PRESS ROOM
Real franchise information – free from PR-agency spin and sugar-coated, sales-driven hype – is hard to come by.
That’s why the writer, editors and producers from top business and consumer publications turn to UnhappyFranchisee.Com for the real scoop.
Publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Washington Post & Bloomberg Businessweek and media outlets like NPR and Dateline NBC turn to UnhappyFranchisee.com for assistance in getting the insider information and opinions from those in the know: the franchisees who own and operate the hundreds of thousands of franchises across America.
If you are working on a franchise-related (or blogging related) story and want an alternative to the industry propaganda, contact UnhappyFranchisee.Com publisher Sean Kelly at UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com for a fast and helpful response.
[Left: Sean Kelly, Publisher of UnhappyFranchisee.Com, provides franchising information and insights to major newsmagazines, such as Dateline NBC. Below: Sean Kelly was featured in the blockbuster expose of 7-Eleven wage theft by Australian Broadcast Company’s award-winning “Four Corners”]
[This list is under construction – please check back for updates]
See Which Publications Rely on UnhappyFranchisee.Com and Franchise Expert Sean Kelly
 | They Bet Their Future on Barbecue Dreams. Many Lost Everything. Dickey’s, the world’s largest barbecue chain, has a history of deception and broken promises, according to dozens of its franchise owners. by Brett Anderson June 3, 2025 |
| “Thanks for all of your help Sean. Hard to imagine that story happening without your years of spadework.” – Reporter from a Prominent National Publication | |
Press Coverage on Specific Controversies
| Butterfly Life Franchise Exposed
Mark Golob v. Sean Kelly Lawsuit | Butterfly Life Founder Loses Lawsuit Over Free Speech July 1, 2014 Editor Stuart Goldman
Another blogger fights a SLAPP suit and wins June 2, 2014, Ann Logue (AnnLogue.Com) |
| UnhappyFranchisee.Com Warning RE: Beautiful BrandsBeautiful Brands v. Sean Kelly | |
| UnhappyFranchisee.Com Warning RE: ISoldIt | |
| UnhappyFranchisee.Com Warning RE: Cuppy’s Coffee | |
BOOKS
 | The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It by David Weil |
 | The Legal Environment of Business“Gathering information about many opportunities is difficult. As in many other areas, the Internet provides some useful sources… horror stories can abound. Unhappy Franchisee provides many sad tales…” Roger E. Meiners, Al H. Ringleb, Frances Edwards Cengage Learning, Jan 1, 2014 |
 | Become a Franchise Owner!: The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Doby Joel Libava December 6, 2011 |
 | What’s Next? Updated: Finding Your Passion and Your Dream Job in Your Forties, Fifties and Beyond by Kerry Hannon |
 | Civility in the Digital Age: How Companies and People Can Triumph over Haters, Trolls, Bullies and Other Jerks by Andrea Weckerle |
how do I post a horrible franchise on your site?
Anyone wanting to report unethical or ilegal franchise practices or express unhappiness with their franchise relationship can send an email in confidence to UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail.com
Bruster’s Ice Cream has about 175 units primarily on the east coast. It is owned and managed like a mafia and plans on robbing innocent entrepreneurs (women, seniors and veterans) from a failed concept model! Save your money and invest in Dairy Queen which is owned by Warren Buffet.
I love seeing small business owners doing great and I’ve been helping them grow through our easy strategies. But I really see what owners are up against today and it makes it almost impossible to focus on growth after the store is open. I think that’s why we do so well helping.
Dan, StoreFrontTraffic.com
Don’t buy a Clean Juice….you will be terribly sorry. Just ask any of the Charlotte NC owners. The only stores profiting are the 2 flagship stores….go figure. The COGS are ridiculously high…nobody in corporate knows what the hell they are doing and they will make anyone with a Pulse the VP…SVP….Operations Manager….COO. It’s a true circus.
Totally agree with Ely on Clean Juice…DO NOT BUY into this unsustainable business model. We sunk every penny we had into this failing business and worked six days a week to save on labor only to continue to operate in the negative. The entire Charlotte market is for sale….Florida stores are being sold back to corporate….Irvine, CA has closed its doors and two stores in Charlotte are currently CLOSED!!!!
Freshii franchise system is same suck trap for franchisee.
Hi All,
I wanted to find out if if anyone here has experienced any wrong doing or injustice with Jani-King of Phoenix or Jani-King in general, please let me know? I am a franchise analyst who has worked with many franchisors and franchisees.After seeing how some franchisors prey upon hard working genuine families looking to own a piece of the American Dream and trick them into believing it is a good investment. Franchisees invest their entire savings into this dream and more often turn into a nightmares).I have decided to start a non-profit organization called Franchisee voices to help franchisees. We assist franchisees in by giving them a voice that can be heard. Our goel is to educate the community about fair franchise practices, quality franchise opportunities, and to expose the unethical practices that have for too long existed in the franchising community and changing the narrative of franchising to be reasonable and more profitable to franchise owners.We are currently based in Phoenix Arizona however we are planning to expand in different states.
At moment we are reviewing Jani-King of Phoenix because we had many complaints and me personally I have had my own terrible experiences with them reason why I decided to be the voice of the voiceless as I had many other franchise owners came to me with many complaints and extremely sad story of what they experiences so we are trying to identify if these issues are systematic issues or one off situations so we can inform the attorney general. Please if you have had a bad experiences please feel free to email me at [redacted],you can also submit your concerns on our website franchiseevoices.org.
Many thanks,
Drocelle
surprisingly there are no comments about the hotel franchisors market or in particular Wyndham — especially since Wyndham has so so many lawsuits against them from violations of Sherman Act, Sex Trafficking Cases, etc… any thoughts?