I recently noticed a Trade Me advertisement for an Auckland based Provender Franchise, espousing the benefits of joining a Nationwide, professionally run company. Yeah, right!
In 2006 we joined this Franchise, handing over a “non-refundable deposit”, purportedly to cover the costs associated with producing a Franchise Agreement, the standard legal document which, I was informed, was identical to that signed by all Franchisees.
The first suspicion all was not well was when, at my own expense, I spent two or three days in Auckland being “trained”. Training was abysmally poor, to be kind to those involved.
At one stage I was taken aside by the then Sales Manager and told Provender had managed to secure a total of 132 odd customers for me……….. I need not go to find my own customers. The availability was still subject to Provender "taking over" that particular customer base, I was told. This announcement somewhat surprised me as I had paid Provender a significant amount of money to start off with a portfolio of at least 100 customers. From that point on, things went totally downhill, especially once the “take-over” formalities had been completed. The “customer base” consisted of some 130 odd customers serviced under a different banner by an operator outside the main Franchise System. Soon, I found there were some 10 customers serviced by both another Provender Franchisee and myself, operating initially under the “old banner”.
It took nearly 10 months to sort out this mess – with Provender Franchise Management ultimately ruling I had to immediately abandon the “shared sites” in favour of the “long-standing Provender Franchisee”.
I received no compensation for this, except a vague promise some other sites would be given to me at a later date. The impact on my business was quite significant. The stage was set for a show-down…..
Next time: some examples of the Professional Management Support.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
my animals
just a try-out on this blog-thing on a sweltering saturday in christchurch. what else is more appropriate for me than to start writing about the creatures near and dear to me. could write a detailed profile on each but that could soon bore you to tears, there are many around the house, each with their own story to relate!
one, however, must be mentioned: "wee quake".
after the massive 7.1 quake subsided i managed to find a (barely) working flashlight and did the thing you are advised to do by civil defence: go around and switch off all appliances to prevent a fire when power comes back on. rather than being lazy and switch off the lot at the power board, i wandered around the very dark house, keeping what light came from this pen-light torch firmly on the ground in front of me. after checking living room, office, hall, bathroom i entered the second living room and saw the devastation. one tropical fish tank had fallen over, was in shatters and i disconnected its light-unit, filter-pump, heater. suddenly i noticed something small flapping on the totally sodden carpet, underneath the dining table. remember, the pen-light was pretty poor! i took a further look and saw something that resembled a fish lying still. clenched the flash-light between my teeth and gently scooped this creature up, carefully releasing it in the other tank.
given it was very dark and as the power supply was not restored 'till 1 or 1.30 in the afternoon, i had no idea if she had survived, especially not after i had covered the entire tank with blankets and duvets to keep the temperature in that tank at a level which would not be detrimental to the many tropical fish in it.
i was totally delighted this creature had survived her ordeal when i removed the improvised insulation later in the afternoon. she was swimming, obviously hungry and generally doing well. since, she has given birth (plattys are live bearers) and from her entire "litter" one remains: wee quake. against all odds it survived not only the quake, also the numerous natural predators (angels) in the tank.
her mother has since passed away: too much damage was done to her when her tank crashed and she had to spent some 10 or more minutes on sodden carpet.
a remarkable story of survival.
one, however, must be mentioned: "wee quake".
after the massive 7.1 quake subsided i managed to find a (barely) working flashlight and did the thing you are advised to do by civil defence: go around and switch off all appliances to prevent a fire when power comes back on. rather than being lazy and switch off the lot at the power board, i wandered around the very dark house, keeping what light came from this pen-light torch firmly on the ground in front of me. after checking living room, office, hall, bathroom i entered the second living room and saw the devastation. one tropical fish tank had fallen over, was in shatters and i disconnected its light-unit, filter-pump, heater. suddenly i noticed something small flapping on the totally sodden carpet, underneath the dining table. remember, the pen-light was pretty poor! i took a further look and saw something that resembled a fish lying still. clenched the flash-light between my teeth and gently scooped this creature up, carefully releasing it in the other tank.
given it was very dark and as the power supply was not restored 'till 1 or 1.30 in the afternoon, i had no idea if she had survived, especially not after i had covered the entire tank with blankets and duvets to keep the temperature in that tank at a level which would not be detrimental to the many tropical fish in it.
i was totally delighted this creature had survived her ordeal when i removed the improvised insulation later in the afternoon. she was swimming, obviously hungry and generally doing well. since, she has given birth (plattys are live bearers) and from her entire "litter" one remains: wee quake. against all odds it survived not only the quake, also the numerous natural predators (angels) in the tank.
her mother has since passed away: too much damage was done to her when her tank crashed and she had to spent some 10 or more minutes on sodden carpet.
a remarkable story of survival.
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