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chipsaway franchise

I'm thinking of investing redundancy cash into a franchise - chipsaway is one that has come up as appearing to have a good track record.

If anyone has experience (good or bad) of them as a franchise operation etc I would appreciate a private message.

Thanks for any help.....this is a big decision for me.

Riccy
SlickRic
«13456

Comments

  • colino
    colino Posts: 5,059 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Frankly the motor trade is in the doldrums right now and the regular users (it's the trade that keep a chipsaway franchisees diary full) will already, in most cases, have their guy that comes in and immaculates the cars. Equally, on the private side, while a lot of us predicted that people would hang on to their old cars and wring the last bit of value out of them hasn't seen an upsurge in repair of older cars. Most people are hanging on to their old cars for longer, but they don't appear to be looking after them any better.
    Better to have an appointment with local Business Gateway Adviser or equivalent (an adviser, not the schooly with the fresh MBA) to discuss a business future.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,819 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Personally i would startup on my own and get the word out that your cheaper / better.

    Without the franchise fees to pay. Be your own boss.

    On the plus side you could also do other work if its slack.

    My mate was a mobile mechanic for a while, He got chatty to the parts shop and did a deal where they supplied him with parts on a sale or return basis. Dozen batteries to carry about with him and a few basics.

    When he sold one he went back and got another. Good discount too.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • Chippie
    Chippie Posts: 96 Forumite
    Interesting response!
    colino wrote: »
    Frankly the motor trade is in the doldrums right now and the regular users (it's the trade that keep a chipsaway franchisees diary full) will already, in most cases, have their guy that comes in and immaculates the cars.

    Don't know what you mean by "immaculates" but on what do you base this assumption?
    colino wrote: »
    Equally, on the private side, while a lot of us predicted that people would hang on to their old cars and wring the last bit of value out of them hasn't seen an upsurge in repair of older cars. Most people are hanging on to their old cars for longer, but they don't appear to be looking after them any better.

    Where is the evidence for this?
    colino wrote: »
    Better to have an appointment with local Business Gateway Adviser or equivalent (an adviser, not the schooly with the fresh MBA) to discuss a business future.

    Surely this would be pointless until the OP has decided what business he wishes to go into. How can someone advise him if he doesn't know what he wants to do?
  • Chippie
    Chippie Posts: 96 Forumite
    Personally i would startup on my own and get the word out that your cheaper / better.

    Without the franchise fees to pay. Be your own boss.

    I think any start-up that bases it's business model on being "cheaper" is doomed from the start. Better is fine, but if you're better than the competition, why would you need to be cheaper? Also, have you started up a business on your own as well as a franchise? If you haven't, how do you compare the two and know the comparative benefits if you haven't done both yourself? Just wondering?
    On the plus side you could also do other work if its slack.

    Nothing like starting out with a positive attitude is there? :D
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,597 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper

    Personally i would startup on my own and get the word out that your cheaper / better.

    And what would you say the O/Ps odds of success are with absolutely no experience in this field, no training, no idea of what tools and specialist equipment to use and no customers?
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,597 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    colino wrote: »

    Frankly the motor trade is in the doldrums right now and the regular users (it's the trade that keep a chipsaway franchisees diary full) will already, in most cases, have their guy that comes in and immaculates the cars. Equally, on the private side, while a lot of us predicted that people would hang on to their old cars and wring the last bit of value out of them hasn't seen an upsurge in repair of older cars. Most people are hanging on to their old cars for longer, but they don't appear to be looking after them any better.

    Have to say, this is pretty much exactly what i'm seeing in the motor trade, and its my perception too of whats happening with cars people currently own - less servicing, maintenance, pre-emptive maintenance, and basically driving them until they face a massive bill.
  • The one worry I've always had about Franchised businesses is why they figure selling the business is better business than the actual business, if you know what I mean.

    If Chips Away (or any other franchise) is so good, why not operate that business instead of selling it to someone else to operate.

    That big wedge of money that automatically goes to the Franchise before you've even earned a penny is a big turn off for me as well.
    "There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock
  • Chippie
    Chippie Posts: 96 Forumite
    The one worry I've always had about Franchised businesses is why they figure selling the business is better business than the actual business, if you know what I mean.

    If Chips Away (or any other franchise) is so good, why not operate that business instead of selling it to someone else to operate.

    Without wishing to sound patronising, because that certainly isn't what I want to do, I think you need more of a grasp on how business works to be able to understand this concept. Some businesses lend themselves very easily to the franchise model and when they do, developing a network of owner/operator/investors is a far more solid way to expand a network. Not always clear to see why, when you haven't been involved on a personal level, but IMO it's a no brainer when the nature of the business lends itself to franchising.
    That big wedge of money that automatically goes to the Franchise before you've even earned a penny is a big turn off for me as well.

    Probably a smaller wedge in almost every case than establishing a brand from scratch. It would cost much more to expand your own brand to the level of the brand you are buying into with a franchise, and doing so whilst still wet behind the ears in business ownership would be too much for most people in my experience.
  • Chippie
    Chippie Posts: 96 Forumite
    edited 24 May 2013 at 11:17AM
    motorguy wrote: »
    Have to say, this is pretty much exactly what i'm seeing in the motor trade, and its my perception too of whats happening with cars people currently own - less servicing, maintenance, pre-emptive maintenance, and basically driving them until they face a massive bill.

    How this manifests itself to individual businesses depends partly on CRM and developing a large, loyal customer database. I have found the opposite to be true TBH, it's just that getting customers through the door requires different skills in a recession than out of recession. You just have to find what works, then do it and fine tune it until you get the right results. Business is still there in abundance, taking advantage of that depends on embracing a certain amount of change and trying new things. As they say, if you're standing still in business you're actually going backwards. :D

    Colino's assertion that it's the trade that keeps a franchisee's diary full however could not be further from the truth, especially for those that are truly entrepreneurial, and for those that aren't, well they probably should be employed rather than self-employed IMO.
  • Chippie
    Chippie Posts: 96 Forumite
    I'm thinking of investing redundancy cash into a franchise - chipsaway is one that has come up as appearing to have a good track record.

    If anyone has experience (good or bad) of them as a franchise operation etc I would appreciate a private message.

    Thanks for any help.....this is a big decision for me.

    Riccy

    How do I PM you?? :rotfl:
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