Darin and Dream Dinners Under the Lights
Hitting the road to rally the troops, quell fears of lawsuit mania, spread the word of marketing genius and lay the foundation so everyone can once again make money in this fantastic industry, Darin and the rest of the Dream Dinners roadies hit the road and headed out into the countryside to visit all their fans. So how did Darin and the gang fair? Was their inspiration, perspiration or plain frustration? Will all of this be followed up with even more litigation?
Hip boots at the ready! Let’s have all the details! 
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March 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I am owned by a Dream Dinners. I have not had my meeting yet but will soon and can not wait. Here we go again, since Darin arrived and took Stephanie’s (Steponme) place, she has decided to do what she does best “DESTROY”. It appears with nowhere else to go; she is tearing apart food development. I mean if you disagree with Steponme you are no longer employed, Goodbye Roger, Chef Kristine. Food Development now is Steponme and Tim “My family would never do this” Blaney. I know there are not many people left who remember Food Development under Steponme, IT WAS A HORRIBLE. I can not wait to hear her tell me that the new flavor of Kool aid is not the same old flavor.
When Darin arrived, I thought Great someone in Seattle has found a pair and can stand up to Steponme. You already know that Brooke’s real job was being Tina’s pair, so she could stand up to Steponme. Sorry back to Darin, I thought he has gotten in the same boat as us” WRONG”. He is available all week just not in the office, still has a job at One Acorn. I guess for him if this Dream Dinners thing doesn’t work out he can still go tell others how to be successful. How can Darin just stand around and watch Steponme destroy the most important department we have, that’s right he is not around? It also seems that the pair he had can found in the jar on Steponme’s desk right next to Vern’s and Scott’s. Why not let Steponme destroy Marketing, she can’t do that because the only person left there is Steponme’s best friend Melamine Sherri. Can anyone guess how much that cost us, maybe the $500,000.00 for the Weight Watchers deal. I guess Home Office is right Weight Watchers needs us a whole lot more than we need them. Thanks to all Darin’s hard work we are having an Anniversary sale and giving away Melamine. We are celebrating the 6 year anniversary of Steponme’s big deception. Dream Dinners has lost some really good people and you can trace it directly to Steponme, who can not get out of her own way. I am not referring to Mindy (who wanted to be in charge so bad) who until the moment she left was handing out big glasses of Kool Aid to good folks. I sat in your classes and I listened to your BS, I thought you were full of it then and know you are now. You should be ashamed of yourself, you knew, you were inside; you kept preaching the Dream Dinners Gospel until THEY let you go. You did not leave on your own for a higher propose, and now you want to profit from the very folks you helped sell down the river. I hope you see that you were a big part of this whole deception and not a victim.
There is one name missing from the lawsuit that is Vern. Mister site selection the man can sell batteries, but does not know jack about finding sites.
I would like to recommend a book for all to read it is called The Sociopath Next Door or if you own a Dream Dinners “When Your Zee is founded by a Sociopath”.
This was not meant to offend or hurt anyone it is my reality and a vent. I am so looking forward to my roundtable!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Wow, a sound like your name is Alice??? What’s wrong, did YOU get FIRED? I do agree with you, StepOnMe is a total Freak! Darin is her Puppet. But the rest of the employees should not be held at the same level as fault. They were TRYING to do there Job. Mindy is not profiteering on the Owners account, she isn’t even apart of the Kitchen Coalition. She is trying to be a “Fix It Fox” and sorry Mindy, You can’t fix this one, and no amount of innovation can touch this Industry. Why? DREAM DINNERS CANT THINK LIKE YOU! My advice to Mindy is move on with your life, continue to think outside of the box, and one day WE will see you on Oprah!
StepOnMe can see me in COURT-The Bitch from the West is going down!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Wow - that was fun to read and brought the best smile to my face! Thanks! And for the record - I agree wholeheartedly!
And yes - she will be seeing me in court too! That is if she doesn’t walk out like she usually does. LOL!
Why sue? Because it’s just plain wrong what they did and even now, what they are continuing to do. Think about it. The question shouldn’t be why sue? It should be why not?!?!
March 13th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Dear Drowning in Kool Aid,
LOVE IT!
I haven’t attended mine yet either. Want to sit together???
Sincerely,
Pissed off, tired and broke.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Dear Meal Assembly Bloogers and Dream Dinners Franchise Owners Past and Present:
Yesterday was my last day at Dream Dinners. I take a lot of pride in the work that I did for home office and for franchise owners. These are difficult times for many people involved in this industry, but these are not issues that are unique to this industry. Many businesses experience the same struggles and rewards that we’ve all been through. I am a professional business woman. I gave Dream Dinners three years of my 22 year career. What I do know is that I would never publicly criticize any individual whether a home office employee or a Franchisee. There is nothing to gain by slinging mud and I won’t participate in it and I’d rather my name not be mentioned again by bloggers who are trying to guess who is posting inflammatory messages about certain individuals.
I wish you all the best in life!
Sincerely,
Alice
March 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Alice,
Thank you for posting. I’m not sure you realize this but because you did post you have “participated” in it.
Yes, you gave 3 years of your 22 year career. Did you lose money during your three years with DD? Were you still able to pay your bills? Were you able to provide for your family? Were you able to spend time with your family? Were you given a nice severance package?
These are things that we as owners were not and are not able to take part in.
Instead, we have spent our DD career begging for help from the Marketing Department. We asked for ads that would actually explain how DD works. Not concept-concrete. We were charged money for making a change to an ad that would better serve our community. We were continually threatened to not reach beyond the “all mighty marketing” dept for cheaper rates on postcards, flyers and promotional items such as t-shirts. We were given notices that our agreement would be in default if we ran a commercial that was not provided by your dept. We were charged $500 to add a taggable to the end of your generic commercials.
Under your marketing leadership, you purchased 2500 cases of the melanine tray sets(6 per case) and then set to marketing a “wonderful” opportunity last year for people who came 3 months in a row, we would give them plastic. Was there ever follow up on that? How did it go? How many stores were actually able to give all of their sets under the original recommendations?
Now as a final act you have sent each store open, 24 sets of these to use as an April promotion. 205 stores currently open–all received 24 sets of these.
Let’s do the math shall we?
2500 cases Alice. Currently we are being charged a “blow out” price of $20 per case. (Again, 6 sets per case). Let’s say of that $20, your actual production price is $10. Yes, that is a 50% mark up for the marketing dept to take.
2500 cases X $10 cases = $25,000.
Now, usually marketing makes only a 10-15% mark up so the amount spent on these to produce is probably even more.
But giving the benefit of the doubt, I’ll go with $25,000.
So, $25,000. That doesn’t even include the amount of time taken to come up with the idea, proto type, marketing flyer, re-doing the cups because the red wasn’t right.
Then, shipping. These cases are huge and heavy. How much did it cost to ship these last year and now this year to 205 locations?
And don’t get me started on the wonderful partnerships that have occurred under your leadership. Hmmm….the Liz Claiborne Mag? That really sent guests into try us out. And then of course, Body and Soul, Southern Living. They have all been wonderful for building business.
Now, we have a wonderful partnership with Liberty Mutual. I can SOOOO see the connection between making frozen meals and insurance!!! How silly of me to even question it!?!?
Not to mention the fact that we turned down the partnership with Disney that SS took instead. What ever happened to that partnership with Coke that was supposed to run last summer? And of course the all illusive WW contract.
Maybe you “would never publicly criticize any individual whether a home office employee or a Franchisee” because you haven’t lost everything. What you have done is misspent and misused our $800/month marketing.
205 stores X $800 =$164,000/month. What? Not everyone is current on paying so the amount actually brought in is lower. Imagine. Don’t know why considering how we have such wonderful marketing tools at our disposal. Can’t be marketing so it must fall back on, as it always does, to the owners.
“There is nothing to gain by slinging mud”. I don’t know about that. I’m feeling pretty good right now.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
WoooooooooHooooooooooo! You Rock Guest!
I am in total agreement with you!!!!!
Thanks for this lovely post!
I sure hope Sherri reads this, wait, I dont think she knows how…
March 16th, 2008 at 9:05 am
“…who are trying to guess who is posting inflammatory messages about certain individuals.”
Thanks for giving us the heads up on the fact that HO is reading what we are saying and playing the “Name that Disgruntled Owner” game.
It is so nice to know they care.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I am not going to be critical of HO individuals BUT….
Alice you held a position of authority and your actions are subject to question and have been subject to question. I am glad that you will not participate in mud slinging but that is to be expected. The home office and its employees are perfect and never make a mistake.
Why then is Darin preaching to let the field do what works for their business? I guess the HO could learn from its zees. Unfortunately they are never in touch with them. Physically or via email. We just fund the salaries!
Oh wait a new Regional Manager is on the payroll and yes its true she has been on the payroll a week and still not contacted/emailed any of the franchises that pay her salary. Why does that not surprise me?? HELLO? Still doing things the old way. Bummer new management but the same mentality! FAC keep up the positive face on the business.
Alice, Hopefully you are enjoying your “package”. Do you get free DD for life? Enjoy your summer with the plastic beverage set and salad bowl. Do you have a beach bag. Oh good you are all set! Perhaps you have a cooler for those lazy beach days. We can sell DD at the beach. What a waste of $$.
I have enough toothpaste and carnation instant breakfast to get through one more month. Good thing at least I know I dont have to worry about purchasing those for my family. We can survive on those staples for another month. What crap! Oh and how about the brochures that encouraged people to eat organic! That was priceless…. My recycler loves me. I constantly fill up the bin with crappy brochures from the HO. Thanks Alice but your services will not be needed. Great idea we will take it to the management team and get back to you. NEVER. How many meetings you guys have a month? Hopefully Rebecca Crowley is going with you! When is the last time her services were rendered? Need a press release write it, tell her where to fax it and she will take care of it. Why bother you just did it yourself.
Good luck in your future endeavors and hopefully you can sleep at night knowing you made a difference in our life and families.
Read it and weap HO. Same crap different day. Thanks for the invigorating speech. At the end of the day nothing ever changes. Good luck on the rest of the road show. Lets hear the tough questions now.
I put out a dare to the zees for the next show… take some Koolaid and ask Darin and Stephanie what flavor is it this week? Want a drink? Ask tough questions. Nothing will get answered!
FF
March 17th, 2008 at 2:14 am
You mean that Home Office is reading this…OMG I better stop posting before something bad happens to me. That’s right it already has, I bought a DD zee from Steponme. Poor little old miss guided Alice, you are so right; we owners are so ungrateful and bad. Does Steponme have everyone at HO practice for 30 minutes everyday repeating “it’s the owners fault”? Unlike you Alice, I do not believe that we should just keep bending over and taking it from Steponme and the rest of the HO staff. Since HO is reading this I would like to say hello to
could someone please read this to Sherri)
Steponme
Darwood
Tinatanic
Melamine Sheri
where’s your store Vern
fattire Scott
The New Legal Team (bet they are busy)
I know that mud slinging is not productive unless you are running for president or are the founder of DD. I do it for therapy, don’t you think it is much better than going POSTAL on their asses. I wish everyone well in whatever their future holds for them. I will not be posting anymore since my last day at DD was yesterday ( wish I could say that). My shrink, another of the many gifts DD has given me says I need to stop this behavior before it becomes complete rage. He says I need to find a more productive release for my anger. He also says that my family and I have the whitest teeth….So THANKS ALICE.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:45 am
We have had a new regional manager for a week now? That must be why I am now turning a profit!
She is so good HO doesn’t even need to let us know.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:27 am
ya know, the more I think about Alice posting, my thoughts get crazier. What nerve of her coming here to defend her fat ass?
What is she looking for a job now? She is so marketable, I am just sure she will get a job in know time…
but besides all of that bullshit…
We have a NEW Regional Manager???? Did I miss an email? WTF?
Does the HO continue to think I am in 1st grade???
Thanks Darin for re-lighting my Dream, just another reason to proceed with my claim!
March 18th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
There is a new DD regional manager who is a former owner from central Ohio.
March 18th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
oh great, just what we need to hear. wonder if she closed her doors like the gal in TX and is now working.
gotta love the fact they hire failed store owners to help give me ideas on bringing customers through my door.
here’s a thought, maybe they owe back royalities and now they are working for FREE jsut like Darin Leonard….
Fuckin’ unbelievable
March 18th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
So they hired someone from Ohio to be a Regional Manager.
John A is supposed to be the Mid-East RM. Does this mean the new person, who lives in Ohio is going to take care of the East Coast? Huh?
Anyone have a name of the new Regional Manager? Have they only announced this to those people in her region?
March 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I thought John A. was demoted to a regional manager just so he can have his insurance until his baby is born. is that true?
such class, Here is a guy that has a MBA and while he is married knocks up this girlfriend.
is Ellen still there?
nuthin like airing out stale laundry for the world to read….too bad Sherri cant read!
March 19th, 2008 at 9:33 am
From the FAC minutes posted on fadmin.
Updates from John:
• Hired Val Delaney, a former store owner, as the East Coast Regional Manager.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:24 am
It is Val Delaney and she had a successful store that she sold. It is currently still in operation with new owners. What I think is funny is that I heard she sold due to the incompetence of DD and the strict rules that she wasn’t allowed to bend to keep up. I believe she wanted to sell retail and was threatened.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Wooo horsey! She was THREATENED because she wanted to sell RETAIL, and HO would not LET her?
Ass the disfunction continues…
And now SHE is a Regional Manager?
What is considered a successful store- All the ones that I thought were succesful are closed?
WTF?
March 19th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
My understanding is that she was number 2 in the country for some time.
Yes, I thought myself it was odd that she would want to work for DD corporate.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:01 am
It doesn’t strike me as odd. Not at all. I know plenty of previous owners. Sadly, most have gone through bankrupcy. Nevertheless, all of them *still* share a common passion for this Idea. Of course ALL of them are incredibly bitter at the HO… But they just can’t shake their enthusiasm for this concept.
It seems that Val had excellent timing, and sold at the right time. Who of us wouldn’t love to have had the same forsight and opportunity?
I’ve met Val and I can say that I trust her quite a bit more than anyone else from HO. At least she knows the reality, and dysfunction of being a Zee in this system. Unlike so many at HO, she understands that *profit* DOES NOT come with revenues if you’re constantly GIVING AWAY crazy discounts (Scrips, endless Sneak Peeks, etc). Jeesh.
Plus, unlike most of us - I am assuming that she will actually get PAID. Again, who of us wouldn’t trade places for THAT!? Hard to even imagine after the past 18 months…
DiscouragedDDOwner. You and I have had a similar journey. For what it’s worth, I’d rather have someone who’s been in our shoes and can recognize a bad idea from HO than someone with no MAK experience, a little retail background, who can only recite the HO “blame script” at us without understanding what it’s like to have EVERYTHING on the line.
I’m in a rough spot. I’m discouraged. And I’m not expecting (though I’d love) a miracle. But I can tell you that I’d rather have Darin and Val in HO, than Brooke and two of our last three coaches!
Having said that… you’ve had a lot of solid points on Stephanie and Alice. What a mess.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:24 am
WOW if you all spent as much time marketing as you have belly aching you might be profitable. We just took enough people from Simple Suppers they closed yesterday. Look out Super Suppers your next!
Alice was very nice to us but I didnt expect her to grow MY DD I need to build my own. During training I noticed several things. Tina is cute, Steponme as you so lovingly call her started something great (drinks to much wine) but give her credit for building to where they are. Her excitement hooked you didnt it? Put that excitement into your store, quit waiting for the handout and someone to blame for your inability.I also noticed that there seemed to be alot of eggshells on the floor, but several genuin people. The one that impresed me the most was trainer Doug. Straight forward and honest, a real stand up guy.
What do you all expect from HO? Do you think Mc Donalds CEO would come out and hold your hand. How about GM? When do you think the last time was the CEO visited your local Saturn store to help with their day to day?
Yes I would like to see more national adds, better video and radio for us to use. After all I thought that was what the $800 a month was for. I hope Darin will get away from the lovey dovey adds and get something with more Zap.
Untill then I will continue with my own marketing and take full advantage of the tools avalible to me, Plastic dishes and toothpast included. When I hand out the dishes I’ll have a pretty smile.
No franchise is perfect and the market changes constantly YOU have to do YOUR homework and stay out in front. Stop working in the business and work the business. What your doing is hurting all of us who accept the fact that there are risks in all we do, Crossing the street or opening a DD. Your giveing the rest of us bad press and more hurdles to overcome and the competators more ammo to use against us. Bet you all vote for Hillary, or are you wanting someone else to do that for you to?
So change your pads ladys, Guys turn in the panties for boxers, grow some balls and Know that life isnt fair, stop making it harder for the rest of us and MOVE ON!
OOPS! STILL GROWING MY DD
March 20th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Dear Wrenchspin -
Unfortunately, since you have no empathy for those that have lost everything, I find it completely misguided that you would even ask for empathy for your poor situation of life being harder on you. Ain’t gonna happen … people are talking now and telling the truth of their situations and I for one say “It is about time!”
March 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Dear Wrenchspin,
Well, that was certainly a vulgar post all the way around. Bashing home office and your fellow franchisees out of one side of your mouth and praising home office out of the other, that’s quite a skill set.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:59 am
At this point I would assume Darin has been able to get together with quite a few owners and while toothpaste and face cream (not sure the MA connection, but whatever) may not be bringing customers to the door, have these get togethers produced tangible results?
· Do you have a checklist to take back to your store that you can implement?
· Does Dream Dinners have a list of action items they are working on?
· Is there a timeline in place for resolving issues raised?
· Is there a timeline for placement of national ads and where those ads will be place?
· Where issues regarding the lawsuit addressed and answered?
· Has the franchise slowed or stopped it sale of new franchises so it can address the needs of current owners?
· Was a plan laid out on how Dream Dinners will compete directly with Super Suppers and Dinner by Design?
· Were issues regarding the current marketing strategy (free trinkets and goodies) answered and addressed?
I’m just a curious onlooker but it seems there would be a lot to discuss at a meeting like this, I wonder how much of it got any attention.
Inquiring minds want to know…
March 20th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Wrenchspin,
I have some basic questions that come to mind after reading your post.
Are you profitable?
How long have you been open?
What homework to stay out front are we to do?
Until regionals we were told not to assemble, sell premade, market with our own ads etc… We were told if we did we would be breaking agreement. Curious about what marketing you have been doing on your own that was within the agreement and helped you to turn a profit.
Thank you,
Curious
March 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I’m guessing Wrenchspin is an HO’er who tried to sound like a zee. I could do that too.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Wrenchspin, found your posting very interesting. Two thirds of the comments sounded as though you had used your brain and thought your opinions through. The last third must have come out of your ass since they totally devalued the first part of the posting. Why the male and female references? Why would you assume Hillary is my choice? No I don’t need anyone to do my voting I am able to sign my own name. Do they accept an X on your ballot? I certainly hope so. By the way, giving has no e but genuine and toothpaste each have one at the end. Competitors has an i between the t’s, not an e. But then again you probably used your quota in the word giveing. Too is the correct way to end your Hillary comment and the plural of lady is ladies. Better use spell check next time if you expect people to take your posting seriously.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:28 am
What a poorly constructed and misguided post by Wrench. I won’t cover all the comments specifically, but comparing MAKs to McDonalds? Get a clue. Are you aware of the % of MAKs that have/are closing? No one is looking to have their hand held…we are looking for a business model that works most of the time. Is that reasonable? You really believe all these MAKs that are in trouble are owned by idiots with no self motivation? What color is the sky in your world? You’ve gotta be a ZOR. If not, go apply as you have all the qualifications. I’d recommend STU as you and Keri would surely hit it off…she would say “You get it!”. Read her blog to understand. But, oh that’s right, they are laying off and not hiring. Nevermind.
Lastly, the comment about voting for Hillary is just plain stupid.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Seriously, any new ideas from the Dream Dinners camp? Summer is usually a rough couple of months anyway, were there any good ideas offered on how to make the most of it?
April 1st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Wrechspin…you are in denial. I was one of the original store owners, and one time one of the top stores in the country, and just to clarify Stephanie did not sell me with her enthusiasm she sold me with her lies. DD made so many bad decisions, despite pleading from from their top stores, based solely on their greed. They replaced the Quick Fix when it accounted for 60% of the business nationwide and then aiting over a year to try and lower the prices. That was a joke. Alice being insulted by the posting?! I’m insulted that she took our money for so long and all we got was crap even though, AGAIN, we complained and pleaded for even a basic marketing plan. If you still think that you are going to be profitable I feel sorry for you. I fought the truth for a long time. How did I end up? Filing for bk, having to start all over again and on the verge of losing my home. Wake the F up and get out while you can! They are not going to come after you…they are already sending out agreements to forgive the debt. Your landlords probably won’t come after you either. You can’t bleed a turnip. Yes, you will have to pay for a long time but if you stay all yo will do is sink more money into a dead horse. There is no leadership. Stephanie is a complete, raging, shrill and not very bright sociopath! She is irational and unfortunatley belives her owm PR. Vern is either a complete idiot or a pathological liar. I have not sued yet because I don’t have the funds and want to go on with my life and put this ordeal behind me. Further, I don’t think that DD will ever pay out even if they loose. Don’t think there are too many assets. I hope that Stephanie and Vern get what is coming to them and that they all end up losing as much as we have and that one day she can go back to her stupid little catering business and eating a lot of crow. I used to have a lot of anger but now I refuse to let them get to me any more. I will start over again and get on with my life. God knows they took enough of a chunk of it.
April 1st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Thanks for posting gladtobout!
I have been discouraged for over two months now. The anger is gone- all I feel now is num. How could I do this to my family, most of all my dear Husband.
All I can say is it is just money, we wil survive. However, at this point I am not putting a RED cent back into dead horse. We will close the end of May.
As far as StepOnMe goes- I would like to rip her hair out…but she might like the pain. As my husband says, Let God take care of them-
I contacted Dady/Garner and no one is able to join the fources at this time. Contacted Howard Bundy, had a long talk, bottom line is, it will cost me alot of money and what is to gain? Still sorting out the options.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:38 pm
And here I thought all of you DD owners were sucking up all the cutomers and money! The truth is your lives sucked or suck just like mine did! Sorry to hear it.
Had I not known you wree DD owners, I would have thought you were talking about the greedy bitch Marcia Hales from MGFK and her staff. It’s all the same story over here in this camp. Lies, lies and more lies. I swear Marcia would drop dead if she told the truth!
I hope all of you find some peace and happiness in your lives. Although my family and I lost EVERYTHING we had, new and wonderful things have been added. I am thankful for my experiences and for what I learned from them. It has taken me a while to be able to say that, but with time and faith I can say it honestly. Most of you will do the same. But look for that AFTER you give SteponMe what she deserves!
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
So sorry to hear about all of your stories! I was approached about signing on with Dream Dinners back in 2003 and I didn’t think it was a great idea. I wanted to start my own independent store and passed on the idea of a DD. Thank God I did! It sounds like it never amounted to much for any of you. I am doing OK with my own store. I’m definitely not rolling in the dough. But I don’t pay any royalties or into any advertising fund and I make all of my own decisions. If I decide to close my store then I won’t owe any debt so I consider myself pretty lucky right now. I really didn’t think those 2 chicks could offer me anything and felt I could do things better than them. I hope everything works out for all of you and I hope they have a very uncomfortable next few years!
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I don’t remember if it was discussed on this thread but somewhere it was said that Darin felt that WW need DD more than we needed WW. I got an email from Let’s Dish and they are advertising WWpoints with their nutritionals. I guess WW said no to DD. Do you think the lawsuit had anything to do with it?
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
guest:
I don’t recall Darin saying anything that bold. He tried to make it clear that our survival is not dependent on the deal, but that the negotiations were moving toward something that made a lot of sense for both parties.
I went to the LD website to check out your claim. They are indeed stating the WW Points. However, I noticed the following disclaimer at the bottom of the page:
“Weight Watchers and Points are registered trademarks of Weight Watcher’s International, INnc. The number of Points provided here was calculated by Let’s Dish!, Inc based on published Weight Watchers International, Inc information and does not imply sponsorship endorrsement of such number of Points or Lets Dish! products by Weight Watchers International, Inc.”
I have no insight into the current status of negotiations.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
dont you guys get it? Darin is so full of shit that he is blowing more smoke up your skirts.
yup. thats right- we have been waiting for almost 2yrs for this fucked up deal- StepOnme & Tina continue to feed the bullshit and Darin is the one they HIRED to keep the LIE going.
I wanted to barf all over StepOnMe yesterday- what a fake bitch
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I’m pretty sure that disclaimer is a roundabout way of saying their meals are compatible with Weight Watchers and can be calculated into their system, but there is no official endorsement from either party. Several MAs and others have done pretty much the same thing. Saying you were compatible with the WW system and how to calculate the points was a significant deal a few years ago and similar wording was used by multiple vendors.
Although I do recall hearing rumor that DD and WW were talking sponsorship or at least a much more visible partnership, but that DD thought they were the star attraction in the relationship and that WW needed to promote them, not the other way around.
GuestfromDDHell, I don’t want to cause you any undue injury, but is there any chance you can give us some details on the meeting? Minus the whole barfing on Stephanie or Darin part.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I am sorry for showing disrespect to the famous word on this board- StepOnMe.
From what I walked away with, Darin did most of the talking, supported StepOnMe & Tina to his dying word. Bottom line, said They felt the Owners needed to act like owners and the responsiblity is on our shoulders.
StepOnMe was StepOnMe. Talked outside of both sides of her mouth. Tina rolled her eyes a couple of times. Nothing StepOnMe said or did was earth jolting.
I would like to clarify, I do beleive running a business is my responsiblity, I do a good job doing so. However, I have had to pay for mistakes time & time again, that frankly, Dream Dinners needs to show some sort of accountality. Which they STILL dont. Reading some of the past post, I feel the frustration with the Owners and agree. Dream Dinners just does not see it. Which I find it Strange. I thought they were the EXPEERTS that I have been paying each month in royalities.
What MGFK is going through, I can relate. Dream Dinners hires Brooke McCurdy and she decided to re-brand Dream Dinners. With that re-branding that I paid for- has set me back $70,000 Along with all the monthly mistakes and such.
At this point, for our store history, does not do well in Summer, so we are looking at closing by June. We can not keep putting more money into this business that is losing money each month, and HO refering ‘WE arent working hard enough’ along with many other slangish sentences.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
GuestfromDDHell–I did rebranding too and it only cost around 5,000. How did your cost so much are you a resale and had to come up to the new standard?
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
yes, resale at the end of 05 first of 06′ was told by the famous Construstion Dept. will refrain from naming Names- but told me I HAD to redo the floor, needed greese trap, and this famous fruniture that I probably could have bought at Target!
Signage, oh this is just to name a few….
April 4th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
GuestfromDDHell - I hope you don’t think I asking you to show Darin and Stephanie some respect? Say what you want, I am terribly amused. I wanted to hear more about the meeting but didn’t want you to hurt yourself by having to relive the events or hurting yourself by probably typing with great force. I was being sarcastic about leaving out the details of barfing on Stephanie… I’m sure we all want the gory details. (Well I do anyway.
)
And I bet a “rebranding” will include all sorts of “improvements” and “upgrades” to the store. They can basically put anything under that header and add it to the cost of doing business under the new name…
April 7th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Let’s just end this all right now. Someone can get the gas. I’ll get the barbecue. And let’s cook dirty dinners(copy right that) food over the burning remains of the home office!
April 9th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
This is what is being said at the regional meetings.
http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/571256.html
Some highlights
Allen, 46, of Snohomish, Wash., was in Charlotte last week to meet with franchisees and introduce the company’s new CEO, Darin Leonard. Allen spoke with the Observer about rapid growth and succeeding once it begins to taper off. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. How did you handle such significant growth?
We knew how to run a business, but we had no idea how to take a business national. So we put together an advisory board of other people who had taken companies national — retail, service industry, insurance, grocery and restaurant. We relied heavily on them: Here’s what you’re going to expect at 50 stores, here’s the problem you’re going to face at 100 stores. Then we started getting copycats, which we weren’t prepared for at all. At first it really bothered me. But if they’re doing a good job, they’re only educating the market.
Q. What has the pace of growth been like over time?
It mushroomed at first, then slowed down. There’s a lot of things we can equate that to. One is competitors — and now we’re seeing the competitors close their stores. Our industry model has parallels to video rental. Remember when video rental first came out and it was in every grocery store and every gas station? Then there was the shakeout, and a couple people really figured it out. I think there’s just a couple true competitors left, and we’re figuring it out.
Q. What have you seen competitors try that you’ve learned from? A lot of them have tried grab-and-go (offerings), the “we’ll make it for you.” But what happens when you do that is, you cannibalize your own business. That’s the beauty of what we do and what sets us apart from any other place you can get takeout — you get to make it.
Q. What will you be changing? We’re adding things that will help busy moms not have to go to the grocery store as often. We’d like the create the model where (our core demographic) just needs to go to a Costco, a Sam’s Club, and Dream Dinners. We’re making it more convenient.
Q. I’ve read that the meal prep industry shows signs of slowing. It’s that shakeout. If you’re doing a poor job executing your business model, you’re going to not win. If your cash flow problems push you into doing something that’s not helpful for your business, you’re going to lose.
Q. Where do you see yourselves going from here?
There’s three ways to grow. One would be to grass-roots grow. One would be to get a capital infusion and really kick it up to the next notch. And then there’s acquisition. We’re looking at all three right now.
Q. You’ve had some stores close. What would you attribute that to?
Poor execution. Not having owners whose No. 1 reason for getting into the business was to take care of and serve their communities. Their bottom line was the dollar. You have to have that, too. But you can’t have just that. It’s a combination of not giving excellent service and poor quality food.
Q. What’s the most valuable piece of advice you could give?
You’ve got to focus on the end result. You’ve got to focus on the guest: What they take from your store, how are they eating it at home and how wonderful it is that they can’t live without it and they have to come back. S
April 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
The LD WW promo was an announcement that they are offering points now and that they are offering a special referral deal for WW members. It might be store specific, but if you click on a Maryland store and then click on promotions you’ll see the announcement.
While quite a few stores have offered points- I recall hearing a story (myth, perhaps?) that if you even called them “WW Points” on our website, regardless of disclaimer that you would be contacted by WW corporate for misuse of their name and point systems.
Maybe someone else here can say otherwise?
Maybe LD got creative and got permission from WW to post points with the disclaimer.
Other independent stores took to crafting creative little names that were derivatives or closely related to the word “points.” My customers have asked for points but I have steered clear and most have said that they can easily calculate points with the nutritional info provided.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I’m guessing there will be a lot of flames about this part of the interview:
Q. You’ve had some stores close. What would you attribute that to?
A. Poor execution. Not having owners whose No. 1 reason for getting into the business was to take care of and serve their communities. Their bottom line was the dollar.
She has to realize that–without the bottom line–there is nothing left to take care of the community, let alone the customer. I’ve seen a lot of folks on here posting that corporate DD blames the owners for the failures; this is the first I’ve seen it in print.
Also noteworthy was her public admission that they are investigating acquisition. Mentioned last in the string of possibilities; I would say it is the most likely.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Well then, I guess they’ve lost that loving feeling at the HO store since they have about 10 customers, so far, this week. Do you suppose she blames herself? I’m sure not.
April 9th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
There are so many thoughts that come to mind as I read Stephanie’s rather condescending and self-righteous comments. I certainly get a sense of arrogance a not a sense of “community” oriented feelings from reading this.
Basically if your store fails it’s your own damn fault. You have no one to blame but yourself. It’s not us, it’s not out recipes, it’s not our model. Also interesting to note is that the first store in that area closed and she had no comment about it. Considering the Corp. Office is hand selecting these people isn’t it their fault if the owners are “money grubbing whores” as she would like to claim? I mean they’re picking good Christian folks to carry on their works aren’t they?
Secondly, since they are picking the owners and they have the system of how the industry should work, how can she say this: “If you’re doing a poor job executing your business model, you’re going to not win. If your cash flow problems push you into doing something that’s not helpful for your business, you’re going to lose.” Doesn’t this mean they are to blame for picking owners who weren’t sufficiently funded and who didn’t have the correct business acumen? You can’t accidentally open a franchise so would this be a result of their actions.
And how can she talk about “poor quality food” considering they source everything through Sysco. Again, that isn’t an owner problem that is a franchise problem. They choose the product, the owner has no say. If the product is no good they need to take responsibility for that.
Stephanie also admits that competition hurts this industry. Isn’t that once again poor planning on their part, a lack of business acumen and a misunderstanding of business and franchising in general?
Who is this advisory board of which they speak who took all these companies national? I thought everyone at Dream Dinners was related to everyone else?
Clearly they see no reason to change their model and offer the “grab-and-go” option. Right or wrong, they are dead set in their ways. I wonder how the local owners feel about that one.
And I am sick to death of people calling what’s happening in the industry a shakeout. Is shakeout a new word for corporate mismanagement? I don’t think dozens and possibly hundreds of owners losing their life’s savings a shakeout…
And finally, it appears to me that Dream Dinners is actively seeking a buyout of some sort. I have no doubt that Dream Dinners is for sale if the price is right. And even if not, they may be trying to ditch the company before the lawsuit catches up with them.
So did anyone from that area attend the meeting? Was it worthwhile? Do you have new ideas to execute for the coming months?
April 9th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
It is and always has been a “SHAKEDOWN” not a shakeout. LMAO
The shakeout that’s happening in this industry is like calling the 1906 eathquake in San Fran a little a “minor earthquake” Jeez people could we get real??
Stick a fork in it….it’s done
April 9th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Go West, you’re right. That’s the pot calling the kettle black. Dream Dinner’s corporate stores have been struggling to attract customers since mid 2003. They have a lot of nerve! May they get what’s coming to them.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Wow. What an insightful article… Tuckerbox: You’re absolutely right. She is self-righteous and condescending to an absurd extreme. I wonder if she even realizes or cares.
Her response to the question about stores folding OFFENDS ME BEYOND WORDS. Truly.
How DARE her acuse these decent families - who have now lost everything - of NOT CARING ENOUGH FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES?! These are people who donate significant proceeds, time, etc Children’s Hospitals, and many other charities. How DARE her acuse them of poor quality or customer service?! That’s 180 degree opposite from what I’ve seen from 2 of the 3 closures I know FIRST-HAND!! Is she lying or clueless? Either is inexcusable!
How could she DARE say that to the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER of ALL places?!… We all know that she oversold THAT territory - BURYING her #1 store in the system???! That is absolutley REVOLTING!
April 10th, 2008 at 6:11 am
This post is for Zees-From everything I have read here,it seems that no one is 1.Making a profit
2.Paying themselves.
Most are able to pay their bills, but even some of you can’t even to that.
Stephanie and ilk can say what say whatever they want to shame current store owners & blame the failure on the owners. We all know it’s crap, but here are some observations.
Zors still get a paycheck every pay period in the case of DD they get it whether you can afford it or not.
Royalties for those of you who are not making a profit is just a practice of YOU paying YOUR ZOR out of YOUR pocket to support THEIR lifestyle.
How many businesses do you know of who stay in business if they are not making money-Being able to draw a paycheck or making profit to put back into the business?
Answer-NONE.
Now here is the interesting thought, IF Zors were NOT getting royalties from Zees how long would they stay in business?
Answer-not long, why are they still going? Because they are ego-maniacs who think they can take your money with impunity and you don’t have a choice or recourse. That my friends is a kind of extortion.
They also still beleive that they can continue to sell the dream to other suckers…..thus giving them cash infusion to bank their lifestyles.
Are they making the money they used to? No, but why would any of the Zor owners go out and get a real job when all they have to do is collect money off of your backs??
Folks lets face it Zors are a pyramid scheme with the bottom doing all the work and the top makes all the money.
Would you stay at a job in the real world that wasn’t paying you?
I know I wouldn’t. What does it benefit YOU to work for free?
This is a business and you should be making money. I know someone who is two years into her business and she is satisfied breaking even, but not being able to draw a paycheck. I’m sorry folks but that defies all business sense.
You are paying for a website, that’s it. Do you get any real benefit from the advertising fund you pay into every month? Then on top of that you’re required to pay for more advertising locally???
Talk about a ponzi scheme!
For Zors to talk to any publication and blame owners for the failure of a model they “created” is unconscionable. To say they know how to run a business and then watch while stores close one after another, to tell owners not to post on a public forum because it will hurt the sale, just WHO are these people concerned with? YOU? I think not and if you aren’t as mad as hell by now then I will be appropriately pissed off for you.
TO paint a rosey picture of this industry is criminal, it is only being done by Zors so that they can sell more of this falied concept to others or arrange for a buyout for their brand to someone else.
Anyone who bought a franchise from one of these people has no recourse and they all know it. Second mortgage your home and if you don’t you don’t have enough committment to your business? Read between the line is “that means I lose the free money from you”
I’m sorry I sound jaded, but it saddens me to see families destroyed and then I hear Zors whining because they can’t buy a new prada purse.
Give me a break, wake up people!! Get out get out get out!
April 10th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Dear onthego,
Believe me, I would get out if I could, but until I can I’m going to have to drink some Kool-Aid and hope that one of their new initiatives works.
I will say that Darin does communicate, which is a plus and at least he has shaken things up over there.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
StepOnMe and Titanic have a lot of nerve to scam people like that. I remember when I worked there. If you told crap to the franchisers that actually was true, you would recieve a phone call saying if you said anymore, it was your ass. I hope nobody ever gets scammed again. It is just horrible that that is happenening.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I know what you mean.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Okay workedthereandregretit and formerinsider…. would you be willing to help out the people in the lawsuit?
email me at nightmare.living@yahoo.com
We may need your help.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Darin does communicate but do you really listen to what he says? He sees $300 (72 servings) in the very near future, meaning summer. Will that price increase work in your market? Did you notice how he slipped it in and tossed it aside? He could not have said it with anymore of a oh by the way attitude. $300 average order is a pretty big deal.
He told us and then moved quickly on to another subject so that we couldn’t process and question that information. Be wary-he likes to hear himself talk.
April 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Hmm so do I is that a bad thing?
April 11th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
only if what you say twists the truth and continues to place on blame owners. Stephanie isn’t the only one who is saying it is our fault. At my regional Darin spent every other minute saying it was the fault of the owner. That article could just have easily had a picture of Darin instead of Stephanie.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
My market never would have withstood a $300 ticket price. We opened with $199 dollar ticket price and closed 16 months later at $199/12 ticket price. We had hoped to use our side dishes and desserts to boost our per ticket price, and that worked until everyone wanted their entrees to include a veggie or a starch….we still had signature side dishes that we made instore. BUt once HO told us to start providing starch and or veggie it shot that add on market all to hell.
How can you market a product for that cost when women still have to go to the store for essentials? At that price you will either be reduced to a one dish wonder customer or they quit coming all together
April 11th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Why is it, that I come to a BLOG to find out what is going on at Dream Dinners.
I did over hear Darin say something about food cost being about $300….but I thought it was reference of 12 entrees.
Again, I am living in HELL!
I need to get out, just feeling stuck.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Trying to stay positive!
Do I believe him? Well, I want to, but it is hard when I have 8 cases of melamine stacked in my store. Where’s my big pink rubberbands when I need them? OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Oh yeah, I broke them all years ago snapping myself silly. Now weren’t those worth the price of your plane ticket to the convention? I have to hand it to that motivational speaker, she knew we were going to need a whole bag of them.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
guestfromDDhell, It is a pitiful situation that you have to read a BLOG to find out what’s going on at DD, but so typical of their style: NO COMMUNICATION, about
ANYTHING, to ANYBODY. It doesn’t matter who you are or aren’t. Everything was a big huge secret at Home Office. Although Toxic Tina did get quite a thrill out of hitting the “send” button when sending a nasty e-mail to the Zees, blaming them for all the failure of everything. That’s about the only kind of communication she knows: Let me humiliate you, let me fire you, let me tell you what a shitty job you did, even though there were no expectations laid out (she seems to think people are mind readers, and when they don’t read her mind correctly, she berates them), let me stomp on your self-worth and self-esteem. She must have low self-esteem to pick others apart the way she does. Poor thing. Well, a shopping trip and some alcohol will cure that. Oh yeah, and her hobby: acting. She’s VERRRRY good. “I’m humbled that you want to share in our dream” complete with the fake crying at the Thursday night BBQ at the Dream House. NAUSEATING!!!!! The truth is, she really wants nothing to do with any ZEE, old or new. She would, however, dance around when another franchise purchase check came in.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Oh, my dear FoolMeOnce… you’ve made me laugh. I also snapped myself silly during DD convention week (their one and only, I’m guessing) and nearly lost a limb snapping myself when I closed both my stores (OUCH) then filed for personal bankruptcy (snap OUCH) then got sued every which way from Sunday (snap OUCH) then chose NOT to join the blame someone else lawsuit (snap OUCH) then recently read the interview with the great holier than us all goddess of meal prep (snap OUCH) spout off about how I didn’t work hard enough (snap OUCH).
But thank you for reminding me, FoolMeOnce, that I don’t have to endure the snaps anymore.
Happily Dreamless,
Sarah Rivers (my real name)
Owner (my real former occupation)
Dream Dinners Raleigh, NC (my real franchise)
Dream Dinners Cary, NC (my real franchise)
April 21st, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I have to make mention of a form letter I received from Dream Dinners corporate today. I am a former employee of a MAK (not a DD-really, it’s the truth) and have had great interest in what you all have to say. Five different meal assembly kitchens opened in my community within a year’s time and all have gone out of business (1 after 8 months, 1 after 12 months, 1 after 2 months and the most recent after 18 months). one remains open. We are a community with approximately 200,000 residents. Our Dream Dinners went out of business because they were leasing space in a brand new building that was accidentally piping in reclaimed water to all occupants of the building(big mistake by the water company) . The bad publicity was too much for the owners to overcome-and they closed after 13 months- about 3 months after the news broke. I had been there as a customer prior to getting a job at another franchise, so I remain on the big customer mailing list in the sky. It is comical to me that they list this store as “temporarily closed” as a cell phone store is now in the DD space, and the DD team want to pretend like all is well and that I am going to drive 25 minutes to another location.
Here is a quote from the letter for the Customer Appreciation event:
Hi Friends!
“Can you believe it? We’re are celebrating our sixth year here at Dream Dinners! And what a ride it has been–from a simple time saving-idea for making our own family meals easy and convenient to serving over 9.7 million of our wonderful Dream Dinner meals at over 200 store locations over the country. We could have never know back then how our idea would catch on and how many people would benefit from it. And since there is no way we could have done it without you, we want to say a big thank you with this special appreciation offer our most valued guests.” 25$ off a 199$ or more or a free dessert if you register for a session.
Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna
“Founders and Inventors of the Meal Assembly Industry” -Wow, did they really “invent” this???? Who knew??? I sure didn’t.
Yes, what a ride it has been, I have seen good people who loved to cook and wanted to own a small business have their lives devastated by the purchase of these franchises. Virtually all say it took twice as much money to get their doors open than was projected by the salesman who sold them the franchise. When it was made known other competitors would be opening down the street the same salesman kept assuring them that there would be plenty of business for all. Watching good people lose so much financially and emotionally is very sad……. Maybe Tina and Stephanie can “invent” a way for that not to happen! Believe me it will take more than that ridiculous letter sent to someone that doesn’t even have a DD in her area anymore to save the others .
Also, Tina and Stephanie do you still have 200 stores? Judging from our neck of the woods and comments on this blog-the answer would be no. Could have the common decency to remove all of the closed locations off of the DD website? Leaving them there is in poor taste and dishonest.
After reading all you have had to say over the past months on this blog, I just had to comment. To anyone thinking of opening one of these businesses, read all of these comments closely. Someone here commented to go work in one or more. That is great advice. To all of the others who are trying to make a go of it, may all good things happen for you. I am sure that you are like the owners I knew here, just trying to do a good thing and make a living for yourself.
Thanks for letting me vent…………………
April 21st, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Ah - the one in Chula Vista? That was so sad. I didn’t know it put them out of business.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
That was the luckiest thing that could have happened. From reading the news articles (just Google and you will find some), it sounds like the county basically accepted the blame and probably had to buy them out. After all, who would be able to overcome that bad press?
In hindsight, I would say that god smiled on them.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I remember reading that article awhile ago, it was quite the blunder. I’m pretty sure it was the city who hooked things up wrong and caused all the problems and it put several stores out of business for awhile. Of course, when food is involved there is really no way to come back from that one. That’s a darn shame for them, but hopefully since it was clearly the city’s fault they were able to be compensated and if so, I would have to agree, that is good for them.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
You are probably right………
April 21st, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Stephanie and Tina make many claims about the things they’ve invented, how everyone who owns a franchise is part of their family and how they are doing the Lord’s work by opening these franchises and helping busy families put food on the table.
About the only thing that seems to be accurate is that Dream Dinners has taken its owners for a ride for the past couple of years and the owners have certainly helped to buy houses, cars, trips, vacations and who knows what else. That would be great except for the number of people who have lost their homes, had to sell their cars, can’t go on trips or vacations and haven’t seen their families in months because they are working 60 hours a week to pay their tariffs to the Queen.
How many stores does DD still have open? Almost impossible to tell these days. They still list stores which have been closed for months as “temporarily closed”. Even that Charlotte store mentioned in the article is listed that way. It’s a pretty funny, albeit sad state of affairs that a cell phone store has taken up residence in the former DD location. Perhaps you should go in there, test on of their phones to call HQ and inform them of the new surroundings.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Thanks for all of the articles that are posted relevant to this industry. They are so interesting to read. I am absolutely shocked that any owners would be accused of not working hard enough to make the business successful. I saw firsthand, the money spent on print advertising and radio ads-which really did not do much to help business. We saw a handful of coupons redeemed out of the print ads. Also, the 60 hour work weeks, trips to local stores to find cheaper or “not available through Sysco” ingredients, the infamous “Sysco Agreement” for supposed better pricing. The constant flow of tastings and food giveaways to try to lure in business. It was a constant cycle of spending to try to bring in customers. I can see why owners respond so bitterly on this blog to anyone who insinuates that they haven’t done all they can to make a successful business.
It would be funny to call HQ from the cell phone store and ask them what happened to the Chicken Mirabella? It should be there according to their site, or coming back soon……………..
April 21st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Bystander: You bring up a good point. Most owners have probably given away more food to organizations in the one or two year they’ve been open than the franchisor will give away in a life time. They spend day and night working on marketing out of their own pocket and they are the ones pounding the pavement everyday “spreading the word” so the franchisor can make money. So you can see why they react with such distress when someone has the audacity to tell them they haven’t done enough.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 am
Indeed we too gave away the farm to sell a couple chickens…cows on a good day. Somebody else posted “when was the last time you saw a restaurant give away free meals, wine, back massages, balloons, etc.?” STU Zors as well as many others promote give aways for sessions. You should not have to constantly give stuff away to get people to walk in the door!! It really says something about the basics of the model that you have to constantly incent people to remember you!
We found those people who were really interested came in/back regardless of any give away or coupons. They were sold on the concept…period and we catered to them…personally not financially. Our experience was also that new customers who wanted to try it did so…but our feeling was they would have done so regardless of any give away or incentive. I’m sure we got a few more to try us because of the initial incentive, but in general I really think folks either were or were not interested.
The one exception was our 10% rebooking discount….that prompted people to sign up for next month (or the following) who would not have done so otherwise and it got around the out of sight out of mind problem. However, new folks typically needed to try the food before they were willing to commit again. That is where the food sold the concept or it didn’t.
We found the same to be true of free meal assembly. For those people who were interested, it didn’t make a difference…and yet MAK stores to continue to offer free assembly on a regular basis. Even if it does prompt a few more folks to come in, it ain’t the answer! At the end of the day, you’ve made a couple more bucks but still not paid yourself and probably not even the landlord.
What’s next? Free chewing with every 6 meals?
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Those of you that closed — were you protected in any way by filing as an LLC or a corporation from any of your debts? I’m aware that the SBA backed loan you took out would have attached your house and any other collateral, but what about the credit cards in the name of the business?
Does anyone have a checklist of how to close, what pitfalls to avoid, and what theories exist for suing the zors?
Thanks upfront for any info you have,
Jennifer
Owned by a Zor…
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Jennifer,
I’m no expert in these matters, but my understanding of corporate structures and types of corporations tells me that if you want to use a corporation to protect you, it has to be fairly complicated. Translation: Expensive. Attorneys talk about “piercing the corporate shell” when they go after the people behind a business. With LLC’s and the like, they are cheap, easy, and fast to establish. Accordingly, they offer little protection to the owner; really more of an organizational tool to help you separate your personal finances from business. In my state, you can look up an LLC online and find out who the actual person behind the name is. Not much protection there.
Once you get into “S” corporations and things like that, you can probably get some protection, but it comes at a price. I don’t think many franchisees figured they needed the legal protection of a complex corporation to run their own business. After all, when you start out, you are sure you will succeed. Otherwise, why would you start?!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am
Chef George said: “You should not have to constantly give stuff away to get people to walk in the door!!….. We found those people who were really interested came in/back regardless of any give away or coupons.”
So true.
I’ve seen so may MAKs with $10-$15 off coupons in local papers or Valpak or whatever. Although they expire within a month or so, you can always count on seeing another coupon soon after, so why would you ever sign up without a coupon?
We occasionally get calls from customers asking if we will match a competitor’s (money-losing) offer. Although we hate to have to tell anyone no, we do just that. If we can’t make a reasonable return, we can’t do it. It’s that simple.
There is a cute gift store near our shop. One day I received a 50% off-any-item coupon from them. I went in and picked up a gift I needed at half price. Just last week, I received another email coupon for 50% off. It expired before I could use it, but if I’d had the time and needed something I would have used it.
It’s likely that if they have something I’d like to purchase in the future, I’ll wait to see if I get another coupon. I’m being trained by this store do just that as I now feel that ‘full price’ is too much. And that is fine as long as the store is OK with receiving 50% of their price on an item, or as long as the customers tend to purchase enough full-price items to offset this discount.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Jennifer,
We consulted with a lawyer and were still responsible for most of our debts despite being an LLC. Some of our creditors agreed to a partial settlement however.
Keep the lines of communication open with your creditors and tell them you are trying your best to solve things. We found they respond to that attitude, and we had peace of mind when we could talk to them directly. We even talked regularly with our SBA loan officer. Just having an actual person to talk to was even some sort of a relief in a weird way.
I wish you success with whatever avenue you choose.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Jennifer, one of my many “Are you kidding me?” moments came when I realized that the $10,000+ in legal fees that I spent to incorporate to “protect me and my personal assets” means nothing in the end because of those pesky personal guarantees. Nobody lends money to a startup business without a personal guarantee, so in my case that means I am on the hook to SBA, the landlord, a line of credit, multiple credit cards and it is looking increasingly like the only way out is personal bankruptcy. I am lucky in one respect in that the SBA for whatever reason did not put a lien on my house. I have had multiple conversations with attorneys (it took several before I found one who wasn’t just “intrigued” with the complexities of my situation). This is absolutely not an area where you want to be someone’s “interesting case” because it is different from all the other “I lost my job, here are my debts, here are my assets” bankruptcies that they are handling day in and day out.
I don’t know yet all the practicalities of closing the business, but I am starting to plan for it in consultation with the attorney and the CPA’s. I know that I want to get everything out of here that is mine (cookbooks, certain dishes, equipment, etc.) as soon as possible in the event that once the landlord gets winds of things he doesn’t lock me out.
As everyone who has gone through or is going through this has said in this forum, it is gut wrenching. When you have done the right thing all your life, never been a slacker, never shirked your responsibilities, succeeded at what you attempted, paid your bills, were a model citizen and now you have to let people down (employees, customers, creditors, investors)…devastating.
I do know this, the most important thing to pay is anything to do with payroll and taxes. Do not get behind with those obligations. And keep your books straight. And keep your personal and business finances completely separate. And if you put personal money in the business, make sure there is a “note” payable to you from the business.
Good luck!
April 25th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Our experience (we were set up as and S Corp) is that the business card debt goes away as well as the personal debt once you file. The monies from the sale of the assets go to the bank first for the SBA loan and then any remaining creditors are advised there is nothing left. Since you are filing personal bankruptcy, they can’t come after you, even though you may have other personal guarantees…such as on the credit cards. Be sure to get an attorney with experience in bankruptcy’s due to a business venture gone bad. When we told our attorney the type of business we had, he said “oh yes, I’m working on three others right now!” Well how special is that?!
Yes bankruptcy is gut wrenching as we always had stellar credit and there is the stigma to filing. However, you have to keep everything in perspective as you go through this. What are really the most important things in life….keep your focus and priorities straight and you’ll be OK….but you do have to swallow hard.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:23 am
To the comments about coupons and free food…I don’t quite get why people think so negatively of these things. EVERY store in our shopping center offers coupons, discounts and deals. EVERY restaurant in our shopping center provides a coupon of some sort in their local advertising. The restaurant down the way that is ALWAYS busy sends out bimontly email coupons to their email distro list. They offer a free personal pizza ($10 value) just for signing up for their email list.
The grocery store has weekly specials- buy one get one free. The burrito place that just opened up around the street gave away a free burrito to everyone who stopped by that day. There was a line out the door before they opened. They have coupons, discounts and promos everywhere. The most popular local run chain of higher end restaurants in the area ALWAYS provide coupons. At events they have a wheel you can spin to win a prize- the minimum prize is $5 off at any of their restaurants.
We’re not running Ruth’s Chris operations so why would folks think MAKs should be exempt from discounts, promotions and coupons? They are as much a cost of marketing as a rack or business card. Properly pricing your product in anticipation of coupons is key.
In our first 6 months we offered 10% off pre-bookings (over a certain value). We switched to $10 off in the latter half of the year with no visible impact on our end of the month rush to order. In our first year, all of my marketing materials included a coupon for 50% off our new customer 2 meal sample pack. This produces a customer acquisition cost of around $23 plus the medium in which we provided the coupon. I have a means for tracking the ROI on my ads. So, say it was double that. $50 isn’t a terrible price to pay to acquire a new customer. That said, I’m now shifting my coupons over to $10 off the new customer pack. Part of the reason I chose to do that is because I give EVERY non profit or school that asks a gift certificate. I provide a $25 gift certificate for every 100 people at their event. The not-so-fine print says that it can only be redeemed on in store assembly sessions and our cheapest package is $46. So, I’m at least covering food costs plus a little. I want the non profit GCs to appear to hold more value.
Our montly tastings cost about $500 in retail value of food (so 1/3 of that in actual costs). I have a reasonable stream of new people interested and a standard set of regulars who come in, try the entrees and then place their orders. We usually average 60-70 people. They also sit down and hang out and talk with each other, other customers, new customers, etc. I also have almost all of my staff work these tastings and make them eat the food too. I see that as much as the cost of keeping my current customers happy as a tool for attracting new people. I could do a MUCH better and consistent job marketing the samplings as an open house opportunity.
Discounts, coupons, sales and promotions that I can tell are a way of life in retail and in food service.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:56 am
dinnerzen - I don’t think coupons and discounts are ALWAYS bad…. I just think we have to be smart about them. I do not believe in giving something for nothing. So, I do not do any version of Sneak Peaks or anything where customers can come in and get something for free without ever purchasing anything. I think a tasting is totally different and would fall under the category of smart marketing. If I understand you correctly, each potential customer is just getting a taste of some of the meals… not free meals to take and try at home, correct?
I do think you also have to be careful about how many coupons you have out there because you can condition customers to only come if they have a coupon…. which I guess is fine if you have that built into your pricing structure to still be profitable even after all of the coupons. I do not have that built into my price structure. I think it also tends to attract the cheap whiney customers- sorry to offend coupon clippers- hey- I use them sometimes too! =)
April 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I agree that promotions, coupons, etc are a way of life for many companies in retail and in casual/fast food service. Some are more prone to it, others less and, as noted by dinnerzen, good companies set their pricing structure for the discounting they plan to do. The risk there is to appear overpriced to customers who don’t know that couponing is standard.
If a business routinely offers coupons, the discount price *is* the price of their service/product. How businesses price and promote is a personal decision. Every store is different in how they do this and also in how they present themselves to their customer base. There are some businesses I can count on for coupons/discounts/give-aways and others that I can’t - this is also used as a way to position the business. I shop differently at businesses I know always discount/coupon than I do at ones that I know never (or seldom) do.
So far, we have not done new customer discounts, free meals to private party organizers, coupons in Valpak, free assembly, etc. It doesn’t mean we’re better or worse than anyone else or that we won’t do it at some point in the future.
We provide a value-oriented service and, as such, there is a price for that. A reasonable price - one that provides value to the customer and profit to the company. It’s mutually beneficial. Our philosophy has been to extend that reasonable price to everyone at all times, no coupon needed.
We do have a customer loyalty program and reward our regulars who purchase sessions regularly. If there’s money to give, we give it to those who support us month after month. That means the new customers receive it too if they find our service to be of value to them and become regulars.
I think tastings are a great idea. A lot of work, I would imagine, but a great idea. We’ve never done that, but are kicking around the idea. We are also kicking around the idea of offering a discounted assembly price over the summer, but I have some real concerns as to if that will have a long-term negative impact and am unsure if we’ll do that or not. Once given, discounts are hard to take back – so, again, it has to provide value to the customer and profit to the company – with discount and all.
New customer discounts - if you don’t mind my asking, what’s the retention on those? Do all of your first-time customers get a discount (is it automatic) or is it coupon-based and if a customer isn’t aware of it, they pay full price? Do customers then pay full price after that first time, or are they able to use coupons on a regular basis?
April 25th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I will say that people who ask for coupons that can barely hold their finger up for all the carats (and not the kind you eat) are a tiny bit annoying to me. And yes, I agree that once you open up to the coupon mentality they want and expect coupons.
Re: the tasting it is a lot of work. We generally prepare 3 full size meals of 8 different entrees and/or any new side dish. We have chafers we set up for serving. It is literally a sample size piece- pork chop cut into 4 or 5 slices and then cut in half. I have seen store that charge for the tasting and then give a discount if folks place an order. That’s certainly one way to go and discourages people from dropping in and availing themself. It wasn’t the route we chose. We may slack off on the tastings as summertime approaches b/c I think attendance will drop off but then again, that might be the best time to do it. I would suggest calling it an open house- I found that for our anniversary referencing it in that fashion seemed to draw more newbies in than calling it a tasting or a sampling- which passerbys didn’t seem to grasp. We do ask our current customers to RSVP via an online survey tool, so we have some sense of attendance (and can scale back food if necessary). What we don’t cook off (if attendance is slack) we can usually sell as fresh entrees.
I started with the “reasonable” price concept, but heard over and over and over from people who said your competitor does it, so why don’t you. I even asked during one of our monthly surveys if people would prefer reasonable price and no coupon or higher price but coupon options. A slim majority said they like the incentives. I also found coupons to be one of the most tangible methods of tracking ROI for ads and marketing purposes.
As for the new customer coupons…we don’t routinely offer those, we use them when I run ads, so somebody has to have an ad in hand when they place their order. I don’t have figures in front of me, but I generally preview every order confirmation as it comes in and find that about 60% of people signing up for the new customer pack have a coupon of some sort. As for retention, there is no measurable difference between retention of customers who use coupons and those who don’t. However, retention seems to be a bit higher for customers who come in independently (coupon or otherwise) than those customers who come as part of a party. That was pretty darn surprising to me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE parties for the bulk business they bring in one sitting, but so many of those guests come simply because their friend wanted them too, and oftentimes they don’t really have a clue as to what they’ve gotten themselves into.
As for ongoing coupons…we provide a discount of $10 if people sign up before the start of the month. We generally release the menu and calendar around the 15th of the month and put the coupon out in our e-news at that time. I’ve tried to get more organized and do it sooner, but frankly, from a cash flow perspective the timing seems to work out pretty well. We have a slew of orders on the last two days of the month. Rents due by the 5th (and, uh, I send via online bill pay ON the 5th). Right or wrong, in my head it keeps me from feeling like I get too far ahead of myself on the revenue side.
I was planning to try switching to a free half size meal and/or side dish/dessert instead of $10. Instead of going cold turkey this month, I offered $10 off, a free half size meal OR free scones. Scones=$16, half size meal= $13. NO takers on the scones or half size meals yet. They all opted for the $10. Not sure if they would have signed up ANYWAY if they $10 option wasn’t there, but it was sort of surprising to see what direction they took.
Thanks!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Any feedback on customer retention / frequent buyer programs? We are looking to start one in and can’t figure out the “right” amount to create incentive.
Thanks
April 28th, 2008 at 10:02 am
We offer non-DD desserts that are a relatively low priced for us to our guests that attend three months and then a different more gourmet dessert at 6 months. We have only been open 8 months but once we get to 12 those guests will receive an Apron with his or her name on it hanging in a special are of the store with a V.I.P. sign on it. We make a big deal over the desserts and wait until the middle of the session. Before we give it to the guest. They get pretty excited over it and aother guests take notice as well. We are stuggling like every other meal assembly business but alot of the issues we have tried to overcome are through attitude. If we get excited about an offer or idea our guests often do too. If you like the dessert idea ask your food distibuter if they have any ideas for desserts. We did and our Sysco rep found us some great options. Good Luck!
April 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I attended the Washington State Dietetics Association annual confrerence today. This is two day educational conference for registered dietitians. Imagine my surprise at the one hour “educational” seminar presented by two owners of a Dream Dinner franchise. Their angle was that RD’s could refer their patients to a meal assembly store (possibly a ……. Dream Dinners store?) so they would have access to healthy, convenient meals, etc. Oh, and also bring the whole famiy together for some bonding over dinner, because studies have shown that teenagers who eat dinner with their families are less likely to do drugs or have sex. I kid you not!
I left the room after a half hour of this blatant, self-serving, thinly diguised advertising. I am flabbergasted that the conference organizers allowed these two women (who just happened to be dietitians) to use our educational meeting (which cost each attendee $195) for their advertising.
Business must be pretty bad at Dream Dinners for Cindy and Leslie (franchisees/presenters) to resort to this tactic.
I’m sorry to hear that many DD owners are experiencing financial problems due to poor Head Office business management. Best of luck.
April 29th, 2008 at 7:06 am
RD -
Sounds like who you are referring to are DD HO people. Cindy Farricker is the Nutritionist on staff and Leslie Davis - well gosh - not sure which position she belongs to now. She was part of Food Development and then switched to the Franchise Dept. Course I can be wrong, but I think was who you saw at the conference.
April 29th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Leslie Tompson is the West Seattle Store Owner, she is a
dietitian as well.
Leslie Davis is still part of Franchise Development. She is the one that talks ‘down at you for even concidering selling you store’ Quotes Tina saying that you need to file for bankrupies before you can sell your store.
Yes, gotta LOVE those Leslie’s…..NOT!
April 29th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Received this recent invite to an open house.
It’s actually a reasonable thing to promote meal assembly stores as healthy eating alternatives. I have quite a few customers who we have successfully helped with their special dietary needs from low sodium to low fat to allergy issues. It just so happens I’m an RN so maybe a little better schooled than the average person (not RD material mind you), and find a little pleasure in addressing these challenges.
I think I’d be bent out of shape if I went to a nursing ed session and had to listen the entire time to someone selling me a brand (not necessarily a concept). That hand slap goes to the folks who organized the conference for not doing a better job of weeding out blatant product promos. That sort of stuff is ripe for an expo hall not ed content.
WARM UP TO HEALTHY EATING
Are you trying to lose weight or simply adopt a healthier lifestyle? Has your doctor told you that you need to change your diet? Eating healthy at home means more time at the grocery store, more time reading labels and more time chopping and slicing fresh ingredients…not to mention all the clean up!
That’s why we created Dinners For Life. You choose the menu that meets your health goal - heart healthy, diabetic or weight loss. We take the work our of preparing healthy, home-cooked meals.
You choose your meals from a dietician-approved monthly menu. Attend a Dream Dinners session or arrange to have your meals prepared for you to pick up. Either way, you’ll leave us with dinners you can freeze and enjoy throughout the month that will keep you and your family well-fed and on course to achieving your health goals.
Come find out why healthier eating just got a lot easier…
What: Join us for a mini-session! Learn about Dinners For Life, sample some entrees and make some meals, if you choose. Pay only $10 for the first small family (3-serving) dinner. Add more on at regular menu price. No minimum purchase required. You’re welcome to bring a friend!
When:
Where:
RSVP: To accept this invitation
Click here to send your RSVP (or you can reply to this email).
What’s on the Dinners For Life menu in May?
Sweet Cider BBQ Chicken
Thai Fusion Shrimp
Herb Crusted Flank Steak
Mango Glazed Indian Salmon
Marinated Pork Roast & Apricot Sauce
And much more! Come check it out!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Now that’s a great marketing Open House invite! For those that are looking for ideas - I’d jump on that. Well worded and really draws the customer in. Nice job!
April 30th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Heart healthy, diabetic and weight loss menu items are great, but there are only 5 items listed, the minimum order is 6. If you go to their site and bring up the nutritional information you can see the rest of the menu. There are in fact 6 which cover the heart healthy option. But again, that’s just 6 which is the highest price point. Yeah I know, I’m being picky. I guess I should be happy it’s a start.
None of the other meals are actually market as a “diabetic” or “weight loss” meal so you need to figure that out on your own. I’m just thinking if they flagged them customers could pick and choose pretty quickly.
It’s also interesting they state they will now make the meals for you.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
There is nothing inherently wrong with coupons, I have mentioned several times how GoDaddy does a great job of promoting itself through the use of coupons. But they control and promote that; it’s built into the cost of the item. And they can use those coupons to showcase certain sites, drive traffic, make you watch commercials, listen to radio shows or download podcasts. (They put the coupons in the show or on the page where the download link is. I think people know if they make a few clicks a 15% coupon is waiting for them. But again, it’s built into the cost.
The same isn’t true for meal assembly. When the meal is priced it’s to cover cost of ingredients, etc. I doubt there is the forethought to go we need to make sure we sell the meal for no less than $15, so we list it for $19 on the menu and for those that use a coupon it’s $17. No matter what, we still make X profit. Since the owners are the ones making up coupon discounts it seems they are now losing money.
Make no mistake, I scan the Internet for coupons before I make any purchase. Even if I save $1.03 I’m pretty damn excited – saving money and the thrill of the hunt I suppose. And I bookmark the site where I found the coupon so I can check back with them later. So you can easily see how the coupon drives traffic and markets the product.
A small coupon is a great thing for “those in the know”, won’t take away your profit and can be a huge selling point. I just don’t think that’s how the corporate kids see them.
June 28th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Wow, what a thread- this took me 15 mins. to read, but worth it! Our heads have been so buried in the cloud of dreams, I thought I would search for ‘help’ on-line.
Stumbling onto this site is painful, but so, so accurate. I have been isolated, but now I see I am not alone. Thanks everyone for this site. As hard as it is to read, and shedding some tears doing so, I can’t Thank you enough.
Where are Owners out today, have they closed?
July 8th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Wow, I operate a retail food business within a couple blocks of their Corporate headquarters. The only positive comments I can make is the owners are good to the community, they have a few good employees within the HO. Other than that, they are self serving, demanding, rude, never carry any money to pay their bills, always on a tab, or we will pay next time we are in.
I think their concept is rediculous, Sysco for the food supplier is sub par - heck I wouldn’t use any commercial food supplier such as sysco, fsa. I only use the local independents that carry high quality food items.
Overall, they have no assets, they lease their big beautiful HO, all have big fat gas guzzlers and nice german imports, take lavish vacations, and basically suck the profits from the business. That is what I see.
They are housewives that cannot sell, only lie. I say back to their home kitchens and do some real cooking.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
this just burns my butter….”Taking lavish vacations (Tina to Germany) big fat gas guzzlers and nice german imports (Tina drives a Excursion/Step drives a Volvo)
Now I see where my monthly royalities are spent, thanks for the insight!
Being self serving, demanding, rude & never carry money to pay for bills—-Now Thats Customer Service At Its Best! Again, thanks Tina & Step.
Please Darin, don’t tell me this is one of the 87 things (whats that called) oh yea, GETTING CUSTOMERS THROUGH MT DOOR!!??!!