Seattle’s Best will replace BK JOE’s coffee program in Burger Kings by September 2010. I’m sure this is a good financial deal for Seattle’s Best (owned by Starbucks) and will help BK increase its perceived coffee quality, but in the long run I believe this will hurt Seattle’s Best perceived brand quality.  Why?  Because BK is unable to enforce quality standards in its stores. Most people have an above average perception of Seattle’s Best Coffee, a somewhat premium coffee brand akin to Caribou Coffee or Gloria Jean’s.  On the other hand, Burger King quality image is quite poor, with people citing dirty stores, low quality meals and lazy employees.  Quality issues are due almost entirely to unmotivated employees and lack of leadership from the absentee franchisees.  It’s clear as soon as you step into a BK that there is little company pride or culture.  And when your employees don’t give a crap, your coffee standards (brewing methods, time in the pot, keeping coffee at ideal temperatures, etc.) will be ignored, to the eventual detriment to Seattle’s Best. On a side note, Burger King is wisely taking a page from McDonald’s by dropping a slice of cheese from it’s $1 double cheeseburger.  The article mentions that BK is signaling removal of the $1 double cheeseburger from the dollar menu in the spring, and it’s testing higher prices for its $1 Whopper Jr.   Was the $1 double cheeseburger really worth all the fighting with franchisees?

We already talked about Manly haircuts, now lets look at Kids haircuts. You already know that we like salon franchises because they are simple to operate, it’s fairly recession proof, labor costs are low and supplemented with tips, no perishable supplies, brand loyalty has been low in the past with Fantastic Sams and Best Cuts types being identical, and kids "experience" business are here to stay. Getting your haircut is usually not an experience one normally looks forward to, that why we believe themed salons are a great hook. This is especially true for kids haircuts. Kids are all about the "experience" and have undeserved power in deciding where to go. Here steps in Snip Its. Check out their web site for a sense of how creative the place is designed. They cater to children of course, but also accomodate parents so the whole family can get their haircut simultaneously. What are some special and creative attractions at this kids salon? Glamour Parties Snip-its Glamour Parties make girls gorgeous! A glamour party allows girls to act like divas for a day by offering hair braiding, curling and styling as well as nail polish and make-up application. Dressy clothes are provided to complete the look. The culmination of the party is a stroll on the catwalk followed by cake and favors provided by Snip-its. Snip-its even provides a camera to capture all of the fun. Style-a-Doll Parties (Launching at Snip-its this summer!) At Snip-its’ Style-a-Doll Parties, attendees each receive a doll inspired by Snip-its’ trademark characters, the Clipette sisters – Marlene and Charlene. The dolls have been specially created so that birthday guests can style their hair with hair clips and accessories and apply Snip-its’ cosmetics that are designed for use on the doll. Stylists are on hand to help …

Discount hair cutting businesses such as Best Cuts and Fantastic Sams have always been remarkably profitable ventures. Two years ago a lawyer I knew purchased a Sports Clips franchise for his wife to run. He’s a smart and guy and did a lot of due diligence before hand. I can see how a themed hair salon for men featuring sports, large T.V.s, news, and manly decor can attract a steady flow of men willing to pay an extra $5 for a haircut. There’s even one called Roosters Men’s Grooming Centers that describes their business as the following: Stocked with leather chairs, men’s magazines and TVs tuned only to news or sports…Customers at Roosters get a free beverage of their choice (including beer) and a free shoeshine. For many services such as hair coloring and waxing, separate rooms are used for privacy. Is a guy more likely to go to a place with big screen TVs blasting sports and news, and specially catered mens attributes? Of course. Is it more fun for a dad to take his kids there for a cut? Yes. I’d strongly consider buying a franchise in this mass appeal niche, especially over the traditionals – Fantastic Sams/Best Cuts/Hair Cuttery/etc.

VERY OUT OF DATE.  Do a search instead.  This was manually updated March 21, 2006 Companies Mentioned in Posts (likely incomplete):Automotive 1-800 RADIATORS Oil Butler Lube N’ Go On-Site-Lube Business & Home Services 1-800-WATER-DAMAGE Bartercard Garagetek Help-U-Sell Home Instead Homewatch Caregivers My Girl Friday PropertyGuys.com Sears Carpet & Upholstery Tax Centers of America Cleaning & Maintenance none Computer & Internet (some are listed in “Retail”) Screenz Food and Restaurant Arby’s Auntie Anne’s Blimpies Cheeburger Cheeburger Chipotle Dippin’ Dots Dream Dinners Doc Green’s Gourmet Salad Dominic’s of New York The Dugout Durango Grill Fazoli’s Fire of Brazil Fogo de Chao Goldstar Chili Jamba Juice Jerq’zine Krispy Kream Lenny’s Sub Shops Mauwi Wauwi Original Hamburger Stand Panaderia Taza Papa John’s Pizza Factory Pizza Patron Pretzel Time Quiznos Red Rock Chili San Francisco Soup Co Shane’s Rib Shack Skyline Chili Smoothie King Smotthie Planet Soup Nazi Steak-out Subway Submarina Sub Station II Super Suppers The Soup Box Supercuts Suzanne’s Kitchen We’re Rolling Pretzel Company Wetzel’s Pretzels Z Pizza Zoup! Fresh Soup Co (List all sub franchises) Health & Fitness Curves Liberty Fitness Home Building & Repair Services See “Business and Home Services” above Personnel & Staffing none Pet Retail and Services Camp Bow Wow Doody Calls The Pet Pantry Wag My Tail Interquest Detection Canines Pets Are Inn Retail Franchises Ace Hardware AuctionDrop Battery Plus Best Cuts GNC Educational Outfitters Fantastic Sams Fastframe Foot Solutions Friendly Computers Geeks on Call GNC Hair Cuttery Herman’s World of Sports Imagine This Sold Orbit Drop Play It Again Sports QuikDrop Roosters Men’s Grooming Centers Screenz Snips Its Sports Clips Stone Mountain Carpet Mill Tom’s Foods We the People Categories: eBay drop offs (generally) Hair Travel & Hotel none Industry Lists & Research 2004 Same Store Sales Growth of QSRs (quick service restaurants) Royalty and Advertising …