Vanguard Cleaning Systems is ranked by Entrepreneur magazine as the #7 franchise in the nation. (Seriously? Vanguard beat out Subway? Dunkin’ Donuts? Hilton hotels?)
Entrepreneur magazine also named Vanguard Cleaning Systems its #1 Low-Cost Franchises and #1 Home-Based Franchises.
Wow! Vanguard Cleaning Systems franchise ranking gave us a serious WTF? (Why This Franchise?) moment. Could it be that Vanguard was an actual legitimate commercial cleaning franchise?
UnhappyFranchisee.com decided to scour the web to find out what was so special about this particular janitorial franchise to receive such high praise when their janitorial franchise competitors were being branded as scams and ripoffs.
If you’ve had any experience with Vanguard Cleaning Systems – good or bad – please share a comment below.
On Webanswers.com, bmorrison wrote:
Yes, they do receive alot of fees. With Vanguard Cleaning System/Services, Besides the high cost of buying the contract through them, they get 15% a month from each contract you get from them, and they don’t even protect you or care for you when there’s a complaint even though it’s not your fault. They’ll pick the client over you any given time. They are even the first one to accuse you of doing something wrong. They seem motivated and/or more interested in you losing the contract maybe it’s because not only they get to keep your money that you use to buy the contract but they can sell the contract again to another franchisee for the same amount you bought the contract for if not more. And they continue to get their 15% cut a month. Sweet huh?! Please do an extensive research first especially the janitorial company. One important advice, DON’T GO AND SIGN UP WITH VANGUARD CLEANING SYSTEM !
rusty22 wrote:
Yes 10,000 they give you contracts you have to buy.+ they get 15% off the top on each one.They start you off ok ,then they swamp you with work.And you can’t do a proper job. You can only turn down two. After a time they go around and ask your customer if everything is ok,but they are trying to get them to change to a differant vanguard franchise so they can keep the money rolling in. You will never own the contract. And the mistery deductions never will they itemize.
cleaninglady wrote:
If you can turn away from this company- Do so! Not only the staff are very rude and unprofessional.. their only concern is getting their money. The Vanguard staff are nice in the beginning, until you buy their franchise and they’ll just don’t give a %&^8 anymore. My advice- buy mine! because, I want to get away from their @ss3S! lolz.
MiSTaHTeeZaH wrote:
I’ve been with vangaurd(TAMPA FL AREA) for about 4 years…They arent worth a Sh*t….They’re never on your side…takes them forever to get you to the volume you paid for…They deduct from you even if you dont have your full volume…They sale you CHEAP useless equipment for the most part…And they dont care if you get paid a fair amount on the buildings they bid on…(THEY BID EXTRA LOW)…so if you plan on hiring people on,dont deal with them because you wont be able to afford it…Also after they get your money that you needed to start up the franchise,its hard to catch up with them…i wish i would have stayed on my nine to five and kept my money where it was…I know there other things to invest in..
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View Comments
Vanguard Franchisee,
Thank you for your kind words! I would have loved to put more information on my previous post but felt that it was already pretty lengthy! So many more facts to tell. Mark and I didn't give up on our search for a franchise that would be a good fit for us. It does require intensive, thorough research, however, we felt that as unethical as VanGuard was to us we were confident that we would find another franchise that does run their business with strong ethics. I am happy to say that we did find a franchise opportunity that was completely different than VanGuard and is a perfect fit for our personalities and lifestyle! I encourage you to be proud of yourself for trying to improve your life and provide a good living! Learn from past mistakes and make it better! Do NOT let some company or any person make you feel less about yourself. Being a cleaner is important! Be the best cleaner there isin and be open to new opportunities! You can achieve anything you want through hard work and determination! We didn't let VanGuard defeat our efforts to start our own business and don't you let them defeat you in any way either! Hold your head up high! May God bless!
I am very glad I did my research because I thought Vanguard was going to be a perfect franchise until you guys told me otherwise. What was the cost to get vanguard started?
Brandon,
We were going to be a Master Franchisee with VanGuard and our franchise fee was going to be between $150,000-$200,000. After that there was the additional costs to get the business up and running which was probably another $75,000. We probably would not have made a salary for 18 months to 2 years so you also need to have living expenses set aside to cover that time. For a Unit Franchisee (which is who a Master Franchisee sells cleaning packages to) there are different levels of packages you can purchase with the lowest one costing around $8,000 and buys you a small number of accounts for you to go and clean. The top package was around $35,000. Hope this helps you.
Mitzi Fox
After reading these complaints-I am shocked to hear about some of the situations. I am a franchisee here in the Rochester,NY area andnhave been with Vangaurd for two years. I lost two accounts because they went out of business but they were replaced with two new ones. I always have the option of buying new accounts or extra volume. Vangaurd in thisarea is good. I am shocked to haer about some the compalints. I work closely with my master franchise owner Jadon and he isnexcellent. He knows how to ruin a business and is very business savy. Remeber!!!!!!! the clean is up to you!!!!!! You must do a good job at it.. I work three jobs, this job alone brings me in after deductions about 1,144.00 a month. Because I financed it. Remeber again!!!!!!!! it is a partnetship you have with Vangaurd and the master franchise. You need to do a good job because they are selling a service. if you found your own accounts , again, it is your business , you stilL !!!! need to do a good job or you will lose the account and the customer will go to someone else. Yes the bids are low but that is how it is in the business world. A high bid will get you few accounts if any. Even if you did it yourself (find accounts). The lowest bid always win in business especially for services!!!!!!!Remeber that.
Correction about Jadon:he knows how to run a business and is buisness savy.
I am very interested in becoming a Franchisie with Van Guard Cleaning Systems in San Antonio Texas. Does anyone know or heard of anything? Still doing research. Please let me know. Thank you.
Valerie,
BEWARE OF VANGUARD!
I live in Rochester, ny and interested in a Vanguard franchise in the area. I have heard nothing but good things about the Vanguard franchise in the area. Does any franchisee have any bad experience(s) with the master franchise in the area?
Just want some help in starting up a bussiness,in office cleanig.
Need advice on starting office cleaning business. Cato n.c.