Dickhead franchisees cost AU$55,000

Don’t be a franchisee.

Franchisors often lean very heavily on whom they perceive as disloyal (ie. capable of independent thought).

MOBILE phone retailer Allphones unfairly discriminated against some of its franchisees when it introduced a “no dickheads” policy in April 2004 to weed out underperforming businesses, the competition watchdog has claimed in the Federal Court.

The ACCC in Australia helps out by scolding Allphones by cutting a deal for, on average, $55,000 per franchisee.

“The company have basically forgone 12 months of profits, not their wages. How is that a punishment? The compensation will never be enough to cover the stress and the emotional roller-coaster that I and other franchisees went through.

“It was a terrible period of our life and many franchisees lost homes and marriages because of the stress during that time,” said one franchisee who wished to remain anonymous.

Just a cost of doing business.

See:

• ACCC spells out its call on Allphones
• Allphones ordered by Federal Court to pay franchisees $3 million for six years of “worst conduct”
• Punishment `not enough’ for Allphones’ bullying tactics