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Perceptions of franchising

Perceptions of franchising. Dr. Rozenn Perrigot. The perspective of the small business owners. Dr. Rozenn Perrigot. Sample. Franchisees’ relationships with their franchisor: a dependency-based relationship (1/3). Franchisees are “ fake employees” taking not any strategic decisions.

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Perceptions of franchising

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  1. Perceptions of franchising Dr. Rozenn Perrigot

  2. The perspective of the small business owners Dr. Rozenn Perrigot

  3. Sample

  4. Franchisees’ relationships with their franchisor: a dependency-based relationship (1/3) • Franchisees are “fake employees” taking not any strategic decisions. “They are not allowed to innovate, really. They are not free, now and then, they are not their own boss. They are not really the person in charge. The supply, the pricing, the products … everything is already handled; they just need to make profits, you know… to pay for what they owe and make it. I think they just need to sell!” [#3, bakeries] “That’s the point, everything is too clinical, you are not independent enough, there is always someone, because even though you are a managing director, you have a regional director, a French director, they are getting a European director, there is always someone above you. They are almost like pawns.” [#26, restaurants] “If I decide to start a franchise, I am not the one who creates the hair salon; it is just the franchise chain getting bigger … I will just be an employee … of the network.” [#11, hair salons]

  5. Franchisees’ relationships with their franchisor: a dependency-based relationship (2/3) • The franchisees are dependent upon their franchisor. “You know, what I want is absolute freedom in my management. Well, it is still the same idea of freedom of work, of not having to be accountable to these people that pull all the strings in the highest spheres.” [#7, flowers stores] “There are not as free as we are, that is for sure, clearly. These people in there are dependent; they always have to be accountable to their superiors. They are not free. I want my freedom! I do not want to be held, because these people are held by someone. Despite them having a little freedom, surely they must have someone to answer to!” [#2, bakeries]

  6. Franchisees’ relationships with their franchisor: a dependency-based relationship (3/3) • On-field consultants/regional managers impose the products, suppliers, prices and decorations on the franchisees. “They are not free. Yes. Well yes, they are small business owners … yes! But they are not free at all. Regarding everything that concerns … the layout of the salon, and then from what I have heard too, because I am not 100% sure, even regarding the haircuts, the fashion of the haircut … they have to … they have to do this haircut in particular, this is the trend so you need to try to sell this particular haircut, well sell in a manner of speaking, because you cannot really sell a haircut, but this is the one, you know, so you have to try to propose it to the customers as much as you can to promote the brand …” [#11, hair salons] “Well no! If they own a real franchise, they are not as free as I am. Someone will impose a menu on them, specific suppliers and the prices for both buying and selling. I know that when you have a seasonal menu you have to propose it, even though you do not like it, you have to do it. That is it, you have mandatory products and you cannot make the profits you want.” [#24, restaurants]

  7. Franchisees’ relationships with the franchisees of the network: a competition-based relationship (1/3) • Franchisees are greedy; they like the competition and are even stimulated by the competition. “Then, chain stores, that is something else, these are greedy people, who at a specific time, slowly started wholesaling, like [X], which is quite old, who had a contract with one supplier back then. They wore him out, he is no longer here. And these people are really greedy. One is not enough, they need two, then three. Sometimes they compete, sometimes in a family there is a guy who owns a big-box store, then the other one starts a clothing company to compete with his or her relative, etc.” [#20, ready-to-wear stores]

  8. Franchisees’ relationships with the franchisees of the network: a competition-based relationship (2/3) • IT system and figures of every store that are put in common intensify the competition. “The big brands. That must be [X], etc. I have worked in franchises before, it is not the same system at all regarding the clothes, the goods, the stock, because everything is monitored, the same store will have a lot of competition from city to city: Nantes’ [X] will be in competition with Rennes’ [X]. I have been in a luxury franchise before, [X], and we were in a tough competition with every other [X], because every half hour there is an update giving all the figures from the other French stores! It was extremely stressful, so we had to align the prices! Timing was extremely important, it was not the same stress compared to here, in an independent store, where we are only trying to match the turnover from the previous year.” [#19, ready-to-wear stores] “They have access, they have monitoring … regarding the accounts and, at least they are monitored … they just have to pay a little at the end of the month. Now they are monitored because if there are 200 [X] salons, well, they will have access to every figure of the others, and there will be some kind of relationship, of competition that assesses them compared to the others. Yes, there will be some kind of network that assesses them one another and that make everything work, you know.” [#14, hair salons]

  9. Franchisees’ relationships with the franchisees of the network: a competition-based relationship (3/3) • There is a kind of cannibalization within the network. “At the beginning of my hotelier activity, I had a partnership with [X]. […] And I realized that it worked one way but not the other. [X] had hotels almost everywhere under its own name, and was asking who were our suppliers and what were our prices to collect information and pass them to their other franchised hotels within the group, but I was an independent partner. I gave my prices so they could lower their prices and fill their hotels: it was cannibalization. You start thinking everything goes wrong, you pay and nothing comes out of it. Sometimes you pay and there is no service behind, it is just business. But there are many kinds of hotels, you have to check and pick the right one. There are always good salespersons who propose a concept, but you have to see what is behind. That’s why I do not trust the franchise system anymore.” [#18, hotels]

  10. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship - drawbacks (1/3) • The work is divided in the franchise networks, hiring a poorly qualified and less expensive workforceis possible. “What really happens in a chain is that anyone can adapt to what is asked, it is like a machine, you tell it to put the bolt here … Actually, these structures are meant so there is an important workforce.” [#4, bakeries] “They usually hire saleswomen who, well some are really nice; they have very few technical skills, but on the other side, they do not pay them enough either.” [#20, ready-to-wear stores]

  11. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship - drawbacks (2/3) • Franchisees are blamed for not training well their employees. “But I think it is better for an employee to work for a craftsman; especially if the latter is nice. I worked in three [X], and for the same boss. Hum, what he liked about me was that I was bringing a difference because I had a different NVQ to the others, but then, he was more and more into the preparation of standardized series of bouquets so I told him: wait, I got my florist NVQ at the age of 34 to have fun, if it was just to work on an assembly line and learn nothing but speed and nothing about creativity, I do not see the point.” [#10, flowers stores] “And when I see today that we need to hire and we are like “damn”, ten years of experience and he cannot cut hair. These young hairdressers, they grew up in the profession, but at one point, when once again they needed to be supported because they were not ready, well they did not had a full mastery, and no one accompanied them, they were asked to make profit … always more and faster … well usually … you cannot use your know-how and put it forward because when you need to go very fast and you are expected to improve your skills at the same time, that is not possible. It takes some time.” [#11, hair salons]

  12. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship - drawbacks (3/3) • Turnover within franchise networks is a disadvantage for the employees. “Well in the inside the employees are grinding, they need to make profit and then if they succeed they are asked to reach another stage … they do not stay much longer, you know the employees, there are always new faces. The pressure is too much …” [#13, hair salons] “Well, generally it is the same at the end of the month. We get bonuses, the franchise too, but the objectives are generally so high we cannot reach them. It is just a way to ensure a good quality of work from the employees. Here it is not the same.” [#19, ready-to-wear stores]

  13. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship – advantages (1/3) • Networks hire more than independent small businesses. “They create jobs because they have big facilities but in the meantime there is a turnover. So ok, one quits but it is because he found something elsewhere. So it creates jobs. But then, it is a very good opportunity for the hairdressers, for the young ones looking for jobs. They learn the basics in these salons and then they try to move on to salons that will teach them the technique.” [#14, hair salons] “There is probably much more likelihood of progression in the network business than being on its own.” [#23, restaurants]

  14. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship – advantages (2/3) • Franchising offers an advantage for the employees in terms of image. “Maybe it is a brand image for the employees, maybe they feel prouder than working for [X], who knows, you should ask the receptionist over here …” [#17, hotels] • In franchising, there are social benefits for the employees. “I do not know what kind of benefits they can have. Yes, maybe lunch vouchers that we do not have.” [#2, bakeries]

  15. Franchisees’ relationships with their employees: a mixed relationship – advantages (3/3) • Franchising may be a “good training school” for young people and beginners. “This is very well organized, there is a training, and there is a logistical support during the whole training, they can contribute by giving ideas, this is extremely good for some franchise concepts, someone who worked for an excellent franchise, it gave him a lot of key information about business, training, how to sell, selling techniques, this is a true business school!” [#25, restaurants] “They have to train them while we only hire people who already have the skills.” [#26, restaurants]

  16. Franchisees’ relationships with their customers: a depthless relationship (1/3) • In a franchise network, the objective is not to give advice to customers but to sell. “I think everyone has his own … it is not the same state of mind I think. There it is more “profitability, profitability, profitability” … I try to … I create a trusting relationship with my customers, that sometimes even leads to … some of my customers have become my friends.” [#12, hair salons] “But you know, in the small shops there is … the service is always there, we smile just as much … I would say regarding the business, we smile more easily … I do, while in the big-box … that is: you have to smile, and this is mandatory. While otherwise, in the small shop, you are who you are, there are days you are not okay, so you smile a little less but … No one will tell you: “Hey you, your contract says you have to smile!” [#11, hair salons] “We also have a different philosophy, when you belong to a franchise or a network, you also have to comply with some things you know, when you really are in charge you do not have the same work and life philosophy so I think in the end the product must feel the effects, you know. If you put your heart and all your energy into your work, you can logically produce a better product.” [#5, bakeries]

  17. Franchisees’ relationships with their customers: a depthless relationship (2/3) • In franchising, there is a high standardization of the services. “We have more freedom, because the chain, well, the desk will be organized this way, the product will be this brand of jam, that brand of coffee, even if it does not taste good and it was specifically chosen by the guy at the headquarters because this product is written in the requirements, the orange juice is this one, the glasses are 5 oz, not 8 oz, because 8 oz glasses times this makes so many gallons of orange juice, and you need to stretch the prices up and make a margin. Then a time comes when the franchisee must answer to some shareholders. It is like the Stock Exchange, like the CAC 40, the shareholders have to be paid. If they do not make any money, they are not happy and what do they say well guys we need to raise the prices because at the end of the year we are not getting any money. So the guy says the orange juice is 5 oz tops so everything is set and everything is standardized, but the customer does not like too much standardization. They want the specific touch; they want the welcoming, like today we want a little bit of everything. Like at home, you do not want your house to be the same as your neighbor’s, well when you stay in an hotel it is the same, you want something different, and here, I am thinking as an independent owner, I am the only 3-star independent hotel left in [city].” [#18, hotels]

  18. Franchisees’ relationships with their customers: a depthless relationship (3/3) • Franchisees experience a bigger customer flow so they can afford to disappoint and lose some of them. “But they have such an important customer flow that if they lose two of them, they do not care, there are a hundred coming in. I cannot lose any of them! If I lose one it is on purpose, that is because I do not want him! As long as the product is sold, yes. If they did what we have learned: “you want the client to come back, do not sell him rubbish”, I would say yes. But they do not. But when they have ten unsatisfied customers, they have three hundreds waiting in line! I cannot afford to have one unhappy customer, no can do!” [#20, ready-to-wear stores]

  19. The perspective of the customers (in the restaurant sector) Dr. Rozenn Perrigot

  20. Sample

  21. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(1/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutthe franchisor (1/2) • Transfer of know-how and training “Well yes, I imagine that the trainings are… yes, there must be a system of training maybe more efficient than … at an independent business owner store, anyway homogeneous enough from store to store. The know-how is the same, it is relatively homogeneous.” [Consumer No.7] “No, no, for me, it does not count, because first the know-how, it is not very important. You just need a training relative to the products, except that if the owner needs a training about the products, he would better not start the business, you know, because, anyway, you do not start a business if you do not know the products, anyway if you need training. Because usually, you are supposed to give the training. So I think that an independent owner can totally make it, he does not need any help anyway. Moreover, when he takes a new supplier, the suppliers also provide a training regarding the new products, every time.” [Consumer No.3]

  22. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(2/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutthe franchisor (2/2) • Assistance “Is there more know-how in franchising? Yes. Someone starting his franchise, he is not alone so I will be assisted, so like I said earlier, there are specifications. There are people that can help him to do everything, to set up all the administrative sides, so he is assisted to establish his business. Compared to someone who is independent, well, he has to do everything on his own, you see, he does not get much help. So yes, a franchisee will be helped to start a franchise. He will get assistance, a lot of help on every level and then, he will transfer his know-how.” [Consumer No.2] “They will eventually be more likely to report to somebody and therefore to receive information if their capacities are not adapted. I think that yes… they are more followed, I think, than an independent small business owner who really manages his business, you know.” [Consumer No.8] “Of course, then, there will be different constraints or ways of working compared to an independent small business owner, and consequently it is still easier regarding certain aspects to have this or that product at this or that price, this or that information campaign that will be nationwide, so they can enjoy all these things with less personal involvmentif I may say.” [Consumer No.3]

  23. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(3/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchisees (1/5) • Entrepreneur or not ? “Yes, it is creating a business … Today the only difference that may exist relatively to franchising is the relationship regarding the purchasing of the products. I mean regarding the supplying. Then, for everything else, you have to form a commercial lease, a statement of account and you will have to look for loans. So, that is, you have to do all the rest. If I am a company with no franchisor/franchisee relationship I can supply anywhere, everywhere I will have my own client/supplier relationship, I have my own supplier while with a franchise, I need to take the relationships of the franchisor that are imposed.” [Consumer No.15] “Well, there are two points of view… I have two opinions regarding this matter, when you start a franchise, it is not really creating a business because you see,youhave the products, the layout in the store, etc, all this stuff is already decided, there is a frame.” [Consumer No.4]

  24. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(4/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchisees (2/5) • Business owner “That is a good question. Here again, there is a slight difference, yes, they are business owners but I think they are more managers of their own store, are not they? They work for another brand, so they are more, how can I say that, I cannot find the word. For me, they are more employees of their own company, but they are still business owners.”  [Consumer No.1] “Yes maybe, well yes a little (compared to the idea of a small business owner - entrepreneur), I respect them, but for me, they are still shop owners because they manage or take over a brand, this is a commitment too, the risks are there, … then it may be easier.” [Consumer No.14] “No, for me, they are not independent owners, they are CEOs. The shop owner is the one that accompanies the client, that takes care of the client… […] Then, well, the franchisees, well, they often are in their office. But for me, that is it. They are in their office, you do not know what they really do there… but they are not shop owners like, their employees which are in contact with the customers, things like this…” [Consumer No.9]

  25. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(5/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchisees (3/5) • Autonomy “Well, for me, an independent small business owner will be a bit more free that if he was in a franchise though. I worked for [X] too, you obey a certain number of rules though, that is what makes up the brand, it is normal, it is like that that it is recognized everywhere and that you feel comfortable in them. […] Yes, there is a little lack of freedom working as a franchisee, but there are also guarantees behind despite everything.” [Consumer No.14] “No, well, they have rules to comply with. Let us take [X] for example, well, they have a set of sandwiches that they have to include in their menu anyway, then they can try to diversify with the discounts, with the prices, for example, the student discount, if it is in a student city or not. But they have to put the same sandwiches almost everywhere in France.” [Consumer No.16] “Since the franchisee is overseen by the franchisor, he cannot do what he wants I guess […] he has to follow certain rules and, and contractually I guess.”  [Consumer No.11]

  26. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(6/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchisees (4/5) • Opportunism “The franchisor, you know, since necessarily he is like a shareholder, he just has to give his name, and he collects a lot of money, so, easy money would be my definition.” [Consumer No.3]  “The know-how: well it consists in cashing up money and that all I guess.” [Consumer No.12] • Benefits of the network effect (1/2) “I would say that the main source of motivation for the franchisees, it is necessarily communication, that is all. Well, communication for me, it the main aspect of the job, which is half done, he is spoon-fed…” [Consumer No.3]

  27. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(7/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchisees (5/5) • Benefits of the network effect (2/2) “If you take a network, then it has the size effect, the size effect is interesting for the consumer because the prices are usually lower. To make it simple, the simpler you are, the more you can organize yourself to obtain lower production prices, so usually the consumer can enjoy them. The size effect also concerns the publicity costs, so this is what I see in network business, that is the size effect, networking, at the scale of … at the scale of France. I mean you find the same store everywhere, this means you buy something, then you move someplace else and you find the same store, you do not have to worry, this is the advantage that comes to my mind, the guarantee plays a role, the guarantee to always have the same quality, the same services and also the service in the whole country.” [Consumer No.15] “There are necessarily advantages for sure, I think that every franchisor has an address book thing, they know where to supply, they know all that stuff while a guy that will start his business, in the beginning, he will probably have more trouble finding […] but yes, it is true that the franchise side helps in my opinion. The image of a big group where all the marketing is done or the advertising you need to do less to be known […] the risk taking is far less high than creating your own business from scratch.” [Consumer No.12]

  28. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(8/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutemployees (1/4) • Consideration of the employees (1/2) • Hierarchy versus family “How do I see it? There is manager, there are employees, it is sort of as in the army, there is the leader and there are the subordinates, and it cannot work without this hierarchy you know! So necessarily, it has to be less family-like than in independent business… I will take … a bakery! With an independent one, I think that, you will grant more responsibilities to your employees than at the [X] which is a franchise, in which there will necessarily be the role of the manager who will tell his employees what to do… this is why I talk about the idea of family, yes, there is more commitment, I think. Because in the end, they are the one that chose their employees while for the franchisee it may come from … Paris for example, the selections may be in Paris while the position is in Rennes. So there may be more imposition of the employees in franchising than in independent stores.” [Consumer No.8]

  29. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(9/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutemployees (2/4) • Consideration of the employees (2/2) • Advantages in terms of careers and social benefits “Regarding the employees, I think that it must be sort of, there will be advantages and disadvantages. The organization provides will allow, in independent retailing it will be a small structure, so hum, below 50 people so somehow their size will allow them to enjoy services they could not necessarily have had, for example the works council, for example also a certain number of social policies regarding the companies. Hum, however then, hum, regarding this aspect this is relatively well organized, they have a certain weight that hum, brings a certain security regarding the employment well, on the other hand the salaries may be a little low, even if. It depends… Regarding the small business owners anyway it is the market you know. Maybe lower at the hiring I would say then it may lead to higher, more perspectives of career I would say. It might be lower at the hiring but with an evolution more important than anywhere else for sure. Generally these structures may be better organized than the independent owners because indeed there were restrictions, the job is more industrial and there is a hierarchy, with department managers, etc. Generally the small business owner does not delegate, he does everything.” [Consumer No.15]

  30. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(10/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutemployees (3/4) • Involvement and motivation “Even if I think that when you are working in a [X] or another store, you go to your job, you come back home in the evening, you do not worry, while when you are working in an independent store you have more responsibilities, you have more involvment because it seems to me that it is more like a survival for the small businesses…” [Consumer No.10] “Well the advantages, well that is the same, the guarantee that the store will work, and the guarantee of a salary, of employment, in the medium/long term, job security. The disadvantage, well it may be the lower investment into something that you consider less as your own, less motivation … you see it belongs to them so, the brand almost works for itself and attracts the customers itself in the end, they may less need to stand out as salespersons you know, you see what I mean? It is hard to say really.” [Consumer No.7]  “Hum, let us say that, I have more or less the impression, for example I am talking about restaurant, the restaurant sector requires a lot of rapidity because it is often fast food restaurants, there is no dialogue with the waiters, they just ask what we want to order and they bring it to us while in independent restaurants, well the waiters try to look at you, to smile more well to have a little conversation with you, so we come back, precisely to win the loyalty of the customers while they do not need it in franchising in general.” [Consumer No.16]

  31. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(11/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutemployees (4/4) • Internal mobility “Probably an internal mobility within the network if they have the possibility to work in a group and then move in fact it depends of the structure of those networks. For an employee, it is a good thing on his résumé if he wants to go somewhere else. I do not see any except the matter of the mobility within the networks, and also the visibility of this employee when he will put on his résumé that he worked for a big chain, it is somehow a proof of quality.” [Consumer No.6] • Turnover “Regarding the turnover of the employee, I have the impression that they change a lot, then again regarding the schedule I thing there is a great shift. Like the other day, I was in [X] in Laval and the girl was alone in the store to be at the cash desk, to check the changing rooms and the whole store, so precisely they were looking for salesladies. So it must be a job that is quite…” [Consumer No.10]

  32. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(12/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutsuppliers (1/2) • Weight in the negotiation “With a franchise, what I think is that there is necessarily more weight for obtaining tarifs, because the volume is more important on the long term, so I think that the prices are smaller, that is why the final prices are lower too you know.” [Consumer No.13] • Freedom “Well for me, that is sure, anyway a franchise in my opinion, it determines sort of everything, well the thing is that they may impose them, precisely they may impose them regarding the suppliers well, you supply to this place for this product, while it is always the same. An independent will do what he wants, he will do what he thinks is best for the company, so necessarily it plays a role in the functioning, on the way you see things you know, at least for me.” [Consumer No. 11]

  33. Customers’ perceptionsaboutthefranchisingactors(13/13) • Customers’ perceptionsaboutsuppliers (2/2) • A guarantee for the suppliers “Well, such networks, they represent the guarantee of …, this is a guarantee … first in terms of number of products sold compared to an independent, and maybe it is easier for them because they deliver for only one brand and not 15,000 small companies, it is easier regarding the organization, the figures are more accessible, well, they just have one to do.” [Consumer No. 7] • Economies of scale “The advantages, well I guess that for the suppliers, that when they supply a big chain, I think that the logistic costs, they are lower. When they work with franchises, they will supply more and that is what will bring more money, so they are wining and this way, they will supply a lot of stores. I am thinking about [X] for example, if you take the area of Rennes, the supplier will have more stores to supply than if he only sold his products to a small business owner.” [Consumer No.1]

  34. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(1/13) • Low prices in franchising “What is interesting for the franchise in general, it is the offers and the prices, which can often be more competitive than for the small independent businesses. So, the customer can benefit from the franchise, and he does though. But, not everywhere, all the offers are not the same, but there may be some offers that are worthy, you know.” [Consumer No. 3]  “I think… I think yes, because it is mass production, so it is necessarily less expensive I think. And, it is less expensive to produce, so it will be less expensive to sell.” [Consumer No.8] “At [X] for example, you know that you are going to eat meat, you know you will always get the same service and you know the price will be lower than at an independent restaurant. You know that you have that much money, you will go to this specific restaurant, you know that you will get your money’s worth, not more.” [Consumer No.13]

  35. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(2/13) • Products/Services (quality, taste …) (1/2) • Not very good “Everything is industrial you know, you do not feel the same thing than at home, there is a difference, this may be why you find it less good… ” [Consumer No. 11]  “In a franchised restaurant in which you get the French fries that are always the same as last week’s, the same piece of meat and everything, this is always similar things, sauces, I think they are sauce bases, the taste is almost the same all the time. So, regarding the search for standardization of the taste, yes, there is no problem, but regarding originality or else, no.” [Consumer No. 13]  “But maybe quality is less … of less quality than in an independent restaurant that may have its own garden nearby and that will grow its salad in it, well you see… it may chose its product better!” [Consumer No.8]

  36. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(3/13) • Products/Services (quality, taste …) (2/2) • But constant and uniform (reassurance) “Their advantages is to have a range of products that is set, that attracts us because we know that it is good compared to a fixed place and the thing is whether we are 5 or 6, we know that the new sandwiches or pizzas may not be liked, so somedoesnot like the new pizzas but there will always be the old ones which everyone is going to like so everyone can go at the same time. And that is an advantage. The disadvantage would be that indeed, you quickly try everything on the menu. You see.” [Consumer No.16] “There is a certain quality. And then, I would say that from town to town, you find almost the same level of quality, so it is something. Well it is reliable, in general, you know.” [Consumer No.2] “Well, first you can say that the food, you know what to expect, it is neither good nor bad, it is decent. [The service is] distant […] formal […] a rather dumb salesperson looking down on me, it happens.” [Consumer No.7]

  37. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(4/13) • Distribution • Hygiene “The cleanliness, they make a lot of efforts in, for example in chains like [X], they make efforts for the regular cleaning all day long of the bins, the tables, under the tables, the hygiene of the equipment and in the kitchen..” [Consumer No.6] “Regarding the cleanliness, I think that precisely, this is one of the reasons why you can go there without any suspicions because unlike the local kebab, you know there are hygiene rules that are respected and that are mandatory. Well they reinvented themselves, most of them, and then, the decoration even if they are all the same, they are quite nice in general, even if it is not up to the standard of big restaurants, it is easily acceptable.” [Consumer No.16] “I would not say that it is better or worse well, I have worked in the restaurant and hotel sector, hum, I am obsessed by cleaning! And so, I always go to the bathroom, just for washing my hands, and look around and check the cleanliness of the place. I tend to check, well the tables are generally clean, etc. but, there will be frames on the walls, things… it is not cleaned, in independent restaurants it is not necessarily cleaned. But, in general, in franchises, it is cleaned. Well, anyway, in the ones I have been to, it was clean.” [Consumer No.4]

  38. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(5/13) • Distribution • Atmosphere “Personally, I think that in big franchised stores the welcome in more impersonal, and there is less … human warmth, then it does not bother me but still it is not the same as in small businesses, I like to have a nice butcher. Sure you do not have it anymore in the big franchises.” [Consumer No.14] “Well the environment … is average, it is more like in a cafeteria than in a restaurant you know, the decoration, well yes it is often average. […] You are closer to a cafeteria-type restaurant, work-canteen-type restaurant than to a real restaurant environment to go out, you know.” [Consumer No.7]  “At [X], it is a little crowded, but the environment is more family-friendly with the kids, but I think it is nice, then, I heard that at [X], there is a lot of red because it is a color that allows to consume more, so the decoration is also made for the consumption. [X] is adapted to children, there are playgrounds, there is everything, and see… [X] is more intimate, warmer, this is why I like it, as I said earlier regarding the quality-price ratio, not only regarding the quality of the products but also of the decoration you know…”  [Consumer No.8]

  39. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(6/13) • Communication/advertising • Consistency between local and national levels “Well, the advantage is … the communication campaigns at the national level, so when there are new things, you know it. And the disadvantages, sometimes it happens, there can be national advertising campaigns for new products for example, and when you go to your local franchised store, well these new products, you cannot find them, these things can happen. There is a difference between the national campaign and what is done at the local level.” Consumer No.2   “I mean then, there might be a bit more advertising. So, somehow I will say this differently, and in a quite rude manner. Somehow information is turned into advertising. So, information is not for advertising. Advertising is to sell. Information is free. This is what [X] tried, but oriented more towards advertising too… By saying, we buy our meat in France, but this is advertising, not information. Today, they will also tell you, they advertise about the calories, by saying that it is not necessarily. But they do not make the comparison with eating balanced meals, this is just advertising. This is my opinion you know!” Consumer No.15

  40. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(7/13) • Uniformity (1/3) • Reassurance of the customer “At the scale of France. The thing is you find the same store everywhere, you buy something, then you move, and then you go to the same store and you do not have to worry, this is the advantage that comes to my mind, the guarantee plays a role, it is to always have the same store and the same quality of services and also the whole-France service.” [Consumer No.16] “You trust it more, you can go there with your eyes closed.” [Consumer No.13] “Nothing specific, I do not go there because it is a franchise, I go there because you get used to go to the place because you enjoy its somehow reassuring image, because you see it everywhere and you think that it is almost like a reflex that the quality will always be the same. It is basically on that that the franchisors bet, this reassuring image, you go to [X], [X] or somewhere similar, you know that the quality will not be over the top, but there is certain quality and this quality even if it is average or low it is not changing and somehow you are reassured, so you go there. So for me this is why for example I eat in a franchise not because I wanted it but because somehow it was something that I felt reassuring.” [Consumer No.6]

  41. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(8/13) • Uniformity (2/3) • Disappointment of the customer To give you something, these brands are a little too much formatted, well the people at the check desk. For example, when you go to [X] to ask for a [X] menu, they answer you “French fries and coke?”. And for me, this is completely horrible, it is outrageous… For me, as a customer, I get this, it means that they want to impose something on me, and they are at the verge of losing a customer. It is taking the customers for morons. The customer will tell you what he wants, he is here for this, he does not need someone to tell him: “French fries and coke?” – True, right?” [Consumer No.15] “This is always the same thing. The big fault of franchising is molding, it means that you walk in a pizzeria or a fast food and the products have more or less the same aspect, the same smell, the same color. So we are not neither shocked nor happy nor anything, you just eat what you have, so in the end it is not fantastic, if you think about it ” [Consumer No.6]

  42. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(9/13) • Uniformity (3/3) • Differentiation thanks to the franchisees “Some efforts are made, it varies, I do not know maybe there is a need for more character according to the cities, I know that [X] changed some layouts in Paris according to the location: business centers, residential areas or things like that, the colors change, and everything. Well for me, it is good too.” [Consumer No.14] “Oh uniformity, well then, even if there are several franchises, in a network, there are always small differences. Each franchisee can bring his own, his own small contribution, his small touch, which makes it not that uniform you know? And then, the salespersons, the sellers, anyway, they are necessarily different from one franchise to another, and what is important is the human relationship of the business owner with his customers. So it can vary from one franchise to another.” [Consumer No.2]

  43. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(10/13) • Omnipresence • Reassurance of the customer “Well, it is a little bit of both, I mean, when you travel abroad, it gives you marks, the mark of the city center, the mark of the shopping streets, you know that the prices in these stores, well they will always be the same whether it is in France or abroad, it will always be the same range of prices, so you know, then, well it is lacks of …, the thing is that it lacks of a more typical aspect and, then, there is not the regional aspect, you know…” [Consumer No.7] “So the advantages for the consumer, for example, it is that if you do not find something in a big brand, you can still check another one. If I am looking for a CD in [X], and if it is not available, I can, I can go to, I do not know to another city where there will be a [X] to find the product. And the advantage is also that, when I am in a store, a certain brand, for example H&M and there is a product that I really like but there is not my size, I can go to Colombier if I was at the Visitation and there will be the same product at my size. This is the kind of situation that happens to a lot of people and it is really practical.” [Consumer No.1] “It is just that I will find, and for example, for [X], I know there is one at the exit of Bruz, [X] in Rennes, there are some everywhere, so you know what you will find and where.” [Consumer No.3] “It is the habits. Consumption habits. And I think that in malls there are a lot of franchised stores and you are more likely to shop in these stores.” [Consumer No.8]

  44. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(11/13) • Trendy “You know you want something trendy, so you will go to a franchise because you know that you will find good fashionable products, so there is this practical side for the consumers.” Consumer No.14 “So, franchising, for someone starting a business I think it might be interesting because there is a whole network. So the products are famous, the service is also …, then there always are differences, because the employees are not always… well they are not the same so there might be differences regarding the employees, but to continue with, you find the same products, the same quality, the same services.” Consumer No.4 “It is reassuring, brands are constituent of what we are, it is reassuring.” Consumer No.13  “Well for me, franchising, it is the big stores that you find in every cities.” Consumer No.7  “They are names, brands, stores that you can find in several places in France.” Consumer No.10

  45. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(12/13) • Impact of franchising on independent business owners (1/2) “Well I think that precisely the disadvantage is to, to make a noun for yourself, to build your customer base. Manage to make it and last year after year facing the big franchises that already have their customer bases and that are crushing the small businesses.” [Consumer No.1] “No, well if you want somehow, I have the impression that today there is no longer any small independent stores, so I have to make some efforts regarding what existed 20 years ago.” [Consumer No.15] “For me, the franchises have the possibility to, in the long term, to eventually build a monopoly but I think that they need to start limiting themselves to maintain a certain equilibrium.” [Consumer No.14]

  46. Customers’ perceptionsaboutfranchising(13/13) • Impact of franchising on independent business owners (2/2)  “Yes, well I know that […] is a big company and if I got this in my mailbox, if I see this everywhere, I know they are there but if I have the choice between.. If they are next door like in […], I will try to avoid going there because I know that they harm the small businesses, and in the end, there will be the only one left. So that is what bothers me.” [Consumer No.10] “Because, in franchising what is important is… well the fact that it is an independent business, they need to create a relationship, to win the loyalty of their customers, so they need to be closer to the customer to be able to work, to make a turnover! While in the franchises, people already know these restaurants, so, they do not have to worry about winning the loyalty because they are everywhere so… I do not know how to explain…” [Consumer No.8]

  47. Perceptions of franchising Dr. Rozenn Perrigot

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