CUPPY’S COFFEE: Attorney Rudy Harper & Assistant Desiree (Reportedly) Resign
September 11, 2008
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It’s been reported that Cuppy’s Coffee in-house attorney Rudy Harper and Desiree Kahn, the Cuppy’s Coffee legal assistant in charge of handling refunds, resigned Wednesday, September 10th.
Harper and Kahn reportedly stayed behind in Ft. Walton Beach after a limited number of employees were invited to relocate to the new home office in Muscle Shoals, AL. Not receiving a paycheck and a lawsuit from the landlord over nonpayment of rent are likely factors in their abrupt departure.
One commenter on Blue Mau Mau wrote:
The last attorney left is Lou. Is he even allowed to practice law in the state of Florida or Alabama?
With all of the legal issues Cuppy’s is facing, perhaps it should have been high on Cuppy’s priority list to at least pay their attorney his paycheck.
What do you think? Are there any Corporate employees left in Florida? Did the Alabama “Dream Team” get paid? Share a comment below.
Franchisees and employees hold tight, from what I understand there is an investigation going on and you will be contacted. Theresa St. Clair is the one of the prime targets in the investigation. She is now the VP of Sales with San Gelato if you can believe that. These are the people that have filed against Dale and Morg Morgan and Theresa St. Clair was the one promising refunds and returns of deposits to franchisees when she was VP of Elite Mfg. Now this same person resigned from Elite 2 weeks ago because she thought Dale Nabors was corrupt and she has “bamboozled” more franchisees than anyone with her promise and most made in writing that franchisees would get their money back should they not get financing or a location within a certain period of time. Now, this same “Judas” is VP of San Gelato????????? You can run but you can’t hide they are coming for you Theresa. I wonder if the owners of San Gelato paid their due diligence before hiring you. With you as VP of Sales, I am sure there will be huge numbers fo franchisees sold with you promising them the world and delivering to them nothing but lies. You are now in the cross hairs right along with Dale and Morg. This should be quite a circus when you all go to court. I suggest all franchisees and employees of Cuppys show up at the courtroom and voice your feelings to Dale Nabors, Theresa St. Clair and Morg Morgan.
[Editor's note: Theresa St. Clair writes "I am Theresa St.Clair and the blog above from 'Arod' is total false and slanderous. I NEVER had access to ANY money coming in or out. That was strickly Morg and Dale... I am an ethical, honest person with integrity.... this writer is totally wrong I am not a VP for San Gelato either."]
Arod wrote …from what I understand there is an investigation going on and you will be contacted. Theresa St. Clair is the one of the prime targets in the investigation.
Arod… this is mighty vague. Who is conducting this investigation? Why single out St. Clair? She’s hardly in the same league as Morg & Dale, is she?
Is San Gelato continuing its franchising program? Is she there to start up the same circus, or is she just selling Gelato to restaurants, etc. which is their core business?
Arod… aka DJ. yea you thought no one knew who you are. Well since you are still employed at Medina in FL you are the one who needs to watch yourself.
Arod… you are so wrong! TS was just a salaried employee. #1 she never did a Cuppy’s franchise sell. If you bothered to find out accurate infomation you would have known this. She was VP of Elite & sold building packages NOT franchises. You NEVER heard her say anything other than what the contracts state. If someone requested a refund then it was processed throught the legal department. If the legal department was able to make a settlement than as a VP of the company TS was required to sign those settlement agmts. She had no control on when or if the refund money was to ever get disbursed. That responsibility was the owner Dale Nabors and before Dale, Morg Morgan. Those are the only 2 people that had the sayso if 4 was to go out to zees/owners. NOT THERESA. You’ve proven it again that you truly an IDIOT!!
Arod…(Dan J) needs to look at himself before casting the 1st stone. Ah…. so this is how a SO-CALLED christian behaves.
Arod… wrong again. TS is not VP of San Gelato. check your facts dumba$$.
Theresa and her assistances Terri & Lori are about the only folks that tried to help zees but Dale would not come through with the $ as he promised zees.
Who is Dan J? What’s his job at the company?
Danny Jones in legal
Amy Hiller— Some exemployees rec’d this email from Amy Hiller - Sounds like a threat to me! What do you think?
—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Amy Hiller
To: Amy Hiller
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:19:58 PM
Subject: Update
The Latest from Medina:
As you know, the last payroll has not yet been issued. Issuing payroll checks is the top priority.
Corporate is working diligently with strategic partners to put long-term financing in place. Negative press (blogs and emails) is preventing these relationships from moving forward in a timely manner and therefore making it difficult to fulfill financial obligations (paying employees or building out stores). More specific information about these partnerships will be made available as soon as it is finalized.
Anyone who has interest in this company succeeding, such as:
· A past employee who wants to receive their last paycheck
· A franchisee who wants their store built out
· A franchisee trying to keep their store open and successful must be patient and offer support to allow these relationships to solidify.
We are aware that many of you are already providing us with the support needed to be successful and we are very thankful. We ask for your continued support.
If you have not provided the corporate office with your forwarding email address (as a past employee), please send to updates@cuppys.com if you wish to receive future correspondence.
Amy Hiller
VP of Operations
Cuppy’s Coffee & More
888-241-4324 ext. 376
amy@cuppys.com
If you ex-employees and franchisees believe this big fat “pineywood rooter” is telling you the truth, then I want to see you some oceanfront property in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Dale Nabors ain’t going to pay you or ex or current or any employees or franchisees “doodlee squat.” This is a stalling tactic that Dale has put his secretary errrrrrrrrr…I mean VP of Operations up to telling you fools. She has been trained to lie and decieve just like her boss Dale Nabors. He told Tuesday he had wired the money…did that happen? Hell no! He lied his ass off once again to you people. This has been Dale’s M/O that started 3 months ago when he quit paying employees monies owed after he had someone other than himself fire these people. Don’t believe this horse shit. Nobody in their right mind would load Dale Nabors the sweat off their ass. After hearing the way he has treated the franchisees and his loyal employees that stood by his worthless lieing, deceitful ass. The only time this man will lie is if he is with someone or by himself. Now he has his “new puppet,” Amy Hiller mimicking his every move. DON’T YOU PEOPLE FOR A MINUTE THINK THERE’S A PARTNERSHIP WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN THE DEVIL>
You can add to the list of lieing people that are stuck up Dale’s @$$ to include… of course Amy Hiller, Robin Dolan, Jessica, Rebecca Klein all the IT guys and Frankie Marquis.
Danny Jones is in the Legal Dept. Refund Division. He has been giving out other employees and xemployees personal contact information after being told it’s a violation of privicy. This is the “judas” and he claims to be such a christian. The good lord will frown up him if not strike him down.
Arod……Theresa NEVER promised anyone anything!!! She always referred them back to their agreement. There was a handful of contracts that she added a statement about “if refund was requested… they would get a refund within so many days”. That statement which would have been very few of was included in contract ONLY if Morg Morgan or Ben Doyle told her to put it in there. If someone did request a refund it ALWAYS went through the legal department which was handled by Danny Jones. Danny Jones ALWAYS tried to bully people into settleing for less refund money than what they paid. Theresa doesn’t have a new vehicle like Amy Hiller and Robine Donlon. She still drives the same vehicle when she first started working for the company. If anyone should be investigated here along with Morg and Ben and Dale, it would be Danny Jones because he’s been with the company sinced Roy Snowden’s Java Jo’z days. Hell, if the zees want someone to testify on their behalf they should talk with Theresa. She use to be VP of Elite sales until Morg threw her into the Elite Ops division against her will because she told Morg & everyone that she knew nothing about construction but Morg put her in there anyway last December. After being in the Elite Ops for a few months she began to realize that something wasn’t right and voiced her concerns with Morg & Ben who continues to tell her and other employees that everything was ok. Theresa kept seeing that the zees were NOT getting built out as promised nor were they getting their cabinetry or equipment, etc… At that time Dale was a consultant and he also kept telling her it was going to get better & asked her to hang in there. She hung in there for a few more months & then Dale bought the company. T was so excited about what changes would’could be happening because Dale promised so much, etc… Unfortunately after 3 months of non-action on Dale’s part to get things moving for the zees, she had enough & put in her letter of resignation which I just happen to have a copy of. I believe this show what Theresa’s values are:
August 24, 2008
To: Dale Nabors and Human Resources of Medina Management
From: Theresa St.Clair – Executive Vice President of Elite Mfg, LLC
Re: Letter of Resignation
Dear Dale,
Before you bought the company, we had several talks about the lack of ethical and honest behavior with the previous owner and the direction of the company and what needed to happen in order for it to truly be successful. I felt we saw eye-to-eye.
You bought the company approximately 3 months ago. I believed you could and would turn this company around and be on the up and up with the employees and franchisees. Meaning…start operating this organization ethically, honesty and with integrity. The first month I was impressed with your actions.
Unfortunately, your actions these last few months which include the total absence of any communication from you to your staff in Florida, have made me question your character, your honesty and your integrity. I also no longer feel that you have the franchisees best interest at heart. You have accepted more money from franchisees and you are not delivering their equipment, cabinetry and furniture.
Therefore, please consider this my letter of resignation effective immediately. Let me know when I may pick up my last paycheck for last week or will it be direct deposited?
If Terri or Lori has any work related questions for me I will help them as much as possible.
Regards,
Theresa St.Clair
Executive Vice President
Elite Manufacturing, LLC
Admin… “Why single out St. Clair? She’s hardly in the same league as Morg & Dale, is she?
Correct! Theresa is not in their league. The only people who had control of the money was Morg and Dale. Bottom Line!!! If anyone got paid or didn’t get paid, it was under their say-so.
Theresa tried to help us more than anyone there. Before joining the JJ’z/Cuppy/Elite/Medina crew she was a very successful entrepreneur since her early 20’s and opened over 30 businesses from the ground up which were all successful. She believed in what the coffee industry could do and joined the company. She stayed on board as long as she could trying to help the owners/franchisees as much as possible. Unfortunately, she had no control of the money once it came in. I’ve know her for over 15 years and she has always been an honest and ethical person in business and in her personal life. The above comments from Arod are slanderous and I hoped Theresa finds out who wrote this and takes them to court. Good luck to you Theresa!! I hope your new employer knows what a fine person you are and hopefully they treat you right. You deserve to work with honest and ethical people.
Negative press (blogs and emails) is preventing these relationships from moving forward in a timely manner and therefore making it difficult to fulfill financial obligations (paying employees or building out stores).
Make no mistake: The blog posts are highly effective in keeping Cuppy’s Coffee motivated to do the right thing - and have kept the pressure on since they first made steam come out of Morg Morgan’s ears.
Over and over, we’ve seen that the posts here, on FranchisePick.com and BMM gave franchisees and employees their only chance to be heard. Business owners like these have gotten away with stuff like this for years and years without ever being exposed. The blogs - for the first time - have enabled people to turn over some of these rocks and expose these unethical practices to the light of day.
There are blatant examples on FranchisePick.com of franchisees who couldn’t get their calls taken or returned by Danny Jones. They started posting on FranchisePick and heard from him immediately. Several of them got settlements and payments directly because CC wanted them to agree to stop posting. So telling the truth publicly is a highly effective way to keep the pressure and spotlight on Dale, Amy and the Alabama All Stars. If they do the right thing, they’ll be rewarded with positive comments and blog posts. They’ve brought the spotlight on themselves.
Question: Do you think Amy Hiller appreciates the irony of her email? The fact is, if Dale Nabors actually communicated with his franchisees and employees directly, they wouldn’t have to use the blogs to get their message to him. They all know he reads every word while their emails and phone messages are ignored. Perhaps Dale, Amy & the Alabama All Stars should focus on giving people less to complain about rather than pointlessly threaten them for exercising their 1st Amendment rights.
I heard that Danny Jones has also resigned.
Guest on September 11th, 2008 8:53 pm You can add to the list of lieing people that are stuck up Dale’s @$$ to include… of course Amy Hiller, Robin Dolan, Jessica, Rebecca Klein all the IT guys and Frankie Marquis.
When you say IT…you mean Mike Watkins, Rebecca “Lil Pixie” Klien, and of course Will “The Caboose Ass” Thompson. Lil Pixie….where’d you get that handle Rebecca?
Dear Unhappy Franchisee.com…
I am Theresa St.Clair and the blog above from “Arod” is total false and slanderous. I NEVER had access to ANY money coming in or out. That was strickly Morg and Dale. Someone has also posted my letter of resignation which shows that I am an ethical, honest person with integrity. This sounds like DJ because we had words the other day when I was at the Fl office trying to pick up my final paycheck, which I never got.
Again this writer is totally wrong I am not a VP for San Gelato either. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Some franchisees have asked me to testify on their behalf.
This blog is on several spots on your site. Please let me know if this can be removed.
Thank you, Theresa St.Clair
Danny didn’t resigned he was there til the last day which was yesterday when the landlord locked them out & turned off the electrical and water.
Dear Unhappy Franchisee.com: I see you won’t post my letter about “Arod”s slaunderous blog about me; you won’t remove his blog and your “contact us” isn’t working so I’ll have to take further action and sue you for slander. Theresa
I hear Theresa has been try to contact unhappyfranchisee but they won’t let her post a comment in her own defence. That’s not right.
I believe new user’s comments are moderated by the admin and this is done manually. So new users experience a delay.
Theresa:
You posted your clarification at 10:38 Saturday morning.
At 11:09 Saturday morning you threaten to sue because your demand hasn’t been met within half an hour?
Obviously, your expectations are high. Please be patient. We can’t all meet the high standards, dedication to total honesty and immediate attention you provided to each and every Elite Manufacturing customer.
cd is correct… the first comment made is held for moderation. From then on the comments appear immediately unless they’re flagged as potential spam… then they get reviewed.
As far as suing us for slander, don’t waste your legal dollars on taking the offense when you might need it for your defense, hon. Don’t you think your previous mentor Morg would have sued the blogs into oblivion if he could have? If his $450 an hour lawyers said he couldn’t, I doubt you’ve got the war chest for it sweetie. But feel free to take a shot. We’d love to try out some of the tricks we learned from Roy, Morg and Dale. (Oh, you are suing UnhappyFranchisee. We’re AngryFranchisee! We’ve emerged with spirit undeterred!)
But thanks for the laugh. It’s entertaining to get an ethics lesson from someone who’s been getting her paycheck and a “VP” title from a corrupt enterprise, then takes the moral high road when she’s not invited to stay on. Please fill us in on the ethical debate between you and Danny Jones some time. Mother Theresa vs. Mahatma Gandhi… clash of the ethical titans.
Ironically, the reason you won’t sue is the same reason I can’t delete the Arod comments. I’ve been advised that as long as we’re an “unregulated” forum - and we don’t pick and choose which comments stay and which are deleted (with a few specific exceptions), each commenter is responsible for their own words. And there are very specific criteria for defamation, which you might want to bone up on. Give Rudy a call for an explanation… I understand he has some time on his hands.
However, our goal with this site is to get to the truth, a concept that might have become a little hazy - if not downright foreign - to Java Jo’z, Medina, Elite Manufacturing, and Cuppy’s Coffee employees. I will be happy to post your rebuttal right up there next to Arod’s statement in bold type and people can decide for themselves..
Theresa, seriously, I wouldn’t worry too much about your reputation being sullied. I’m certain that your record speaks for itself.
Guest wrote: I hear Theresa has been try to contact unhappyfranchisee but they won’t let her post a comment in her own defence. That’s not right.
Guest: where did you hear that?
Theresa:
How are your daughter’s Cuppy’s locations doing?
You know… the ones you sold your Curves franchises in order to buy?
Did you ever tell prospective franchisees you were buying in because Cuppy’s Coffee franchises were a “gold mine”?
Dear Cuppy’s Victim… I’m a zee as well and I remember early on that TS talked about wanting to buy a few of Cuppy’s for her daughter but she was new with the company & was going to do her due diligence & see what kind of profits some of the open stores were doing. Plus her finances would not allow her to buy in yet. Sounds like all of us zees should have done more due diligence. I wish I had myself. Theresa has always been up front with me and I wish her well. Oh, by the way ADMIN, TS never looks at these blog sites. Someone told her about Arod’s comment & then she took a look. There’s more to life than sitting in front of your computer and listening to people complain. Good luck T.
ADMIN is an idiot too!
It seems that all you zees are forgetting who owned the businesses. That would be Robert Morgan then and Dale Nabors now. Those are the ONLY 2 people that had control of you money. If they said the Frankie Marquis not to write a check to so-n-so, she didn’t. You want to know were your money went you should check out Morg and Dale’s check books. NO ONE ELSE! HELL NEITHER OF THEM PAID THEIR EMPLOYEES HARDLY ANYTHING.
Follow the Money….
Some of you guys must be tripping! Do you really think that Morg or Dale would let ANY employee get their hands on a check or wire that would usually be for $40k or more? Heck No. No one saw the $ except accounting dept, Morg and Dale. All of the employees past and present can testify to that. So focus on those 2 if you expect to get anything back.
“I’m a zee as well and I remember early on that TS talked about wanting to buy a few of Cuppy’s for her daughter but she was new with the company & was going to do her due diligence & see what kind of profits some of the open stores were doing…Sounds like all of us zees should have done more due diligence.”
GUEST: Are you saying that TS actually did due diligence, decided that the stores weren’t profitable, then went ahead and encouraged franchisees to invest in what she wouldn’t?
One franchise depositer said they withheld a commission for $7000 from his refund. Was TS getting $7000 commissions by pushing for deposits? Do you call that getting paid “next to nothing”?
I have read these blogs for the past month with interest and amusement. I and my husband became interested in owning a coffee cafe about a year ago. We inquired about Cuppy’s Coffee. A salesperson sent us information and followed up with phone calls and more information. We then got a call from this person TS from Elite Mfg, saying she was VP of Sales. This same person TS told me that she had bought her daughter in Colorado a CLUSTER of Cuppy’s Coffee businesses. Not one, not two, not a couple, not several, not some, but a CLUSTER! She called me and my husband daily for about a week telling us how wonderful Cuppy’s Coffee was and we should buy this business because it was a good investment. She told us she had opened 33 previous businesses but never anything as great as Cuppy’s Coffee. Now what I want to know is how the CLUSTER of stores are doing that she told me and my husband that she bought for her daughter? I don’t see anyone on the blogs with a CLUSTER of Cuppy’s Coffee locations complaining or saying how great the CLUSTER of cafes are doing. I am starting to wonder if TS just didn’t want the truth to get in the way of a good story? Thank goodness we decide on opening more beauty salons instead of going in the coffee business.
These Guest defending Theresa with Elite, sounds like Theresa defending Theresa to me.
I have read these blogs for the past month with great interest and amusement. My husband and I inquired about Cuppy’s Coffee about a year ago. The salesperson contacted us and sent out information and then followed up with more information and phone calls. After a few days we got a call from TS who said she was the VP of Sales with Elite Mfg. She told us they were the preferred builder for Cuppy’s Coffee. She told us that she had owned 33 business previous to coming to Cuppy’s. She told us that Cuppy’s was a great investment. She told us that she had bought her daughter in Colorado, not one, not two, not several, not a couple, not even some…but a CLUSTER of Cuppy’s Coffee businesses. As I read these blogs at this site and else where, I am yet to see anything about how well or how poorly this CLUSTER of Cuppy’s Coffee stores in Colorado is doing? Needless to say we didn’t feel good about this business after a week of conversations with TS. We decided to open several more hair salons instead….thank goodness. I am sure TS didn’t just tell us this to keep the truth from getting in the way of a good story.
Annette:
Your story is consistent with that of Criston Menz, except that she took St. Clair at her word and sent in her deposit - which is the last she’s seen of it. You can read Criston Menz’ interview and story here.
Criston Menz states:
“Elite was the company that coincidentally, was also a subsidiary of Medina Enterprises, that did all of the build outs for the cafés. (They never mentioned the possibility of using another vendor than Elite.) Theresa St. Clair was the VP of Elite and the “pusher” to get the money quickly since, “they did hold the deal over for us.” Theresa told me that she sold all of her Curves franchises and bought Cuppy’s locations for her daughter to run in Colorado. She said this was a gold mine. She really is what sealed the deal for us…
We signed in early November of 2006, and they called at least 2x per day until December 1st, when they electronically received our payment.
The purchase order gave us an “out” if we did not get financing. I thought it would be as easy to get out as it was to get in. Was I ever so wrong!”
Theresa? Guest? CD? LT? JD? Perhaps one of you can shed some light on this.
FYI, it has to be untrue to be slander.
Sincerely,
The Idiot Admin
The only time I ever spoke to Theresa was when she called me for money. She was on emails where I was begging to be built out and gave me some lame reply like “we are working on it”.
Annette/Brod - Sounds like selective hearing sinceTS got out of Curves in1999 or 2000. If any of you recall the whole story.. she got burnt out on fitness and invested in what turned out to be a scam in Ft.Worth, TX and lost all of her investment & it was more than Cuppy’s investors. Lot’s more. As guest stated earlier she saw what could be in the coffee industry but her finances would not allow her to buy in yet. and Brod… shouldn’t you be filing for unemployment now since Dale shut the FL doors? Yea… SELECTIVE HEARING IS GOING AROUND A LOT THESE DAYS.
“The only time I ever spoke to Theresa was when she called me for money. She was on emails where I was begging to be built out and gave me some lame reply like “we are working on it”.”
cd… you must be guilty of SELECTIVE EMAIL READING. I’m sure that Mother Theresa… I mean, Guest… will tell you there’s a lot of that going around these days.
It was a nice try to write a self-righteous resignation letter and then post it all over the Internet but unfortunately it doesn’t erase years of actions to the contrary.
I have no idea what you are referring to. I only ever got one letter from her, and I chewed her out for her reply.
cd: I was being sarcastic about Guest’s claims that criticism of Theresa was a result of “selective hearing.” I’m sure guest would like to explain away all the emails and letters from her as “selective reading” but that’s a little harder.
Guest: Funny how multiple of people seem to have heard the “sold my health clubs to buy Cuppy’s franchises for my daughter to run” story. Did they all just make that up?
And brod is right. It’s obvious who you are. Why not post under your real name?
Well, as much as I hate defending one who called me an idiot AND trotted out the “L” word (lawyer, legal, lawsuit… take your pick) I do think she is not in the same league as Roy, Morg & Dale. The employees might have perpetuated and implemented a fraud, but they neither initiated it nor stood to make millions off it.
And I’m sure there were several among them who meant well and probably got ulcers hanging in there thinking they could help the franchisees. Sounds like Desiree was one of them. She’s now broke, unable to pay for her car or rent thanks to her dedicated service to Cuppy’s Coffee.
None of this stuff happened, anyway. Haven’t you heard? Cuppy’s Coffee was just established in 2008:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/09/cuppys-coffee-established-in-2008/
So when they out and out lie, who’s to blame? The webmaster to posts it, or the owner who tells him to?
When I spoke with Theresa she did state she had sold her Curves, her husband had gotten that money into some bad investments and that is what was lost. I was told that Theresa was planning on buying a cluster of cuppy’s for her daughter up in Colorado once she could saveup sufficient capital for it. I guess the statement could’ve changed after I was told or it just wasn’t listened to clearly……..
statement: planning on buying misheard: AM buying or BOUGHT
I’m not sure just felt the need to poin that out. Like I said the story could’ve changed since I last heard it. I can only vouch the words I personally heard her say
Theresa St. Clair gets another mention in the new interview with Cuppy’s Coffee victim Mike Herber:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/09/cuppys-coffee-interview-with-franchisee-mike-herber/
FYI.”…..Teresa St. Clair is NOT vice president of San Gelato. She is vice president of GS Gelato, owned by Simone and Guido. San Gelato is a franchise of GS Gelato.
Get your facts straight before posting, people.
Also, Teresa never saw any money. Her hands were tied while employed by Elite.
She is an honest person. I know this for a fact. She has helped us tremendously.
Teresa St. Clair is an honest, truthful, smart, savvy business woman.
She is standing behind myself and Rickey as we proceed to open our now defunct franchise, which we are opening independantly as Benefield Coffee Company.
Teresa saw Dale Nabors for his true colors….and he WILL pay for his crime.
Just curious if anyone knows the status of everything? This is my first posting. I am one of the people that have been scammed by these people. I am a 100% disabled veteran and I had an insurance annuity that I cashed in to pay for the down payment. I was told that I was in the top 5% of the people they have worked with as far as being able to qualify for a loan. I gave them my down payment of $37,500 and about a week later, I was told I did not qualify and was sent to a specialist and if I paid them $2,000 they could get me financed. After about a month, they could not get me financed either. I requested my refund and was told that they did not have my money, but they would pay me back monthly. I even signed a contract because I felt like this might be the only way of getting my money back. That isn’t happening either. Not sure where to go at this point. If anyone can advise, I would certainly appreciate it. My annuity was set up to pay me monthly. Since it is gone, I cannot pay my bills.
I’m ready to go down to Al and picket next week if anybody is ready tojoin me? We will get whnt.com to be there to put it on the news. Please let me know. Something has to be done to these people.
I’m ready to go down to Al and picket next week if anybody is ready tojoin me?
You ain’t a damn yankee are ya? They don’t take real kindly to outside agitators down there in Alabammy.
Be sure to get lots of pictures and email them up to unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com. I’d love to post some pictures of the new home office.
Didn’t they convert a Kwikee Mart or something? Did they leave the Squishee machine?
Does anyone know if the Alabama All-Stars Dream Team employees are getting paychecks? Even the cost of moonshine is going up.
Ex-Employees:
It is now the 26th and I know that I have yet to receive my final check and make the assumption that no one else has either. Below is a list of contact information and steps for filing the necessary complaints (If you haven’t already done so):
1) Contact the US Department of Labor (www.dol.gov) and file a complaint. The phone number is (866) 4-USWAGE.
2) Once you have made contact with them and advised our situation they are going to provide you with contact information to the local office that is closest to you. (Make sure that you notate the date and time that you contact them. If more than 3 business days passes after leaving a message for your local office, contact the US Department of Labor once again and they will directly forward your complaint information to the nearest office.) The Jacksonville office is the one that is closest to us. Their contact info is as follows:
Jacksonville Area:
USDOL, Wage and Hour Division
ESA Wage & Hour Division
Charles E. Bennett Federal Building
400 West Bay Street, Room 956, Box 017
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
(904) 359-9292
(904) 359-9279 (Fax Number)
3) Because we have not been paid it is assumable that Dale Nabors did not take it upon himself to pay the government on the money that we are owed either. You can contact the IRS Tax Fraud Unit at (800) 829-0433. They will direct you to either send a letter to them or complete and mail IRS Form 3949A. Below is a link to the IRS Form 3949A. I have completed this form and have included the letter that was received from ACC in regards to the termination of their relationship with Medina as well as the emails that Ms. Hiller sent out to us. The address to mail the form to is:
Internal Revenue Service
Fresno, California 93888
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf
Hopefully, this will give Dale Nabors more of a reason to pay us what we have earned outside of the fact that we are rightfully due the money.
I received a copy of this e-mail that was sent to Dale Nabors from a current employ-I think it was from Steve in the finance dept
Dale, I sent you a text message early today “begging” you to please help us out for the sake of the two small children’s lives you are affecting,my grandaughter Kaliegh and my grandson Triston.They are both just two years old and they certainly deserve better than what is about to happen to them because you can’t seem to find it in your heart to help us in these dire times for us. Our power will be cut off in the next few days,if we don’t have rent by tomorrow we will be asked to leave our home.We have nine dollars in our bank account and can,t even get a response from you.I was obviously wrong about you,you are not a good person.Imagine if your children were put in the position that you are putting these two year olds in.I know for a fact that each and everyone of your employees would give the shirt off their back for the sake of your kids.But not you.You are about to get what you deserve.If I don’t receive my full paycheck tomorrow then I will be contacting the SBA administration and letting them know that I know for a fact that you committed fraud[Steve Ottjepka and John DeVine] and I will follow up with all the state investigating agencies.If this was about me then I would let it go but when you lack the human decency to treat people with the respect they deserve and refuse to do the right thing for the children then you are a person that does not deserve to continue to enjoy even the simple pleasures of life[watching your kids grow].Even after all of this is over[you filing bankruptcy seems to be the rumor] I am the type of person that will not rest until you have gone through exactly what you have put my family through.Do you know that Amy Rynearson is pregnant and is expecting December 1st? How can you do this to her family? You have asked people to follow you to Alabama and you are prepared to leave them stranded with no regard for their families.Do not take this as a threat,I have been loyal up until today but the loyalty ends today.You need to be taught a lesson of life and if God has put me in the position to teach you that lesson then I will devote whatever time and energy is needed for me to fulfill this mission.You are about to suffer the consequences of not showing common decency to your fellow man.Even as I write this e-mail I will ask God that your soul be spared and that your children never be put in the position of having to rely on the morals of a person such as their father.Whatever actions I will be taking in the future regarding you I trust that the Good Lord will forgive me for he knows the task I am about to take on.God save the people you have screwed[Franchisees and Employees].So if my paycheck does not show up tomorrow then I will put my plan “B” in motion[I always told you I would have a plan "B"].You and I will see each other again,I guarantee this,I am not sure when I will be there but rest assured I will show up either at your house or at work so that you and I can “settle our differences”.It might not happen tomorrow or next week but it will happen eventually.The last thing I have to say is stop stringing your employees and Franchisees along.I have tried to let as many people I can get a hold of that you have no intentions of getting them built out and I hope the employees are starting to see that you have destroyed Cuppy’s and you are prepared to take them down with you. May God have mercy on your soul.
Guest:
Thanks for an interesting email, allegedly from a Cuppy’s Coffee named Steve.
Here’s an employee who works for someone he alleges has committed fraud and “screwed” franchisees and employees.
This highly ethical employee threatens that if he doesn’t get his “cut,” he will squeal to the Feds and embark on a God-ordained mission to teach his ex-boss a lesson.
(However, “Do not take this as a threat” he instructs” :))
If he DOES get his share of the loot, he will remain silent because Jesus is cool with fraud if the check clears.
I wonder why Steve Ottjepka and John DeVine were singled out? If money did not go to it’s intended purpose, then Dale committed fraud with every dollar he took, not just with them. Steve from finance was the man who called people for money. He played a key part in the process. Of course he will turn over evidence, probably as part of the plea bargain.
Who are Steve Ottjepka and John DeVine?
why do franchisees come across as being just when they whine about the money they got screwed out of but when an employee gets screwed and whines they don’t care. I’m thinking that each franchisee is only out for themselves here and if the other franchisees don’t get their money thats too bad.This site is full of hypocrites.
Maybe it is because employees, including the one being discussed here, were paid with money which was taken from franchisees under false pretenses. Many employees knew about what Morg and Dale were up to and did nothing about it until the paychecks dried up or the daycare closed.
Franchisees on the other hand have set up a user group/notice board and are supporting each other. We may even end up helping each other out with store openings. No franchisee has defrauded anyone of money either.
Which group has the hypocrites as members? Not the franchisees.
to Admin-how do you know Steve is not talking to the feds right now? I’m thinking he is using any tactic he can to help his family survive[i.e. his e-mail]. If your family was” up against the wall” how would you react[try to be honest].
Steve Ottjepka and John DeVine are franchisees. They have an interesting story to tell.
Why is everyone criticizing the employee tactics being used to get what they are owed?This does nothing to help get their money.You should be applauding the efforts to stop this man[Dale Nabors].It seems none of the franchisees have enough balls to do anything except blog on this site and pass judgement on the ex employees.
None of the franchisees know which employees were aware yet they will pass judgement on all of them and if the innocent ones get hurt then so be it.This sounds like a Dale Nabors philosophy.
You’re right, anyone at Cuppy’s completely oblivious to what was going on has my sympathies. This guy doesn’t.
Let me guess-you got screwed out of money a long time ago and this is as far as you’ve got to getting your money back.
Nope, actually, it wasn’t so long ago, since Dale owned the company in fact. But Morg got most of my money. I still have the daily emails from Steve asking when the money would be wired, several of us who have been screwed still have them. I wish I saved those voicemails too, the ones in which he told me the money had to be there before my equipment POs needed to be released. I remember he sounded a little cross with me on those messages, perhaps I made his job a little unpleasant.
It wasn’t so long ago that many franchisees were screwed out of money. Rick and Krista Noem, for example, and several others who have posted on this site. I am guessing Steve Ottjepka and John DeVine as well. I also hear July was a busy month for the Medina finance dept.
There isn’t enough money left for all of us to get everything back. But we can keep chasing these guys for years once we have a judgement against them.
I have been amazed at the response of Cuppy’s employees who are finally feeling the nails Dale Nabors is hammering in their coffins. It was not important to them when the franchisees were complaining and looking for answers but now we are supposed to feel sorry for them. Where was ‘Steve’s’ integrity when he was stealing money from us? One guest posted that all the franchisees do is blog, no action. Guess what ‘guest’, that is all some of us can do. That’s right, Dale isn’t just withholding a final paycheck but $125,000 from me. I have nothing left to fight with. I can’t afford an attorney, I have made complaint with the FTC, BBB and a couple police departments. Unfortunately that is all I can do. Oh yeah, I had to file bankruptcy on top of everything else. I feel for the two year olds, any decent person would. I also feel for my 19, 16, 15, 13 and 11 year olds. Good luck getting Dale or any of his muppets to feel for you. He’ll blow smoke up your a** if you are lucky and let you feel all warm and fuzzy about it then he’ll cut off communication with you! Enjoy it, I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more!
Guest wrote: None of the franchisees know which employees were aware yet they will pass judgement on all of them and if the innocent ones get hurt then so be it.
Guest: how could any employee not be aware of what was going on when this was blasted on the blogs for a year and a half - Morg even had employees posting happy happy “I love Cuppy’s” messages on the phony Cuppy’s blogs. And how could employees not be aware when they had to hear the incessant calls from franchisees seeking refunds not being returned…
I am really curious as to why anyone would work for this corrupt enterprise that lied to so many - and screwed over so many - and then act surprised when they get lied to and screwed over! Please explain.
I can only think of two explanations: they are really, really stupid OR they were promised some form of compensation that was better than they could get elsewhere and was worth gambling for. I can’t believe anyone is that stupid and can still dress themselves and get to work, so it must be the latter.
What did Dale offer you that would make you roll the dice and stay with this corrupt and failing enterprise? How much WERE you (supposed to be) making? Did you really think this would end well?
And if Steve is simultaneously threatening Dale with squealing to the Feds and is already talking to them, that speaks volumes about his honesty, doesn’t it? Perhaps the Lord said lying is OK if it involves getting paid - either by your employer or a franchisee.
Don’t you also find it amazing how a Franchisee could have sent money to this company when for a year and a half the blogs were warning them not to?Do you also think the Franchisees are “really,really stupid”?Steve probably realizes that the only way to beat this guy is to use the same tactics that Dale used on franchisees and employees alike. Again,more criticism for someone who is fighting Dale instead of using that energy to help get their money back-doesn’t make sense to me.
Guest it is hard to fight for our money back when emails, phone calls don’t get returned. At this point there is not enough out there for agencies to take it seriously. We have even asked the screwed over employees to identify themselves so they could work with us but they all continue to post as guests.
Guest, yes it is amazing that potential franchisees sent this company money. It is unnerving to me that I allowed the wool to be pulled over my eyes. It is more amazing to me that there are so many unscrupulous people living in the Fort Walton Beach area willing to continue to work for the very same company that stole so much money from innocent people seeking financial freedom. It is even more amazing that we didn’t hear about these blogs until the day we graduated from Cuppy’s College…I wonder if there was an inside leak. Back in February when we doing our due diligence the only bad comments we found online were concerning Java Jo’s and when we asked our kind salesman he told us everything we needed to hear
Steve probably realizes that the only way to beat this guy is to use the same tactics that Dale used on franchisees and employees alike.
Where does it recommend that approach in the Bible? Perhaps Steve the Christian needs to brush up on his scripture. I can’t recall Jesus recommending adopting the techniques of the moneylenders… nor the mandate to “be fraudulent and multiply.”
But worry not, Stevo. The second coming may be at hand. It is prophesied that Morg Morgan may return to lead his people back to Fort Walton Beach. I’m sure you’ll be seated at his right hand for your selfless devotion.
Meanwhile, if you need shelter I’m sure there are some abandoned mobile units currently unoccupied.
sounds like Admin is playing the role of God and Jesus and passing judgement on Steve when Admin is unaware of all the circumstances and facts-I think Admin is related to Dale
To all the ex-employees out there - get a grip. I am an ex-employee who has yet to receive a paycheck, but I am firmly aware that it is nothing compared to what the franchisees have and probably will lose. I don’t have my house and retirement on the line. I can get another job and possibly recover in the near future - the franchisees will unfortunately not be so lucky. So please ex-employees, keep your ranting about your one paycheck to yourself. Yes, the nonpayment has and will likely affect you and your family, but looking for sympathy on a site that was dedicated to people who have lost ten times what we have lost is in poor taste and insulting.
However, some fairness to the ex-employees are in order. It is easy to lump all the employees together as having been complicit in the big fail that was Cuppys. Yes we all worked here. But how many here actually knew everything that was going on? 80%? 50%? More likely less than 10%. It sounds unbelievable, but that is pretty accurate. Under Morg, every decision that had any effect on money went through him. The presidents, executive vps, vps, directors, etc, were that in name only. Even potential purchases involving just a couple of hundred dollars needed his control. Everything went through him. Everyone knew that money was coming in, and the only indication that money may not have been coming out was when the franchisees would call in concerned about progress. Under Morg, the pipeline was moving, but at a very slow pace, and the reasons Morg gave were always so believable. Maybe we were stupid for believing. It took waay too long for you guys to open, but we believed the line of crap that was being told to us to tell you. For that I apologize.
Under Dale, it stayed the same except for one important change. Absolutely no communication. Also, there was absolutely no money going out as far as we could tell (except to pay for Amy’s car and house). 3-4 people were fired every week for about 2 months, so everyone here was so on edge, especially as there was no communication except for the firings, so I know we weren’t doing our job to help you guys. Even when we did get it together to do our jobs, we had no direction or communication. When we did get a hold of Dale, he would either outright lie to us (which we believed the first time), or we simply would not get a call returned. We had nothing to tell you. You guys were calling us asking for help and I had nothing, and no one had any answers. Totally unacceptable, and I understand why you would cuss us out. I get it. Dale and Amy were the only ones that had any clue what was going on and Amy basically only repeated what Dale said. Although Steve was “director” of finance, he was in the same boat. He is a convenient target for your anger because he helped bring in the money, but we fell for the same line that you did. Our fault is that we also couldn’t believe it could be this bad. Once we all got together and everyone started talking about the areas that they knew about, is when we realized that Dale had totally destroyed this company. Morg had his faults, but his ability to cover up the flaws was not one of them.
That said, we are not, and should not be, looking for your sympathy. I truly wish you luck in getting your money back. I wish I could have helped you more. I wish I knew how bad this would be so I could have warned you.
That is really sinking to a new low, Guest. To actually accuse someone of being related to that piece of crap is immoral.
To all the ex-employees complaining about a paycheck, I will gladly trade you.
You take my financial issues:
Lost cash: over $50,000 (that is over 6 months worth of paychecks)
Rent on a dirt floor, unfinished building: $6000 / mo for 10 years
Bank loan of $185000: $3000 / mo until paid off
Credit cards: $300 / mo
Lost dream of owning our own business: Priceless
Sorry, just cant get too excited for you all. I am 43, bankrupt, and have to start over. We have lost pretty much everything to the company you worked for.
go somewhere else for sympathy.
Rick Noem
“…I will ask God that your soul be spared…”
“… I trust that the Good Lord will forgive me for he knows the task I am about to take on. God save the people you have screwed…”
“… May God have mercy on your soul.”
“… if God has put me in the position to teach you that lesson then I will devote whatever time and energy is needed for me to fulfill this mission.You are about to suffer the consequences of not showing common decency to your fellow man.”
Guest: Is this guy serious? Isn’t he one of those making the relentless calls to get franchisees to send their money in to the black hole pit of despair that is Elite manufacturing?
He should have no problem getting a good telemarketing job for Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, etc. As a matter of fact, he could do great selling Green Prosperity Prayer Hankies:
The Green Prosperity Prayer Hankie Will Make You RICH!
http://www.franchisepick.com/the-green-prosperity-hankie-will-make-you-rich/
Maybe Reverend Stewart will finance a Prayer Hankie franchise for him!
jp:
Thanks for a rational, well-considered comment.
JP: Well said! I believe we all realize that all the employees are not bad people. There were several people who tried to be helpful throughout the process. The company was run by crooks and weasels who have to live with themselves. It is a shame that Dale has a family. I would hate to see my children looking up to a man like that for direction!
I must say… You have balls sir.
I am in shock that you would complain about missing 1 or 2 checks from this company. You worked for the company, you were well aware of what this company was doing yet you want the very franchisees that you helped rip off to feel sorry for you? I am an ex employee. I had nothing to do with the money that was coming in from franchisees but I knew deep down that something was fishy with the company. I just didn’t have any proof. You on the other hand do have proof yet you withheld that from the proper authorities. I am appald that I even worked for the company, I am even more appald that there were so many crocks that worked for this company, not just Morg or Dale but employees as well. As you have just proven some of the employees fall into the same catagory as Dale and Morg. Yes Morg and Dale wanted everyone to believe that everything was all hunky dory and that is what they sold to franchisees and employees but as I said before I knew something was fishy. If you are one of the employees that truley believed that everything was on the up and up then you are a very nieve person (and there was a lot of nieve employees there). If you are one of the employees that has proof of what was happening to the franchisee, then you deserve to be in jail right along side Morg and Dale.
For the franchisee, I hope to god that you all get your money back and I am very sorry for being a part of such a crocked company. Keep fighting. I have heard that there is another employee that has written proof of fraud. Hopefully Dale and Morg will be in jail very shortly.
As for jp, I agree with a lot of what you said, however I believe that you can add Robin Donlan and Frankie to the few that new what was going on. While I worked at the company, I was always told that money was coming in. I did NOT believe it. I talked to the franchisees every day. I tried to help as much as I could with what I was told. If I had proof of what I always felt, I would have happily given that to the franchisee and would have told them to run.
Rick - Well said. We have SO FAR lost $200,000 in this fiasco, it may go higher depending on attorney fees, rent on the lease, etc.
Unfortunately, we have no sympathy for the employees. They didn’t speak up until they found out that they were not one of the “chosen” going to Alabama, and to add insult to injury, didn’t even receive their last paycheck. There was never a hint in any of our numerous frantic calls that there was a problem. The franchisees had to get together and compare notes to realize the horrible truth.
I’m sure they didn’t know everything that was going on, but they had to realize that nothing good was happening. The frantic and then angry calls and e-mails, not one shop being opened, numerous franchisees paying rent on empty spaces!!!
Yes, we fell for it also, but we weren’t there to see that there were dozens of us in the same boat. Some sort of warning bell had to be triggered in their minds…
Rick Noem - I am very sorry regarding your losses, dont get me wrong, I am a fellow franchisee and licensee (never converted one license from JJ).
6000 a month for rent????? who talked you into that location? I was crunching numbers for 3-4 hours a day for MONTHS and was only making money at less than 2100 a month rent IF i sold 140 cups a day.
Guest: We were doing a bakery/cafe featuring Cuppy’s Coffee…We have prime retail space in the new downtown Fort Collins, CO. It is hard to find any retail space in this area for less than $30 a square foot (2013 square feet). Coffee was only a small part of what we would have done daily. We have a hospital across the street, new medical offices, 300 real estate agents above us..new shopping and library..we were set…Thanks Cuppys!
Has anyone been hearing this rumor that Brian Hayes and Morg Morgan are cooking up some kind of a plan to take over the company?
Any other company I would laugh this off… Cuppy’s? anything is possible.
Hi Guest, along with what Krista said, we also had AMD, HP, Intel plants all within walking distance. Not to mention the walk/bike path, water feature, and barbecue pit just outside our door.
The location was/is prime, making rent each month would not have been an issue. I am just sorry we cannot develop it.
I have heard that Morg was meeting with Dale to discuss his taking over the company. What good could come of the master scammer taking over Cuppys? Will Dale be a consultant again? Will Steve get his finance job back? Will Amy, Robin, Jessica and Theresa find true love?
Morg ran to mexico, your not gonna find him right now….medina starpoint had to be served via the florida secretary of state
If Morg is taking the company back, well by all means sign me up for another five stores….He’ll take my money but at least he’ll leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy about it!
Prozac… why don’t you take another pill or two? It’s been fairly pleasant not hearing from you.
This board would not be as interesting without Prozacs tell it like it is comments! Keep posting Prozac!
I could be like several people on this site with online multiple personality disorders, posting as “guests” pretending to be multiple people. Or maybe I have been doing that but don’t remember due to my short term memory loss. A side effect of being screwed by Cuppy’s.
I have heard that Morg was meeting with Dale to discuss his taking over the company. What good could come of the master scammer taking over Cuppys? Will Dale be a consultant again? Will Steve get his finance job back? Will Amy, Robin, Jessica and Theresa find true love?
Will Steve allow Dale’s soul to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Will Theresa’s daughter open her Cuppy’s franchise goldmines in Colorado? Will Dale’s wife have to start buying faux Coach handbags?
Rumor has it that Brian Hayes has been working to get Morg and the band back together. Rumor has it that Morg and Dale are meeting in AL.
Morg Morgan taking Cuppy’s back & Brian Hayes…
will be doing build outs again. What the heck… they’re glutten for punishment. Also hear that Amy Hiller is so far up Morgs ass while he is in AL because she sees him being in charge again very soon. She goes whichever way the wind is blowing. It’s terrible when someone doesn’t know how to stand on their own two feet. Payroll has still not been paid. Not only for the FL ex employees final paycheck but the dumba$$es that moved to AL with Dale haven’t been paid for a month and a half. Unless you want to count the bad check Dale gave them that bounced. Does Dale think if Morg takes the company back that he can wash his hands clean of the cluster you know what? I don’t think so because Dale talked zees into sending in more $ & he still did not put that $ towards the zees projects. Fraud, fraud, fraud! Also, Morg is not in the clear either! The lawsuits are piling up against the company, Dale & Morg. You can run but you can’t hide!
Why would Morg possibly consider getting lured back in when the walls seem to be tumbling down, the ponzi scheme has been exposed and the Feds are rumored to be investigating?
Is the money really going to be there for the 160 unopened franchises?
Is he that foolish or is he that much smarter than everyone else?
Gotta give him credit for pulling it off to this point.
Maybe he plans to sell the assets (only) of Cuppy’s Coffee back to Roy Snowden and go back to being Java Jo’z.
Riiiiiiight… I can see it now. Morg has already made a clean getaway with our cash and now it’s someone else’s problem. He is laying in a hammock in Mexicao but - in a moment of clarity riddled with overwhelming guilt - he has travelled to AL to meet with Dale. In his car he has bags and bags of money and the meeting starts with “okay, let’s pay anyone that was screwed”. Dale nods willingly, they divide the money, we all receive checks by Federal Express tomorrow and anyone waiting to open will open by the 15th.
When you get out of quicksand you don’t walk back in it to grab your flip flop.
I think the main cause of confusion here, assuming we’re reasonable people, is that we are dealing with people who don’t think they have done anything wrong. And ex-employees and franchisees are on their side, praying for a resurrection. If Morg was indeed in Mexico, he took a break from his extended vacation to visit Muscle Shoals.
What should be the name for this soap opera? Guiding Lattes? All My Mochas? Fort Walton Beach? As the Cuppy turns? Wasn’t Dale a soap opera actor in the 80s? Was that his function as consultant, acting coach?
I would consider it to be a stupid move on Morg’s part but what the hell! He’s so loveable, everyone will be flocking at his feet.
Well I decided I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid this time.
The rumor is true. Morg and Brian are in AL to take the company back from Dale. Yes, Morg has made many mistakes and one of them was selling the company to Dale. Dale convinced him he could turn the company around in six months, but instead he ran it into the ground. We have all lost a lot of money since Dale took over the company. Morg may not have been the best finanacial manager, but at least stores were opening, vendors were being paid, and liens were not being put on our shops. I had many issues with Brian during Dale’s tenure, but realize now the issues were due to Dale tying his hands. Dale potrayed Morg and especially Brian as the bad guys, he told us many stories about them which are NOT remotely true. They are trying to salvage the company and start helping the franchisees. The only reason they are trying to take back Cuppy’s/Elite is to help people, not to sell the company’s assets and flee to Mexico. Brian has been helping us to get our store open; with the funds we have left, we could not do this without his help. At least there are a few good people out there to help us. It seems to me that Morg’s biggest failing is that he wanted to provide the best working environment he could for his staff, as well as helping the franchisees, and didn’t know how to balance this out,.
Two weeks ago, I drove 13 hrs to confront Dale after Eden pulled out of my store and spent 11 hrs with him the very next day. Result - he cried about not having any money. Where is the money that we have all forked over since Dale took control? I wired Dale $78,850 on August 7th and many other franchisees sent him money as well. He hasn’t opened one store, is not paying the vendors, he’s not even paying his employees!! Morg and Brian have been trying to figure out since Monday where the money is or went.
Hopefully they will be able to salvage the company.
I have been fighting for my money for over TWO years. You forked over almost $80K less than a MONTH ago?
Our initial payment was made two years ago, 10/16/2006. Total is $ 170,650, that doesn’t include the money we spent out of our pocket.
Nick, I am glad you are being built out. But I completely disagree with you on this point: Morg can’t be part of the problem and the solution to it. He took most of my money and plenty of other people’s money. The problems started well before Dale. I am just guessing here, but Brian is making a profit on your buildout and not doing it out of the goodness of his heart?
And I totaly agree with you.
It started well before Dale, Morg took $92,000 from us during his tenure. The second payment of $41,900 was made 12/7/07 for my second location and they promised to refund us if we didn’t go with it. Did we get our money back for the second location? The answer is NO. Was the money managed well during Morg’s tenure? NO. I don’t think any of us can know for sure, but I don’t think Morg would have taken the money from us knowing he was not going to open our stores, which Dale did do. Morg knew there was a problem, and like many of us, believed Dale when he said he could fix the problem.
Will Brian make a profit? Absolutely yes, but not much.
[...] In our darkest hour, word of salvation miraculously appeared like franchise stigmata in the comment section of Unhappy Franchisee.com. [...]
Nick::
You certainly made someone’s day with your news:
CUPPY’S COFFEE SEASON PREMIERE: King Morg is Returning! I’m in Disbeglief!
Cuppy’s franchisees are organizing a suit to be filed by a well-known Florida franchise law firm. If you are interested in joining, please email cuppylawsuit[at]gmail.com . Include your name, address, phone number, and potential civil claim against Medina and related companies.
Nick, you say…”Morg may not have been the best finanacial manager, but at least stores were opening, vendors were being paid, and liens were not being put on our shops.”… Where have you been?! Morg wasn’t paying vendors & liens were being put on cafes. Also, you say… “but I don’t think Morg would have taken the money from us knowing he was not going to open our stores”…YES he did!!! He was the ONLY person PUSHING/HOUNDING the employees to get more $ from franchisees. And “where did the money go” Morg wants to know… probably the same place he put the money when he was the owner. EVERYWHERE EXCEPT WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSE TO GO!
Let me get this straight: a lot more money went missing under Morg’s watch but that wasn’t his intent while Dale was less successful in his collection of funds, but always had the intent of taking money and not applying it to projects? Morg is the good buy here while Dale is a complete a-hole?
I am going to take the previous suggestion by a guest and take a pill, maybe several.
Guest-Who? Please identify yourselves. I don’t have anything to hide. Please let me know where you are located? As far as I know, you could be Dale himself.
Anyway, I don’t want to go on and on. My intention was to inform everybody out there what is going on in AL. Morg & Brian are trying to salvage the company and help the frachisees.
Let’s try to be adult here and discuss the issues rationally. If you’d like to take one or two pills, it is your choice, take one for me too.
I’ll keep you all informed when I receive more info regarding the progress.
Thanks,
Nick
Dear Franchisee,
Dale Nabors would like to invite you to attend a conference call on Friday, October 3rd at 1pm CST. This conversation will be recorded. If you are unable to attend the conference call at this time, we will provide you a link that will access the recorded call via email request. You will be receiving the details in an official invite that will provide you with the phone number and access code for the live call. If you are unable to attend the conference call or if you do not receive the official invite by Friday at 9am CST please email us at info@cuppys.com.
Sincerely,
Cuppy’s Coffee Smoothies & More
Re: Dale Nabors invitation to this Friday’s conference call - HERE YOU GO………… THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ROBERT MORGAN & BRIAN HAYES ARE BACK & BETTER THAN EVER!!! HIDE YOUR PETS & CHILDREN; EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS & HIDE WHAT’S LEFT OF YOUR MONEY; KISS YOUR INVESTMENTS TOTALLY GOODBYE. FOR THOSE FOOLS THAT WANT TO BELIEVE MORG, BRIAN OR DALE WILL FINALLY DO THE RIGHT THING, I WOULDN’T SEND IN ANY MONEY UNTIL YOUR PROJECT IS 100% COMPLETE & YOU HAVE SIGNED DOCUMENTATION THAT SHOWS EVERY VENDOR/GC HAS BEEN PAID SO SOMEONE CAN’T PUT A LIEN ON YOUR STORE LATER. AND BY ALL MEANS THIS TIME… PLAY IT SAFE! I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH EITHER OF THEM TRY TO CONVIENCE YOU THAT IT WAS ALL SOMEONE ELSES FAULT THAT YOU LOST YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
Disappointing agreement has been reached, but I can’t discuss it.
Thanks,
Nick
Agreement between who and why mention it if you can’t discuss it.. ?
Cuppy’s franchisees are organizing a suit to be filed by a well-known Florida franchise law firm. If you are interested in joining, please email the Admin and give permission to forward your contact information to me. Include your name, address, phone number, and potential civil claim against Medina and related companies.
Nick you are just the type of lamb which these guys love to prey on. There is absolutely no excuse for the way funds were handled and disbursed under either tenure. Fraud? likely. And you want to work with them more? Pay double what you need to pay to open a store? IF they actually do what they said. AND if they actually pay the vendors. You start day one paying twice the loan that you need to. Of course that means you need to sell twice the product to produce the same financial results. Come on… I might get burned once but not twice.
Nick:
Respectfully, I think they dosed your Koolaid with something a little more potent… like LSD. Or maybe you’re in shock. Either case, you’re in need of an intervention- or deprogramming.
Take a trip back in time, back while Dale was still a mere shill on BlueMau Mau, defending Morg and Cuppy’s Coffee as a con-sultant… Go back even before Cuppy’s Coffee to Java Jo’z, when Morg was running the same game. Did you read the interviews on this site with Criston Menz & Robin Rivera?
What did Dale have to do with them… or the many people who still have not been paid their refunds from Java Jo’z.? Nothing. Back then it was Snowden’s - not Morg’s - fault. They had never met old Snowjob, but it didn’t matter.
Heck, you can go back to Morg’s previous company, Slender Lady. I’ve been told he’s still named in at least one franchisee lawsuit from those days. I believe the same FL law firm went after him on behalf of franchisees with Slender Lady.
Time for a history lesson:
http://www.franchisepick.com/franchise-controversies/cuppys-coffee-java-joz-elite-manufacturing-medina-blogliography/
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/04/the-menzs-story-cuppys-coffee/
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/04/seeking-my-30k-deposit-from-morg-morgan-cuppys-coffee-java-joz/
Go to this page, scroll down to Martin Bala’s comment from March, 2007. He had a lien put on his equipment from Java Jo’z. Morgan claims it was Snowden’s fault and he didn’t know what he was doing. Sound familiar?
http://www.franchisepick.com/franchise-controversies/cuppys-coffee-franchise-elite-manufacturing-medina-complaints/
Nick: There’s a saying that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Ignore history at your own risk.
I don’t get it, Nick is saying that Morg & Brian are trying to save the franchise, but they are the ones that got them into this mess. This company had no money when Morg was there, outside of the money that they were taking from franchisees. I’ve always wondered how Morg was able to keep a payroll of 120+ people when there were 60 stores open. How was he able to do this, by screwing over the franchisees.
Nick, think how much you paid for your store, now think how much SBT charged Elite, and how much SBT subcontractors charged them. You probably paid an extra $50k to build your stores to give them more profit. But Morg is the savior, so it is all good.
Roy started this mess, but couldn’t continue from behind bars, Morg continued the mess. Dale took it over and it got worse. What do you expect of Morg/Brian? Brian’s got his own lawsuit to worry about, Morg has ‘health’ issues. They don’t have the money to fund continuing operations (unless they have some of the SBA loans that were disbursed but not put into buildings).
This company will be gone in 2 years (if not sooner) and I would expect most stores/drive-thrus to be in the same boat.
Hey, they stopped paying me back my deposit but I see I wasn’t invited to their conference call. I guess they knew they sucked me dry and so have no intention of talking to me.
I didn’t get an invitation to the conference call either.
At this point, I doubt that they care much about the people that have already given them all of their money. They have no use for you.
They took me for a lot of money and I don’t seem to be on their priority list either. If anyone out there has the info and would like to share, I’m sure we would all like to know what is going. We have ALL been taken and ALL deserve our money back.
…The only reason they are trying to take back Cuppy’s/Elite is to help people…
Morg cares. Brian cares.
I spent all day yesterday on the phone. I called the FBI, IRS, FTC, Attorney General in AL and FL, just to name a few. They all are very interested in the situation. Anyone who is owed money, should call them all.
“ADMIN on October 2nd, 2008 1:07 pm …The only reason they are trying to take back Cuppy’s/Elite is to help people…
Morg cares. Brian cares.”
Let’s wait and see shall we. Let’s see if he contacts the people who he had SIGNED agreements with to return money to them on a specific schedule. (BTW - when we sent money to him we couldn’t pay him in “increments”). Let’s see if he pays the employees. Let’s see if he helps out these people paying rent on vacant lots. Let’s just see how much they care about the people who have their lives in financial ruin because they won’t answer a phone or an e-mail message.
I think if you dig a little bit deeper…. you might find out the real reason he’s back. I’m just sayin’….
Listen up, SEAN KELLY, aka: ADMeaN
I, for one, have had it!!!!! That history you refer to shows that YOU started all this. In the real world, there are laws against what YOU do. This “blogosphere” is still pretty new, but eventually the ‘real-world-laws’ will start to take effect in here too. Your shenanigans are so clear: YOU trash Cuppy’s as part of your “representation” of “other” coffee companies and THAT is your simple-minded game …a dollar a click… Not only are YOU the very definition of shill, you are blatantly interfering with contractual relationships. You may be getting away with it now, but your time is a-coming’, Sean Kelly. You are gathering a lot of enemies.
It is more than obvious that you have no intention of ‘helping’ these franchisees. You are just using them to keep the gun pointed at Morg’s/Dale’s/Brian’s heads as you keep the muck stirred… muck that YOU have had a huge part in creating. It has become increasingly apparent to many of us that FAME is YOUR GAME. And you have a real talent for cruelty.
Now, I can’t be sure because I have never met you in person… BUT… rumor has it that you are a bankrupt drunk clacking away at computer keys 24/7 in a dark room somewhere in PA!! …a dollar a click…
One thing is for sure… You are trying to make a buck on the backs of honorable hard working people. To name a few: Dale Nabors, Morg Morgan, Brian Hayes and every single Cuppy’s Franchise Owner AND all their families as well. All these people have been blindsided and held captive by the blogosphere.
Question: Has anyone out there ever heard of praying for the strength / clarity / wellbeing / etc. of the leader to provide the tools and path toward success for the people. Just wondering… Pretty sure Sean Kelly can’t relate… so…
…back to you, Sean Kelly: About 3 months ago Paul Steinberg revealed the con you had been working on Bluemaumau and you were banished! Some of the other regulars, like Webster and JD said they didn’t like what you were doing either. So, now you mostly hang out here on Unhappy Franchisee (your site/your rules) to play by yourself since nobody else wants to play with you. Aren’t you getting it, Sean Kelly? Good people don’t like to associate themselves with a liar and con man like you. You continue to prove this about yourself, over and over on a blog by blog basis.
Even the title you came up with for this site, UN- happy franchisee, is further indication that you just want to play up all the negatives.
Of course you aren’t the type of person who would understand this but THERE IS ROOM ENOUGH IN BUSINESS FOR THE SUCCESS OF MANY. Integrity is not dead, despite being beaten repeatedly with Sean Kelly’s ugly stick.
Since you are who you are and this IS your site, it’s pretty fair to assume that you won’t actually post this, so I am posting it to every other site I can think of.
OK, it’s your turn, Sean Kelly. Let’s talk about you and your shady business practices. Your Cuppy’s Trashing started to become very apparent in January of 2007. Let’s see… When did you first start to work for Cuppy’s competition? When did you first start to experience your jealousy of the success of other men and how long have you had your alcohol problem? Is your bankruptcy the direct result of your alcohol problem? Did your mother lock you in a closet as a baby and make you really mad for the rest of your life? Come on Sean Kelly… this is an open forum… you have some big problems… start talking… maybe we can help.
Anyone else out there who has been negatively affected by the criminal antics of Sean Kelly?
Please feel free to email us at victimofviciousblogging@yahoo.com
~~~~~Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape~~~~~
I posted this on BMM as well:
The only problem I had with Sean was the continued bashing of the AAFD in this situation, when the focus should’ve been some place else (ie the SBA funding, Funding Solutions, etc.).
If it wouldn’t have been for the unethical treatment of the Java Jo’z depositors by Snowden/Morgan/Hibbing, I doubt many of us on here would’ve ever heard of Java Jo’z/Cuppy’s. It’s their fault that they became a target earlier this year, because people spoke out on websites. The company is/near bankrupt. Whose fault is that?
For some reason, I hope the above post was a joke, but like Rick said, I can’t see the punch line.
jd: It’s a joke but, unfortunately, not intentionally.
I, for one, have had it!!!!! That history you refer to shows that YOU started all this.
I started what, exactly? Java Jo’z? Cuppy’s Coffee? Investment fraud? Man’s inhumanity to man? Original sin? The blogosphere?
YOU trash Cuppy’s as part of your “representation” of “other” coffee companies and THAT is your simple-minded game …
Don’t let the fact that I don’t represent any coffee companies slow you up one bit… You’re on a roll!
…you are blatantly interfering with contractual relationships.
I’ll try to be more subtle. And I apologize to anyone who missed their opportunity to invest in a Cuppy’s Coffee franchise on account of me.
It has become increasingly apparent to many of us that FAME is YOUR GAME.
And DANGER is my middle name!
It is more than obvious that you have no intention of ‘helping’ these franchisees. You are just using them to keep the gun pointed at Morg’s/Dale’s/Brian’s heads as you keep the muck stirred… muck that YOU have had a huge part in creating.
I wish I could be on your conference call so I could apologize for all the harm I’ve caused. Here I thought it was $29 million in loans, federal investigations and lawsuits from every direction that were to blame. Now I realize it was talking about those things that scared the Success Fairy away.
… rumor has it that you are a bankrupt drunk clacking away at computer keys 24/7 in a dark room somewhere in PA!! …a dollar a click…
This is an outrageous accusation. I do NOT get a dollar a click.
One thing is for sure… You are trying to make a buck on the backs of honorable hard working people. To name a few: Dale Nabors, Morg Morgan, Brian Hayes and every single Cuppy’s Franchise Owner AND all their families as well. All these people have been blindsided and held captive by the blogosphere.
That made me spew my rotgut whiskey all over my dark room!
Question: Has anyone out there ever heard of praying for the strength / clarity / wellbeing / etc. of the leader to provide the tools and path toward success for the people.
Jim Jones? Guyana? (I think that’s where the phrase “drinking the kool-aid” came from.) David Koresh? Waco?
About 3 months ago Paul Steinberg revealed the con you had been working on Bluemaumau and you were banished!
Don’t let the fact that there was no con and that I wasn’t “banished” slow you up… You’re on a roll!
Even the title you came up with for this site, UN- happy franchisee, is further indication that you just want to play up all the negatives.
Actually, UN- stands for United Nations and represents my desire to bring all the peoples of the world together in peace and harmony.
Integrity is not dead, despite being beaten repeatedly with Sean Kelly’s ugly stick.
It might not be dead, but it ain’t moving too spritely, neither.
Since you are who you are and this IS your site, it’s pretty fair to assume that you won’t actually post this, so I am posting it to every other site I can think of.
At least your accuracy is consistent. Thanks for spreading the fame.
OK, it’s your turn, Sean Kelly. Let’s talk about you and your shady business practices. Your Cuppy’s Trashing started to become very apparent in January of 2007. Let’s see… When did you first start to work for Cuppy’s competition?
Cuppy’s has competition? At what? Not opening coffee franchises?
When did you first start to experience your jealousy of the success of other men and how long have you had your alcohol problem?
Actually, not being able to develop an alcohol problem is one of the great disappointments of my career, since alcohol and drug rehab is the family business.
I am truly jealous of men like Dale, who has a great talent for spotting a great opportunity. He just seems to believe, succeed, then believe some more.
Did your mother lock you in a closet as a baby and make you really mad for the rest of your life?
It was a franchised California Closet. I swore revenge on both on franchising and residential space-saving organizational systems.
…you have some big problems… start talking… maybe we can help.
You already are helping. I feel much better knowing you’re there. And I’m not.
Since you’ve been free with your advice, let me return the favor: Brush up on the definition of slander when you get a chance… i