When someone in your industry or franchise network stuffs up, can you suffer the fallout? You’ve heard jokes about used car salespeople and real estate agents. People in these industries battle unfair stereotypes all the time. While they may be used to being the butt of the odd joke, what would you do if another business in your industry or franchise network acted inappropriately - and you ended up tarred with the same brush?
This week, a franchisee of Bakers Delight was disciplined by the company after the franchisee wrote a letter to staff threatening them with the sack if they called in sick. According to the news report, Bakers Delight issued a statement: ‘Bakers Delight deems this behaviour to be completely unacceptable and as soon as the company was made aware of the letter action was taken to retract the requests’.
I’m sure other Bakers Delight franchisees weren’t too happy with the negative publicity. If you are at risk of being confused with an unethical operator or competitor in your industry, it’s vital to differentiate yourself from the competition. Don’t assume that consumers will eventually figure it out. Or that you should take the high road and simply not get involved.
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