HOLLYWOOD TANS FRANCHISE COMPLAINTS

[DakotaFL]

Be careful what you say about H to the T!

[megatanman]

Originally Posted by PatParadise

I feel sorry for the Salons that Franchise. If you have access to $250,000 you sure as **** do not need a Franchise to get you started. I wish I met the owner that purchased three Pl--- What Ever's. I could have saved him at least $75,000 - $100,000 in up-front costs for each salon. Franchise's typically charge 5 - 7% fees on all sales forever. I cannot imagine being forced to purchase all materials from one source and have every advertisement and price be approved in writing. It is foolish to pay a $1500 - $3000 more for each tanning bed simply to have a custom sticker and label pasted on a standard ETS tanning bed.

I cannot even imagine opening a franchise salon and then have two fancier salons open up practically across the street and then undercut your prices, which has happened in the nearby city of Blaine. Franchise tanning salons are hardly like being a Franchised Hamburger restaurant that are the closest thing to guaranteed success. Tannng salons are high risk and if you have the cash to start a viable business you do not need someone adding markup to everything your buy or sell. One Franchise salon owner I met a few years ago could not even purchase Wolff lamps for their tanning beds. Kind of hard to compete with top prices and tanning lamps printed with made in Asia. Believe me customers are smart enough to read the labels on your tanning lamps.

I am a licensed engineer and know many architects. For the $25,000 to $30,000 franchise fee I could provide certifed P.E. and Architect drawings ready to bid and build out a salon. These drawings would even include wiring diagrams down to all the cables and parts needed to connect to a T-Max Manager. The crazy part is you still pay Architect and Engineer Fees these but they hiddened in the salon build-out costs when a Franchise serves as a middle man. My wife can load Sun Touch into a computer, program all your service costs and connect cash register, credit card machines, and program tanning beds in a matter of a couple of hours. T-max can be connected even to older beds with their T-3a Timer and multiple bed manufactures can all operate on the T-Max System. Franchise businesses only make money for the Franchise, PatParadise, (IMWW)

Thats the difference from someone who has spent the time researching a potential investment and someone who likes to tan and thinks it would be fun to own a tanning salon.

We did ours for approx 70k with 11 units and doubled that in sales only 3 years later.
Like opening a mega salon with 20 + beds and no one to fill them.Its ok to set-up the infrastructure needed to utilize more equipment,but theres no reason to run out and buy it right away.

	Superior UV

[unity]

The only thing I could ever see myself purchase franchise rights to would be a food facility.

Tanning is a connivence. If someone moves, they find a new salon. We are like laundry mats. Plenty around but people don't travel too far to find a good one.

If you have a map and could address your entire customer base, something thats doable in Google no doubt, I bet most are within a mile or two of your salon.

[lindaman]

ROSEFARM, been there, done that, and WON! PM ME and I will fill you in.

[PatParadise]

OK: Here is advice on how you might legally get out of a Franchise Contract but it will require a lawyer. Your legal claims would have to be "False Representation", breach of implied warranty and other potential legal claims. I have reviewed a number of Franchise Web Sites and it is my opinion claims they make are either not truthfull or misleading. A common claim is that the Franchise will provide a market survey and sales projections for you to base your investment into their plan. In most cases Franchises cherry pick success stories from a few of their successful customers and then use this data as a basis for providing charts that have no meaning to your potential market and customers. The fees for this service can be $25,000 to $50,000 and many times the money is basically just pocketed.

A true market survey is an expensive endeavor. An indepentent Market Survey company would send out 20,000 to 30,000 survey forms to every resident within a five to ten mile radius of your proposed location. The survey will ask questions do you tan, where to you tan, what do you pay for tanning, what times of year to you tan, and would you tan at a new salon. Short of obtaining data bases for all salons in the area this is the only way to determine what the market actually is in the area where your salon will be located. Market surveys can be by phone, include e-mail, or post office mail response. A true area market survey would provide real results. If only fifty people responded to a survey of 20,000 - 30,000, you would know the area of your proposed salon is an uphill battle. Note you can perform a market survey of your area and use the results in court as evidence against information the Franchise provided to you.

You could almost bet the house the Franchise did not perform this type of survey and that their projected numbers would not have much standing in a court of law. Second, franchises claim they have expertise to set up your salon, service the beds, provide tech support. In Minnesota there are only three companies Solar Equation, Don Nelson Marketing, and Tan Me that actually sell and service beds. Try googling tanning beds service in Minnesota I could only find two other independent service technicians This means, the claims by Franchise's that they will service and provide tech support is not true. The Franchise is merely going to google the Internet to find someone to fix your bed and then charge you for a telephone call. Where you stand a chance in the court room is by claiming that all the services promised were false and misleading. Your ability to get out of the contract is by demonstrating the Franchise did act in good faith and provided false and misleading information, which you relied in signing a contract.

My family has ten years experience in two salons with ten years of computer data base information of these locations ten miles apart. I also had access to another salon data-base we were planning on purchasing. The average sales per person for our salon last year was $4.61 per person. The two salons we owned, and or managed have averaged between a low of $3.83 per person per year to a high of $4.61 per person. Tanning numbers have varied from a low of 13,000 sessions per year to a high of 44,000 per year for these two salons. Salons in our area, those who are willing to express opinions average about $4.00 - $6.00 sales per person. A few upscale salons, and I mean a few only, average $8.00 - $9.00 a session. An average salon will sell 14,000 - 20,000 sessions a year based on today's market in the Minneapolis St. Paul and surrounding areas. I have sat outside several Franchise salons for two or three hours, numerous times and counted their tanners during summer and fall months and can almost guarantee their tanning numbers are 15-25% less than our Circle Pines Salon which has average 23,000 sessions 2006 and 2007.

So here is the advice, salons with 10 - beds or less will have annual sales ranging $130,000 - $180,000, and this will never pay back the initial investment of salon costs of $300,000 - $400,000 unless you are really lucky. There are two avenues, use a lawyer to get out of the exclusive contract and change the name of your salon. Plan B go after the Franchise for mis-respresentation and hope they have deep pockets and you can find a good honest attorney.

We send out 75,000 - 100,000 ads every month and sometimes during summer and obtain less than 10- 15 coupons a month. Even in the best months we do not exceed 60 coupons a month.
I bet no Franchise could or would ever provide this information. The second salon we manage hardly advertises and after four years the salon we own is 25% ahead of the one we used to partially own but now only manage. Our Circle Pines Salon is in a good area and we have seen four salons go under, and our biggest competitor now trying to sell their salon for $170,000 - $200,000 without much luck. I would believe this salon probably cost $400,000 for 16 tanning beds and space finish-out back in 1999. Price wars from competition has made this business a crap shoot.

Another approach would be to get a number of other Franchisee's to pool their money and mass attack the Franchise.

I hope this information may help those salon owners who feel trapped into a contract that is constantly losing money, PatParadise, (IMWW)

[tanstar]

There are very few good franchises out there, The intentions might start that way but greed often prevails. As a franchisee you are taking all the risk, franchise fee, Rent, loan, and long term commitment. and if you go under the franchisor can just sell another franchise to replace you. We started in April with no experience in the tanning business and not that we know everything, it realy doesn't take a rocket scientist to get going. Anyone who would consider paying all the extra money on a franchised tanning salon must just have money to throw away.

	First Merchant Funding

[rosefarm]

Originally Posted by sunsally

And I don't remember exactly, hence my comments as a general "be careful out there".

Regardless -- only Chunn has any worries about if the board is sued (and he isn't worried). But Rosefarm and others have themselves to look after. I recall another poster from another franchise making other "true statements" -- and it caused some ruckus. And "Bruce", as noted - lost a TON in his case.

I don't normally post this many times on one topic. Bottom line remains the same - be very careful when making specific comments where you name names, companies, titles etc in any sort of public forum. The exact language you used can be picked apart - and be shown to be libelous. Not everyone is the best or most careful writer -- a choice of a word can get you in trouble.

More importantly - this avenue is good for "venting" - but nothing else. Call the sources I listed in my above post if you feel you have legal claims. Only they can help that process. If they feel you have a suit, they will go through their channels and methods to find "support" for your case from other potential or current franchisees. You don't have to do that legwork.

Best of luck

Hello Sally
I see that you work for "HIGHLINE CAPITOL" that works for HT!!! We may have some intreasting information about your company doing business with HT. I will post that information as soon as I can verify it to be true. Should be very soon! I am waiting for the approval from the Attorney from a previous Ht salon owner.

Sorry Ann,
Seems that you are becoming so defensive! I am posting the genuineness and I am not afraid to let other salon owners know the truth! I will continue to post only that information that can be legally and factually proved and hopefully help any other future salon owners from making the same mistakes that our group has made! I am not posting to create a fighting match with the members nor to create problems for myself or dissatisfied HT salon owners. I am simply stating the facts. I will take the time to give you a phone call you Ann. Hopefully this will clear the air.

[sunsally]

Originally Posted by rosefarm

Hello Sally
I see that you work for "HIGHLINE CAPITOL" that works for HT!!! We may have some intreasting information about your company doing business with HT. I will post that information as soon as I can verify it to be true. Should be very soon! I am waiting for the approval from the Attorney from a previous Ht salon owner.

Rosefarm -

I have worked for Highline Capital since April, and Highline used to do some leases for Hollywood Tans - along with about every other tanning salon in the industry! We leased over $10M last year alone.

That said - I've never done a Hollywood Tans lease, nor has Highline Capital taken on any new business from them at least since I've been with the company.

Rosefarm - if you do a search on my posts, you'll see I have been on Tantalk for over 3 years, making 2000+ posts helping salon owners. I own a salon, have sold equipment and did and do consulting with salon owners. I have worked with other salon owners in franchise situations (including helping them prepare for suits against their franchise) as well as helping salons who were interested in becoming a franchisor (so studied the franchise laws).

My posts to you have NOTHING to do with who I work for or who you were complaining about - and EVERYTHING to do with telling you to be careful what you write on the internet for the very reasons I listed.

That said - I take what you have written as a threat, and be very aware of how seriously I take that. I will forward this link to the Highline Capital attorney and if you choose to post anymore, I will forward that as well. Your IP address can be traced and of course the other information you have written can be used to identify who you are should you post anything that would be considered defamatory.

I'll say it again. It sounds like you feel you have a verifiable legal dispute with a company with whom you wanted to franchise a salon. The appropriate avenue for that is through the legal entities that exist monitoring franchises, as well as an attorney. Posting anonymous vents and threats on a website will not get your issues resolved - but they may open up new issues for you.

And my name is not Sally - it is Ann. Feel free to call me if you want to discuss this further.

877-422-4100 x 250

	Superior UV

[Mr Derf]

HT lies????? Say it isn't so.

I'm sure the new owners are just as bad as the Venutos. Why do you think it was sold? This industry started a backwards trend 4 years ago. That didn't stop HT from selling and building more salons almost on top of each other. They kill franchisees with giant salons, high rent, tons of bad HT built equipment and an expensive year round ad campaign.

Scum of the earth. **** Hollywood Tans.

	Superior UV

[bronze it]

smack, smack , pow .you just got 2 black eyes rosefarm lol