Franchisees Are the Change Agents Needed in a Franchising System
The best place to find innovation in any franchise organization is at the franchisee levels. And there is probably no better example of this than a lone franchisee in Santa Barbara, that took a sausage and egg and put it between two buttery toasted English Muffins, yes today, we call this an Egg McMuffin. But the story gets better, you see the famous Ray Kroc didn't want to change the simplicity of his menu, which was part of his secret, he wanted McDonalds to be known for hamburgers, consistency, low prices and that was the success of his brand.
Ah, but he brought in all of his master mind group and they voted, the Egg McMuffin won, and the Santa Barbara franchisee was allowed to keep his franchise and was given an award. What happened later is pure fast-food history and genius. You see, McDonald's franchisees were able to open 4 hours earlier each day, and they were packed with customers. Everyone in the franchise system won in the deal.
As a franchisor, in the car wash sector, I experienced the same thing, as our franchisees were constantly coming up with ancillary sub-markets, better ways to improve efficiency, and smarter designs for equipment. It was amazing and yes, very humbling for the founder of a franchise system that had perfected the business model over a 20-year period.
If any franchisor out there denies this, or doubts what I am saying, you should dutifully think about it, buy a mirror, look into it and stand corrected. Please consider this because franchisees are the change agents needed in a franchise system, and a resource that must not be squandered.
Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow is also Founder of the Car Wash Guys, a cool little Franchise Company; http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html/.
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