Franchise IT tech guy Todd Michaud wrote an very thoughtful piece on the overlooked issue of data collection and usage by the franchisor.  He address the problems of the overt burden on franchisees to subsidize this data collection, and he exposes the fuzzy usage policies of the data.  His recommended solution involves compromises in the data collection costs and also urges franchisors share the data and analysis back with the franchisee.

Source: Dallas Morning News

Jim Schwartz, president and chief executive of NPC International Inc., said he was disappointed and “frankly frustrated” with the company’s 12.6 percent drop in same-store-sales from continuing operations for the quarter that ended June 30.

It was the third consecutive negative quarter for the Overland Park, Kan.-based company, due in part to difficult comparisons to last year’s sales tally. That’s when Addison-based Pizza Hut launched its line of Tuscani pastas. Schwartz noted that cash-strapped consumers have been looking for less expensive meals, even among the pizza players.

A former franchisee of Pizza Pizza in Ontario lost his franchise for allegedly falling behind on payments to the franchisor.  This whole relationships seems to have gone mismanaged by both sides.  The franchisee wasn’t keeping good sales records and delivery drivers were impatient with customers, and the franchisor let bad practices continue for too long.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/Local/article/524725

source: USA Today

Which donut hole do you prefer, the “A Hole” or “B Hole?”  That is ruffling feather of some franchisees.

Unfortunatley, there is not much the franchisees can do about it legally.  Franchisees can only voice their opinion, sometimes it works:

Burger King recently acquiesced to franchisee pressure to tone down its advertising. In the spring, consumer groups and franchisees said that a kids meal with a SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon character giveaway was too sexy. In the ad, women with square derrieres dance to Baby Got Back. Same-store sales for Burger King are due at the end of the month, but on Monday, its largest franchisee reported a 5.5% sales drop in the quarter.