On November 27, 2006, Bhupinder ‘Bob’ Baber entered a local Quiznos, talked briefly with the manager, then excused himself to the restroom, where he shot himself 3 times, inflicting wounds he died of later that night. On his person, Baber left a printed suicide note that contained a clear message directed at the media, at fellow franchisees, and at Quiznos:
‘I have struggled hard and did the best I could,’ he wrote, ‘to create a voice for the franchisees in the system and to create a ’support system’ for the franchisees, which does not exist, and to fight the injustices of this franchise system… Not to bring the system down, but to make it fair.’
Now more franchise owners are going to court.
Independent franchisee associations are leading the charge for more fairness in the fast-food industry just like Baber did when he created Quiznos Subs Franchise Assn., an advocacy group and support network for troubled Quiznos franchisees like him.
Over the past few years, the number of these associations has grown, and many have stepped into the national spotlight for bringing their corporate parents into the courtroom. And with the difference that most will not commit suicide but they might terminate your franchise bad contract.
‘Currently, the only rules governing fairness are contracts that [the franchisor's] corporate attorney draws up. We have to address the systemic problems of franchising and level the playing field for franchisees,’ says Susan Kezios, president of the Chicago-based American Franchisee Assn. (AFA), a national organization started in 1993 to represent the interests of franchise owners. ‘Now is the time, with a new Congress, for legislation to be reintroduced.’
It’s really the time for a change!
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