Fetch! Pet Care Franchise:  8 Unethical Behaviors of Phoenix Franchise Brands

Phoenix Franchise Brands was founded and is run by Greg Longe and his wife Maria Longe (aka Maria Shinabarger).  Their franchise offerings include Fetch! Pet Care, Furry Land mobile pet grooming, Spray Foam Genie, Door Renew, MedSpa810 & Steel Coated Floors (since May, 2024).  Dayton, OH-based Cybeck Capital Fund, LLC (“CCF”), a private equity fund managed by Cybeck Capital Partners, LLC, owns a minority interest.  by Sean Kelly

(UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  The comment below was submitted to the FTC in response to its invitation for public comment on franchise regulations and practices.

It was submitted by “Anonymous” & posted by the Federal Trade Commission on Jul 24, 2024 (Docket Document FTC-2023-0026-2219).

The franchisee claims that FETCH! and Phoenix Franchise Brands engage in unethical business practices that include Unreported kickbacks, Inhibiting Franchisees’ Right to Associate, Deceptive Franchise Sales Tactics, Call Center Overcharging/Underperforming, Escalating Flat fee Royalties, Churning Territories and Hiding Franchise Failures

Invitation:  Are you familiar with Greg Longe, Maria Longe, Phoenix Franchise Brands, or Cybeck Capital Fund?

Please leave a comment below or email us, in confidence, at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com.

The franchisor, its employees and agents are invited to submit correction, clarifications, rebuttals or other opinions for immediate consideration.

Also read:  FETCH! Pet Care Franchise Complaints (Index)

8 Unethical Behaviors of Fetch! Pet Care & Phoenix Franchise Brands

I’m a franchisee of Fetch! Pet Care and I’d like to share unethical behaviors displayed by the franchisor related to franchisor business practices.

1. [Unreported Kickbacks]  Unreported kickbacks franchisors receive from third party vendors. Franchisees end up paying for these kickbacks. Total costs from third parties is included in the royalties invoices with vague language and withdrawn by the franchisor. Franchisees have been met with threats and disrespectful launguage by the franchisor when we have asked for itemized invoices.

2. [Restricted Growth]  My franchise agreement has a clause stating that I do not get the right of first refusal to purchase territories next to mine but my territory neighbor has that clause. This causes a non-compete issue where I’ve asked to purchase a territory in the past and have been told it’s earmarked for the other territory owner. 8 months later, the territory remains open but I’m not allowed to buy it and expand my business.

3. [Inhibiting Franchisees’ Right to Associate]     We have formed an independent franchisee association and have received retaliatory threats and actions by the franchisor trying to inhibit our rights to associate.

4.  [Bait-And-Switch]    Franchisor misrepresented facts during the discovery phase and allowed us to only speak with certain franchisees who are on a different business model than the one they offer. Their business model requests only 5% royalties whereas ours (the model implemented after this franchisor acquired the franchise in 2020) requires us to pay 7% royalties plus 15% franchise fees for operations. Had I know the realities of these different models, I wouldn’t have invested.

5.   [Ineffective/Overpriced Call Center]     Our contract states that we must use their call center to onboard new leads and answer client calls/emails. This costs 15% of our gross revenue. This call center has been a detriment to our business due to the lack of resources and training where they only covert 5-10% of leads coming through. Some of us have requested to opt out and handle client onboarding on our own as Owner Operators and have been met with unkind words/disrespect. I handle my own onboarding, however, I still pay 15% to the franchisor for a service I no longer receive. Additionally, I was met with retaliatory actions by the franchisor for bringing up this topic of non performance.

6.  [Escalating Flat Fee Royalty, Territory Churning]   The franchisor has weekly fee minimums which double the 2nd year and double again on the 3rd year. Because of the lack of competent support from the franchisor to grow the business, many of my fellow franchisees have declared for bankruptcy. The franchisor takes back their failed territory and resells it to a new franchisee. The process continues and the way they make their money is through new franchise fees.

7.   [Hiding Franchise Failures, Fraud]      When the failed franchisee turns over their territory to the franchisor, the franchisor keeps that territory in the franchisee’s name until it’s able to see it to a new franchisee. This severely understates the failure rate to prospective franchisees.

8.   [Inhibiting Franchisees’ Right to Communicate]      The franchisor censors all communication between franchisees and doesn’t allow for us to communicate freely with one another. This is the reason we created an independent franchisee association.

About Fetch! Pet Care & Phoenix Franchise Brands:

 Livonia, MI-based Phoenix Franchise Brands was founded & is headed by Greg Longe & Maria Longe (aka Maria Shinabarger). 

One or both of the Longes were previously associated with British Swim School, Martinizing International, Rooster’s Men’s Grooming Center, Zoup! (rebranded Z!Eats), & Collision on Wheels International (defunct).

Private Equity:  Cybeck Capital Fund, LLC (“CCF”), a private equity fund managed by Cybeck Capital Partners, LLC of Dayton, Ohio, acquired a portion of the issued and outstanding common stock of Fetch! Pet Care, Inc. and retains a minority ownership interest in Fetch! Pet Care, Inc.

Litigation:  Phoenix Franchise Brands is being sued by call center provider EagleOne Insights, LLC.

Franchise Registrations appear to be expired in multiple states (CA, MN, & IN)

Please share your story, your experience or opinions of the Fetch! Pet Care franchise and Phoenix Franchise Brands Franchises.

Invitation:  Please Share Your Opinion of Experience (Anonymity Assured)

Are you familiar with Greg Longe, Maria Longe, Phoenix Franchise Brands, or Cybeck Capital Fund?

Please leave a comment below or email us, in confidence, at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com.

Franchisors:  The franchisor, its employees and agents are invited to submit correction, clarifications, rebuttals or other opinions for immediate consideration.

UnhappyFranchisee.com is not associated with this or other franchise company or seller.

Tags:  Fetch! Pet Care franchise, Fetch franchise, Phoenix Franchise Brands, franchise complaints, Greg Longe, Maria Longe, Maria  Shinabarger, pet franchises, Rhino7, dog franchise, Furry Land franchise, Spray Foam Genie franchise, Door Renew franchise, MedSpa810 franchise, Federal Trade Commission, FTC