was another guy in the class, i called him 9%, because he would rip the instructor a new one for even saying what he did.he used to sell cars and he would go off on how there was no way but to make money on a loan that you charge 19 to 21 percent interest on. the instructor would deny it. naturally i got in on the discussion too. i guess that was just another lie.
  matco doesnt do anything for anybody unless they make money on the deal. thats the way they roll. they dont do any dbr any favors unless they can profit more by doing it.
  i just got a statement today where they charged me over $4,000.00 dollars for charges that i have already paid. was it a mistake or was it a ploy to see if i noticed. i never saw them make any mistakes in my favor. it is always in theirs. i wonder how that is.
  all you terminated dbrs better check your statements very carefully. this is so unable to happen. if i had not paid these bills i would have been on tool hold and not have gotten any tools. i have the proof where i paid them. yet i am charged again for them.
  they know when i hit my first stop and my last stop. they know what i sold, how much i sold it for, how much i gave for it, who i sold it too, and whether or not i got it from them. yet they cant figure out that i have already paid for something or not.
  you have to watch everything that they do or you will get taken advantage of. you have to prove everything and they dont have to prove anything.
  does that sound like someone that you would enjoy doing business with, notttt.
  that wasnt covered in class either.

  argue with that jd- what does jd stand for anyway

• Leaders in the franchise world weigh in on the necessity of having less oppressive contracts between those who grant franchise licenses and franchised establishments that dot main street. Jason Daley, reporter for Entrepreneur Magazine, has written a well-balanced article that looks also at franchisee concerns from a variety of sources, rather than more traditional statements that franchisors dish out.

  An army of franchisor attorneys has created a monster of a contract points out franchisees. Dave Glodowski, franchisee of Hardee’s restaurants and chairman of the Coalition of Franchisee Associations says that franchise contracts are much worse now than they were 25 years ago. “Officers at franchise systems talk to each other,” he explains on how franchisor attorneys share contracts that give over more and more control to franchisors. “They see it as protecting their brand, but it’s also a form of control,” says the franchisee leader. Glodowski and his team think they have an answer in declaring twelve rights that all franchisees should have.

  Then don’t sign the franchise agreement declares Richard Solomon, an attorney who largely represents angry franchisees in litigation against their franchisors. Solomon argues that franchisees need to grow up and live with the contracts that they sign. “They (aggrieved franchisees) didn’t want to comply with the terms of the agreement after they got into business. What they need is competent due diligence before they sign an agreement.” Solomon argues that franchisees should make sure that supposed rights are in their contract.

  What fairness problem, asks a group that largely lobbies for the interests of franchisors, the International Franchise Association. “We don’t think a Bill of Rights is really necessary,” says the IFA. Their association thinks they already have something that polices the industry. “We’re really proud of our Code of Ethics,” declares Alisa Harrison on how the IFA solves bad franchising practices. However, right now her members aren’t so interested in fixing outrageous agreements but rather are urging for a helping hand from the government in stimulating loans. “They can’t get credit,” says the IFA spokesperson. (Without credit, sales of franchise units are hard to come by nowadays.)

  Our franchisee rights came first and are more complete than the CFA’s franchisee bill of rights says attorney Robert Purvin, chair of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers. “It’s the same thing we did 20 years ago, and it didn’t need to be done again,” he says. Purvin says that franchisors have too much power to terminate franchisees at will and to ban franchise owners from pursuing their livelihood afterwards. “Can you imagine a journalist paying $100,000 to get a degree to practice in their field, then being told by a newspaper they can’t be a reporter if they leave the company?” he says. “Those are huge deals not dealt with in the CFA version.”

• I’m trying to figure out if the people on here either don’t understand that someone has to be hired to get the Veteran Tax Credit that Todd was talking about or if they just don’t want to believe it so that they can argue that a a franchisor will get the tax credit for recruiting a Vet as a franchisee.

  Here’s the FAQ from the IRS as to how the credit is calculated:
  http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=253950,00.html

  After reading that, please let me know how the franchisor will benefit from recruiting a Vet as a franchisee.

  As to your point that Franchisors will benefit from the tax credit, here’s how. A franchisor like Panera operates a company store. They are looking to hire for a new store they are opening. The company owned store hires a veteran for a management position. They fill out the appropriate paperwork and get the credit. This is available for franchisors, franchisees, and any other company out there that wants to hire a veteran and go through the paperwork.

  Richard, when did I say that I would defend Matco’s practices? I didn’t, so why do I care about your scenario.

• If you take definition and rules of the tax credits word for word then you can see jd’s point of view as far as Franchisor/Franchisee’s taking a tax credit for “hiring” a veteran as an “employee” and this does require much closer scrutiny, however jd probably dose not completely understand how Matco corporate operates-here is a simple analogy:

  There is blood & chum in the water(veterans) and the sharks (Matco) are circling in a wild frenzy trying to get a piece of it…And Matco Tools NEVER does anything out of the goodness of their black hearts

  simple as that

  I could be wrong but I suspect their accountants have figured out a way to spin the tax credit in their favor

• I wonder how the Matco Old Boys Club (Kevin, MATCO#1, DM, Junior, Cary Devitt, Guest2-17) are feeling about Forbes naming Snap-on Tools #1 of ALL FRANCHISES?

  Forbes didn’t even give Matco Tools a mention. Sad.

  I believe Forbes trumps Entrepreneur and “#1 of all franchises” trumps “#1 of the three tool franchises.”

  Do you think OBC commenter MATCO#1 has changed his name to MATCO#notevenmentioned?

• Who? Is being naive now?

  I don’t pretend to understand corporate financing
  However , there is nothing magnanimous in
  Matco’s Vet program

  Of course they found the “spin” or loophole

  jd summed it up though:
  “so why do I care about your scenario.”

  He should care WHY Matco wasn’t even
  Mentioned by Forbes

  Like a smack in the face…

  Agreed – sad

• In response to our criticism, Forbes has added a related post that is linked-to from its rankings:

  http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/03/05/our-response-to-criticism-of-top-twenty-franchises-for-the-buck/

  We took issue with the average investment stated by Forbes ($100K too low) and their belief that 0 “closures” mean 0 “failures”

  While the clarification post is not exactly a retraction, it does state: “In order to glean the number of closures in a system, and thereby make some judgment as to its health, we tallied events recorded under the labels “Terminations”, “Non-Renewals”, and “Ceased Operations for Other Reasons”, as found in the “Outlets and Franchise Information” section of the Franchise Disclosure Document. We did not include those labeled “Reacquisitions”…

  “…Without fixed locations to shut down, Snap-on generally takes back struggling franchises for a small cash payment or the forgiveness of debt. Very few are ever terminated.

  “If the goal was to express the health of a system, then stating that the Snap-on franchisees experienced zero closures from 2008 to 2011 is misleading. Clearly, franchisees failed but were not accounted for under conventional methods. For the future, a better metric may indicate churn, whereby we take all transfer events, including reacquisitions, into account.”

  So, Forbes is saying that due to the shortcoming in its methodology, Snap-on mistakenly qualified as its #1 Franchise for the Buck. Snap-on, it appears, is free to keep boasting of its #1 franchise designation from Forbes… but at least Forbes will be more diligent in the future.

• Debbie stated: ‘I don’t pretend to understand corporate financing’

  Yet you are arguing over how a tax credit works.

  You and others are trying to create a conspiracy that isn’t there. It makes me wonder how many of the other comments are exaggerations.

  And again, I don’t care that they aren’t mentioned in the Forbes article. I don’t care that they are talked about poorly on this website.

• jd
  So lets take this in the other direction

  Can YOU say with 100% confidence that Matco does not take ANY tax credit for the Veterans they have have aggressively targeted for Franchising

  a simple yes or no…nothing more

• Help Veterans, Help Your Brand

  A proliferation of incentive programs may recruit more military veterans into the restaurant franchising business.
  Blimpie has a program that offers discounted franchise fees for veterans.
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  Blimpie, Planet Smoothie, Shane’s Rib Shack, Finance, Growth, Fast Casual

  On August 5, President Obama proposed several tactics that would help military veterans returning to civilian life find jobs. The president also called on Congress to re-introduce the Help Veterans Own Franchises (HVOF) Act, which was originally introduced in 2009.

  The new proposals, and passage of the HVOF Act, could result in an influx of military veterans becoming quick-serve franchisees.

  President Obama’s proposals include tax breaks for businesses that hire veterans and a new Department of Defense task force to help service-sector members find private-sector jobs. They also include new career-development programs in the Labor Department and Office of Personnel Management to train military veterans for private-sector employment.

  Introduced in the 111th Congress by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), the HVOF Act establishes a tax credit for franchises that offer veterans discounted initial franchise fees, training, and additional support.

  The tax credit would amount to as much as 50 percent of the total franchise fee discounted by the franchisor, with a cap of $25,000 per unit. The HVOF Act also provides a tax credit to veterans who become franchisees, equal to 25 percent of the remaining franchise fee.

  While the HVOF Act has bipartisan support—it has 45 cosponsors in Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, according to opencongress.org—it stalled after its original introduction when Congress got mired in the partisan battle over health care reform.

  But with national unemployment at 9.1 percent, a jobs initiative for veterans may now have a better shot at making its way through Congress.

  “At a time when everyone is focused on job creation in Washington, we think that the timing is good for us to be talking about this issue,” says Matthew Haller, director of communications for the International Franchise Association (IFA).

  Still, Haller is tempering his expectations for the Act’s chance of passage in a Congress festering with partisan divisiveness over national debt and other issues.

  “I think the prospects are good … but, at the same time, we have to be realistic about the political realities in Washington right now,” Haller says.

  With the fate of the HVOF Act up in the air, the IFA is jumpstarting its own campaign to recruit military veterans into the franchise business. Initiated after the Persian Gulf War, VetFran helps returning service members access franchise opportunities through training, financial assistance, and industry support.

  “Since the program’s inception, nearly 2,100 veterans have become franchise owners and thousands more are successful in franchising as executives, managers, and staff,” the IFA said in a press release following President Obama’s August 5 announcement.

  The 400 franchisor member companies participating in VetFran, which is officially endorsed—but not funded—by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Veterans Enterprise, include Little Caesars, Dairy Queen, and Einstein Bros., among many other quick-serve chains.

  In promoting VetFran, the IFA says military veterans make for ideal franchisees because running a franchise business demands operational execution and commitment—something ex-service members had instilled in them during their time in the military.
  The proposed tax credit would amount to as much as 50 percent of the total franchise fee discounted by the franchisor, with a cap of $25,000 per unit.

  Chris Morocco is CEO of Petrus Brands, which owns Planet Smoothie and Shane’s Rib Shack. He says that with its top three locations near military bases, Shane’s already appeals to military personnel. Giving military veterans an incentive to become franchisees was a logical next step, he says.

  “If we appeal to that consumer base, what better owner-operator can we have than a military veteran?” Morocco says.

  On that premise, Shane’s is offering its own veteran incentive program: a $20,000 franchise fee discount (from $30,000 down to $10,000) and $10,000 of grand-opening support to veterans who become franchisees.

  “With the relationship we have with [the military] community, we wanted to leverage it further, and that’s why we’re offering this program,” Morocco says.

  Echoing the IFA, Morocco also sees military veterans as well suited to running a restaurant franchise.

  “We have a couple [of franchisees] who are military veterans, and they demonstrate an ability to follow a system and to put the brand above themselves, much like they did when they put their country above themselves,” Morocco says.

  Blimpie is another quick-serve chain that invests in veteran franchisees. In January, the sub concept launched a program called Blueprint 47 that lowers its initial franchise fees from $18,000 to $47 for military veterans and existing franchisees. (Blimpie is celebrating its 47th anniversary.)

  Keith Hammond, a Blimpie franchisee who is a veteran of the U.S. Army, is already taking advantage of the program by buying two new franchises.

  “For a current store owner like myself, it’s a fantastic opportunity,” says Hammond, who already owns one Blimpie, in Hamilton, Georgia, about an hour north of Fort Benning. “I wish I could do more.”

  Hammond estimates the $17,953 franchise fee discount as roughly 20 percent of what it would normally cost him to open a new store. While there is still a lofty barrier of entry for military veterans, Hammond says the discount is “enough to get them interested.”

  He also says programs like Blueprint 47 help chains market themselves as “American” brands.

  “Transitioning back into civilian life can be terribly difficult … so I can’t think of a better group of young men and women that we need to target,” Hammond says.
  Military veterans as franchisees was the subject of an exclusive panel, “The Few. The Proud. Your Franchisees,” at Dine America, the executive conference hosted by Food News Media October 9–11, in Atlanta.