Page 137 - BWM March 2013

March 2013 | Business World Magazine | 137
for the opening. “We assess each situation,
and do all we can to help someone along. If
it’s a brand new franchisee, we want to help
them as long as needed. We’re not one to just
say, ‘Give us the franchise fee. Now, we’ll give
you the manual and good luck. You’re on
your own.’ I have seen that happen to some
and I could name chains that have come and
gone doing things that way, but it isn’t the
way we operate,” says Parmerlee.
Franchisees also benefit from ongoing
support from a district director and market-
ing support froma dedicated staff. Moreover,
all Golden Chick locations benefit from
buying power and Golden Chick’s long es-
tablished relationship with distributors and
suppliers. In fact, the relationship with one
supplier recently provided extra special sup-
port to franchisees. During the remodeling
campaign, beverage partners helped create a
fund to subsidize costs of remodeling.
But regardless of the vendor, contracts are
negotiated on behalf of all locations. And
whereas some franchisors treat these type
of operations as a profit center, at Golden
Chick, savings are passed on to franchisees.
“Sometimes, the right thing to do really is
the right thing to do,” explains Parmerlee.
“Some chains profit from the equipment
they sell to their franchisees. Our approach
is to be on same side as our franchisees, not
to create that sense of mistrust or abuse.”
In that same line of thought, Golden
Chick has some of the lowest royalty rates in
the industry (only four percent). According
to Parmerlee, “If our franchisees are making
money, we’re going to grow faster. We don’t
have to take money out of their pockets to
accomplish that.”
He says such policies have helped Golden
Chick maintain “the best franchisee rela-
tionships in the business.”