In the wake of bombshell revelations (reported on January 20th in Restaurant Business Online, “The BurgerIM Disaster”) of hundreds of franchisees not receiving promised services and support, and serious allegations of fraud, mismanagement, and misappropriation of franchisee funds, scores of BurgerIM franchisees have launched the BurgerIM Franchisees Chapter of the AAFD. The association has quickly established a steering committee, a membership committee, and a bylaws committee. It is preparing to elect a board of directors and is rapidly increasing its membership.   

Last year’s AAFD Franchisee Leadership Summit and Annual Conference was a rousing success. We achieved a lot in 2019, but the fight for fair franchising is far from over! 

We need to keep the momentum going to further empower franchisees and protect the equity they work so hard to build in their franchise businesses. Join us this October in Mesa, Arizona for the AAFD’s 2020 Franchisee Leadership Summit and Annual Conference. 

The American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD) has announced the engagement of Franchisee Advocacy Consulting (FAC) to provide political consultancy services to the AAFD. Importantly, FAC’s Principal, Keith Miller, has accepted the role as the AAFD’s Director of Public Affairs and Engagement. 

Monday night, September 16, the AAFD was proud to host its Total Quality Franchising Awards Gala at the Sheraton Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Mesa, Arizona. Our TQF Awards allow the AAFD to honor deserving leaders within our association community and the franchising industry.

Griswold Home Care, a national provider of nonmedical home care services, has been recognized as the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers’ (AAFD) 2019 Franchisor of the Year. The home care organization received this award for its continued dedication to building strong and supportive relationships with its franchisees.  

AUG, 2019: SAN DIEGO, CA—The American Association of Franchisees and Dealers (AAFD) has announced its Total Quality Franchising (TQF) Awards for 2019. Notable honorees include Craig Tregillus who will receive the AAFD Lifetime Achievement Award. The NASAA Franchise Project Group will be honored with the Chairman’s Award for Distinguished Achievement for the Franchising Community. The AAFD also announced nominees for its community awards. 

As our friend, Keith Miller, principle of Franchise Advocacy Consulting, likes to say, there are far more franchisees in this country than franchisors. When we join our voices together, we can be a powerful and persuasive political force. It’s time to raise your voice to support an exciting new bill that was just introduced on July 31, 2019 in the United States Senate by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). While the bill’s overall aims are modest, the changes—if enacted—will require franchisors to provide more transparency to prospective franchisees or face financial consequences. 

For over 25 years, the AAFD has pursued a market driven approach to reforming the franchise community. Unfortunately, we live in a political climate dominated by franchisor influence and a dearth of franchisee associations rallying together in common cause. The laws and legal precedents continue to strongly favor franchisor interests. The importance of franchisee associations to aggregate their combined resources under a common banner has never been more essential.  

The AAFD is excited to welcome our newest supplier, Franchise Background Checks.  

Franchise Background Checks has been in business for over 20 years, providing franchisees with thorough background checks on their employees so that franchisees can hire the best and most qualified candidates for their open positions. Their parent company, Datasource, is a wholesaler of criminal information. Their network of researchers are able to perform county-level searches in each of the 3,400+ counties across the United States.  

Caroline Fichter is an associate attorney with the Bundy Law Firm in Kirkland, Washington and focuses on contract, franchise, real estate, and tort law. Learn more at...