Is Dream Dinners preparing to file bankruptcy?
Or are they trying to salvage what remains of their company?
Rumors are starting to surface that several key employees within the Dream Dinners upper ranks have either stepped down or have been asked to leave. Speculation is that marketing has been the hardest hit (an area where Dream Dinners probably needs the greatest amount of help).
If this is true, what does this signal for Dream Dinners? Considering so many employees are either related or best friends, does this mean Dream Dinners is trying to bring in more dedicated and focused personnel who can steer them through the troubled waters that lie ahead and turn the tide on accumulating debt? Or is this a life raft? Are friends and family being given time to “reach minimum safe distance” before it all comes tumbling down?
Or is this part of the master 87 point plan of reconstruction that Darin has planned?
Considering the pace at which news actually comes out from the different franchises, we’ll have to keep and eye out to see if there is any truth to the rumors and what they will mean in the long run.
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June 19th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
So what happens to the Dream Dinner Stores if corporate files for bankruptcy?
June 19th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Sweet & sour “dreams”?
Say Good Night Gracie
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:11 am
Actually, stores can continue to operate while the company restructures itself. Many companies have pulled themselves out of bankruptcy and been better afterward. I doubt this will happen with DD, though. DD can try to find a buyer who would would assume any obligations and the ‘potential’ of the future. I think finding that buyer would be hard to do, so I would assume each store would close. Store owners could try to make it as a mom-and-pop, if they get permission from DD to release them from their non-compete, but I don’t know why anyone would be so stupid as to go that route. The good point about bankruptcy would be for the hundreds of owners that want out but are currently stuck in a lease so they keep going day-to-day hoping for a miracle. I would think that bankruptcy would be an argument to the landlord to release them from their lease. Many leases stipulate that you can ONLY operate a Dream Dinners from that location, so if the company goes belly up and you legally can’t operate the business, wouldn’t that end the lease? A good lawyer would know better. And if DD goes belly up, then no future payment obligations to them (assuming a buyer does not step in and try to collect on the 10-year royalty payments). I enjoy seeing Dream Dinners struggling - it brings me much joy.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
Marketing has taken a hit. Well, depends on what the definition is. They have lost bodies but whether the people who are gone actually ever did anything positive and revenue producing for us is another story.
When Darin dumped Alice he said he was going to take over until a new person was hired. Now others are gone and a new person still hasn’t been hired. Darin is in charge of everything. He created the initiatives and is moving everyone along while still working for One Accord. This is why he can say he won’t take a pay check until we are profitable because he is still getting one from One Accord. Since he took over have any of the owners been able to take a paycheck specifically because of his initiatives?
Bankruptcy? Oh yes–at Regionals they told us to prepare our exit strategies.
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Guest- can you elaborate for us about Regional’s. At my Regional’s, (John Antonelli is my Regional coach) they never mentioned anything about an exit strategy nor would they talk about the Lawsuit. Tina looks old, Darin shut us down, & John Antonelli stood back with a smug attitude.
We are planning on closing the end of August. We just can’t continue with 70 customers a month. The walk by traffic is just not there….oh, maybe if John A. is reading this- would you PLEASE return my phone calls…..yes, Its been two weeks.
Isn’t it what you’re getting paid $100,000 for???
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I was at the same one. Darin briefly mentioned the suit at the beginning that they would defend it and spend $250,000 or more to defend it. At the end someone asked a question about it and that is when he talked about getting an exit strategy. Darin said that no matter what shape a business is in that everyone should have an exit strategy. He told us that if DD went bankrupt that it would attempt reorganization with no promises and if that didn’t work they would sell for pennies on the dollar. I remember a couple more questions being asked but think he didn’t want to answer because one of the plaintiffs was there too.
You are right! John doesn’t return phone calls or emails.
Why are you waiting until August? July is never a good month and if things are bad now they will only get worse.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
For Darin to say you need an exit strategy is actually sound advice for any business. But when you couple that with the idea of “IF” DD was to go bankrupt and you have Regional coaches not calling people back, those sounds like the first warning signs to me.
Sounds like Darin is starting to prepare for the lawsuit draining the financial resources and of course the worst thing that will happen to him is he keeps his day job. He really has nothing to lose no matter badly this plays out.
I get the strong impression something “interesting” is going on up in Washington…
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Ah, I slightly remember now. I was so darn angry & frustrated. I sat num the whole time, thinking of how I am going to get out of this big financial mess.
We are waiting until Aug. because we have 13 gift cert. out. I have sent emails & phone calls.
Seems since I have announced closing- people are booking. I don’t get it!
I think I have hit every emotion out there- Just wish John A. that receives a paycheck would at least have balls enough to call me. He knows who I am….
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
HUH? You’re waiting until August for gift certificates? I’m not sure how that makes sense. If you look at the money you’re losing for staying open that extra time, wouldn’t it surely make sense just to give the people the cash instead and cut your losses? Surely, the loss would be more $$ out of your pocket, no?
When we closed last year, we heard that the HO was encouraging other store owners to accept the GC’s and there was some incentives (no royalty, maybe?) for them to do so.
Seriously, the biggest mistake you can make is to stay open too long. The summer is the worst. Cut your losses and get out now. There isn’t one reason I can think of that would cause me to stay open thru a summer if I was planning on August anyway. Just my $.02 from someone whose been there.
And BTW, Antonelli is the biggest blow hard, lamest, empty suit ever. He gave new meaning to the word USELESS!!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I agree. If you are not at least breaking even then you need to protect yourself. What are your numbers for July? What will be your cost in staying open for 2 more horrible months vs. returning the $ to the people.
Never thought of returning the $ to people. Thank you DiggingOut for that information.
Waiting…..Save yourself.
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Without going into all the details, (this is where a coach would have been helpful,)
We were unable to get out of our lease, but with much prayer, we were able to find a new tenant for our space. A restaurant will be replacing us, we will split the rent for August. They will purchase our furniture, freezers, and small wares & food.
As a gift to this new restaurant, I have given them ALL; (May 06’-08’) Dream Dinners Recipes for them to use. (Yup, pay backs are a bitch)
When I get gloomy and feel like a failure, I realize it could be much worse. My eyes are set on getting this nightmare behind us.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Yes, if you still have other stores open around you then they can accept the gift certificates and the home office will reimburse those owners for the cost of food.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Does any one know which employees have been laid off?
June 24th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Are you sure about the gift certificates & home office reimbursing owners. From a past conversation with John he did not say mention any of that.
Starting to feel like a double stanard is going on. Nothing is consistent.
From what I heard, Shannon& Christy from Marketing have left. They did nothing for me anyway, so no big loss, I guess.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I have also not heard about the reimbursement for the GC’s.
Even if you closed now, paid back the GC’s, and then paid rent, utilities etc.. until your new tenant takes over, would you be “saving” more money rather than running sessions and taking a loss overall? If you closed you wouldn’t be paying $2600/month in royalties.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Why I am digging my heels in the ground is this is a huge painful process. Closing my doors is like admitting to failure. Which I struggle with.
My husband is pushing for end of July. I have heard that other owners have closed their store when they were behind their royalties, and HO did nothing. I am willing to take the same risk. We are flat broke, and won’t be using my personal credit cards.
This just sucks.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
It is a horrible, horrible process and I stayed open months longer than I should. HO will not do anything. For them to come after you they would have to come after at least 30 more and it won’t happen. Are you currently behind? If not, ask for the 3 month suspension of performance standard that I just read about on the DD connection. That way in your last months you can get a little break.
I stuggle with the failure too. It is something in my life I am not used to. For the most part whatever I have worked for I have achieved and this one seems to be beyond me.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Dear Waiting…..
PLEASE…. do not delay this decision because it makes you feel like a failure. Feelings have no part in this. We stayed open way too long and the results were catastrophic. When we closed, we were over 12 months delinquent in our royalties and marketing payment. Dream Dinners never said squat to us about repaying it, and, in fact, months after we closed, Darin Leonard called us to offer to “forgive” the outstanding royalties and future obligations (though we’ve yet to see the agreement he said he would send and it’s been maybe six months since his call).
Believe me, Dream Dinners is the least of your worries, and furthermore, they certainly aren’t worried about you (that is, in helping turn your business around and becoming profitable).
Time to focus on saving what you can of your credit rating, your savings, your 401(k), your home equity, YOUR HOME, your kids’ college savings.
Be smart, not emotional. I know its hard. Now is the time for courage. Every week you spend trying to salvage your business is the failure. Exit (done correctly, with dignity and grace, taking care of your customers and employees) is the success.
With arms around you and best wishes for your future,
Sarah Rivers
Former Owner
Dream Dinners Raleigh, NC (09/04 - 07/07)
Dream Dinners Cary, NC (05/06 - 11/07)
June 24th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Yes, I am absolutely positive that HO will reimburse food costs for gift certificates redeemed for closed stores. The owners will need to mail HO the gift certificate along with the customer’s session print out and and food cost and they will mail the owner out a check.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I feel for each and everyone of you and what you’re going through.
Go read Mindy’s website http://www.joyfilledyou.com, she talks about the feelings of failure-remember it’s not you who failed, it’s the concept and DD’s who FAILED YOU!
June 24th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
No Category Awareness or Retention for Meal Assembly Segment
Dream Dinners, Super Suppers, and all the knock-offs are suffering from tremendous category awareness, not brand awareness. The meal assembly segment has not been proven to generate and retain enough customers to sustain the business. Guests have not been educated as to the economic savings and the health benefits enough to generate a large enough client base. Retention is not there.
After meeting with 18 Northern California DD franchisees a few months ago our firm, AMD, who works with many franchisors and franchisees, sent the following outline to Darin and left numerous follow up messages. NO RESPONSE.
Dream Dinner Observations
Logical positioning to consumer trends – value, health, family time, convenience
Solution based for convenience, commodity of time, family values, weeknight meals dilemma
Strong franchise sales based on tremendous support, love, caring, family, health
No top of mind brand or category awareness – best kept secret in most markets
Little brand loyalty, conviction, and acceptance of prepared meal segment
Destination vs. impulse – no drop in/walk in option – well under capacity
Lacks testimonials and endorsements as to benefits proposition
Franchise lacks effective co-op marketing practice and agreements
Franchise and segment “best practices” lack timely network dissemination
Marketing Objectives
Increase top of mind brand awareness for Dream Dinners
Increase sales and profit for Dream Dinners Franchisees
Increase levels of customer satisfaction for Dream Dinners
Marketing Plan – Strategies and tactics to consider, brainstorm, test, and execute
Define “best practices” in prepared meal segment (DD, SS, and competitors)
Initiate customer/guest surveys, focus groups, and research
Develop co-op marketing agreement for increased advertising efficiency
National, regional, and local marketing support from corporate – 2%
Enhance and promote customer/guest benefits
Utilize branded premiums to build brand awareness and community “buzz”
Identify and develop vertical marketing partnerships and alliances
Utilize partners for quarterly online promotions, contests, and kitchen makeovers
Initiate a referral program with branded incentives
Co-op quarterly direct mail in each market with Dream Dinner Dollars
Promote “Sneak Peak” and DD gift certificates to induce trial
Increase bounce back certificates and Volume Rewards to encourage return
Increase use of testimonials and endorsements to define benefits
Introduce the Birthday Club for the birthday week dinner menus program
Identify Tipping Point mavens, connectors, and salesmen in each market
Develop and communicate with database via email, eNews, and eCerts
Deliver POS – Positively Outrageous Service – learn and create POS for guests
Participate in Chamber of Commerce monthly mixers and annual business expos
Get involved in local charity – Relay for Life, Breast Cancer Awareness, etc.
Sponsor youth athletic programs and teams for increased branding
Encourage group sales, dinner party planning, group celebrations
Sales training/up-selling to increase average check size and repeat business
Develop methods to increase web site traffic – educate and motivate consumers
Use and review comments on YELP – Early DD reviews rank high
Create and utilize tools of measurement in all marketing tactics
June 24th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I hate to admit this, but yes, we are 3 mos. behind with royalties. Already used up the 3 mos. suspension a couple of times. The last 8 mos are monthly revenue is something like $14,000. As low as $6,000
I would need to have $27,000 to break even, so you can see where my capital has gone, not on marketing.
sigh
June 24th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Pat-thank you for posting.
Lots of questions-Did the 18 owners pay you for services? Did you contact Darin afterward as a solicitation of your services or was your report to go to him for follow up? Were you wanting Darin to hire you to implement?
A lot of what you have are things that we have been/are doing but interestingly some of the new initiatives that we have received are very similar to what I read above. How many months ago did you meet?
What does YELP mean?
Are you still working with the group and are they satisfied with your services?
Anyone from the California DD group want to report?
June 24th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Darin doesn’t have to respond to you, He has a day job!
plus, he wants to remain top dog so why would he implement any of your great ideas? Remember, I believe he thinks he’s the CEO and knows it all.
He wants Sherri Hanson all to himself so, he fired everyone else in marketing, don’t believe me? call: 360.804.1323
June 24th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Oh Dear Waiting….don’t wait until the end of August. It isn’t worth it. I’ll say it again, save yourself.
I was talking to an owner who closed last month and they said it was like taking the blinders off once it was finally done. The spell is broken and you can live life again.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
There have been some comments in this thread about the lack of information on “how to close” that the franchisor has provided (or I guess NOT provided).
You need to understand that they are not going to share a “best practices on how to go out of business” webinar. Simple economics. They need your store to stay in business so that they can stay in business.
The gift certificate thing is true. The franchisor will reimburse any DD store that honors a gift certificate from a closed store for the cost of food. This is a brand issue; they don’t want to have angry customers out there in the blogosphere.
As far as waiting to close? Absolutely agree with the advice given here. If you know you are going to close, why prolong/sustain it?
June 24th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I will say, as a store that closed on the east coast, when a store notified me that a gift certificate was redeemed in their store I paid 50% of the gift certificate out of my personal account. I felt morally that I would cover the cost of the meals for the other store. I had no idea that DD HO would cover the cost of the food. Now I feel better knowing that the owners had the opportunity to get back the other 50% and could make the profit.
Thank you for the information about the HO. I have been closed since Dec 2007 and am still interested in what is going on in DD land…
June 25th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
For the owner who is 3 months behind in royalty payments: JUST CLOSE! If you close, DD is letting some stores walk away from royalty debt if they sign a document that states they won’t sue DD and DD won’t sue you. But don’t lose another extra penny of yours on this business. Put it toward something that you can at least enjoy somehow.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Yes, I am aware of that. My Attorney has advised us to play it out. He said recently that Dream Dinners is on sinking sand and to sign would mean admitting to failure. We have calculated the costs and believe me; we will not be wasting precious pennies.
Still waiting to hear from John- has He been replaced??
June 25th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
The whole idea of the “sign this document saying you won’t sue us and we’ll let you out of your contract” sounds so much like, oh what’s the word, blackmail…
June 25th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
make sure and scroll down- Can we all say together- HUH???????
http://dream-dinners.blogspot.com/2008/06/dream-dinners_19.html
June 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
“Interesting” - Thank you. We did not charge for our services when we met on April 21st. Of course we did wish to work with the NC franchisees as a beta but they were low on funds and did not really have a very active co-op. As I mentioned I did follow up with the Maytag Repairman but received no response. YELP is an online review site that reviews many consumer categories including restaurants. DD received a very good review. Check it out at yelp.com.
I feel that the MA space is similar to the grocery delivery business of a few years back like WebVan, that went through over $100 million of VC money only to find there was no real market for grocery food delivery to the home. Unless you can sell the benefits of healthier family meals at a significant cost savings I do not see the MA segment sustaining any real growth or viability. It is very easy to sell franchises with enough hype. That is exactly why franchise laws have tightened in the last few years - too many franchiees being ripped off with another untested, can’t miss concept.
You need a leader with franchise food experience that has a plan to grow and reposition the segment. Super Suppers and all the knock-offs are going through the same demise. A leader would start talking to SS about building category awareness for both companies. A leader would start using the schools, churches, corporations, and non-profits as vertical marketing partners. A leader would start brainstorming with franchisees on how to reposition the DD spaces, rather than closing their doors and being on the hook for the lease for the rest of their lives.
There is an advantage to having 200 locations with good operators if you had the right product/service combination. What is the aging baby boomer generation looking for today? What do young families need to make their lives more enriched? Start thinking! Start repositioning! Start asking food and retail experts!
ps
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
THE 3 C’S LIFE RAFT FOR THE USDD SINKING SHIP
The key for Dream Dinners survival today is to reposition DD and to increase the utilization of both people and facility/kitchen assets. Here are a few ideas to start with. Keep adding to this list as you discuss repositioning with other franchisees. And remember all great ideas come from the franchisees, not the franchisors!!
• Cooking Classes – Take a look at Sur La Table and how they have positioned cooking classes with kitchen ware. Classes will generate trial traffic from which to build a client base for DD. Every municipal recreation department offers cooking classes as can be seen by quarterly recreation guides. Let the city do the registration and marketing much the same way that tennis, judo, dance, etc. classes are offered today. The split is usually 70/30 with 70% of the fees going to the outside vendor such as DD.
• Catering – With the kitchen facilities of DD each franchisee has the opportunity to perform catering functions in their market for parties, corporate events, small weddings, school auctions/events, seasonal occasions, significant birthday parties (30, 40, 50, 60, etc.), and kids events. At each of these events forced trial guests can be introduced to the DD brand and business services.
• Children’s Birthday Parties – 70% of children’s birthday parties are still held in the home. Why trash your home when you can hold your party at DD? A cooking birthday party can be a fun experience for both girls and boys. Kids can make the pizza, burgers, birthday cake, desserts, etc. under supervision of the DD staff. The party would be the meal and dessert prep, the birthday meal, opening of the gifts, and then the dessert/cake/ice cream. This could be a very learning experience for the children and priced at the same level of a party at Chuck E. Cheese, Pump It Up, or the local recreational amenity.
These three ideas have all been beta tested in various formats and businesses for a very long time. They are not new. What is new is that they all provide a significant service to their guests in one convenient, local facility, while at the same time building brand awareness for the DD brand. It is also possible that one or all of these business parts could grow into a more profitable and sustainable business than the original DD concept.
Good luck and have a Happy 4th weekend!
Pat Saign
America’s Marketing Department
2305 El Camino Real – Suite B
Palo Alto, California 93108
Phone: 650 327 3300
Cell: 650 533 4825
http://www.americasmarketingdepartment.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Pat,
Great suggestions and I like that you are offering some ideas to franchisees about diversifying their business.
I do just want to point out that people should perform a little research and due diligence on any business ideas that go outside the core business:
• Depending on your county, the health department may require different licensing and inspections for some of the activities you mention.
• Cooking classes and catering are great ideas, but most MA kitchens lack any way to actually cook food. So, you’d have to focus on uncooked items, or cook the food elsewhere (which again runs afoul of some health departments)
• Would also be a good idea to check with your liability insurance policy to ensure compliance (thinking particularly about the kids’ activities).
• Check your lease too. Many times, leases will have addendum clauses that limit your business activities, usually due to competitive reasons (a pizza parlor doesn’t want another pizza joint moving into the same property (like a strip mall), and will request the landlord prohibit any new tenants performing a same/similar activity). This makes good sense for the landlord too as he/she doesn’t want to be the cause of a tenant’s failure.
• Lastly, remember that the franchisor typically dictates the allowed activities that you can perform in your store. I know that as the franchisor battles to stay afloat, this will obviously be less of a concern, and the obvious defense is that you were simply trying to stay in business. However, if you are earning a return, the franchisor may feel that you owe them royalties. This would be the least of my concerns.
Please understand my comments are made simply to encourage people to understand their risks. Nothing worse that going down a new path and getting slapped with a lawsuit or fine or whatever.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Pat, Sure do appreciate your comments and your time.
However, most of us have tried all of the ideas you put forth.
1.Kid’s Birthday Parties-Not only is liability an issue for Kid’s Birthday Parties-it’s not worth the mess- Young Chef’s Academy’s do this across the country, it’s what they’re set-up for it’s what they do it’s ALL they do and most Meal Prep stores would have to re-tool for a kids Birthday Party.
Besides which they are too much of a pain in the butt for too little profit. Most children can’t reach into the tables to “assemble their entree’s or goodies, which means extra staff and again too little profit.
We cannot be ALL things to ALL people.
2. Catering- most Meal Prep kitchens (especially Dream Dinners) DO NOT have the facilities for catering-no stoves, only small ovens, again too much work for too little profit-if any.
And liability insurance for most is going to increase, and extra staff is going tp be needed. Clients would have to pick up raw food and cook it themselves-may as well go to Costco.
3. Cooking Classes: Most Meal Prep Kitchens are not equipped with Sur La Table kitchens-THUS most cannot do cooking demo’s. Again, how much are people willing to pay for a cooking lesson that’s not really a cooking lesson?
There have been lots of folks on here who have tried all of the things you mentioned, and the bottom line for me is:
I am NOT a Sur La Table, I am NOT a caterer, I am NOT a Kid’s Party station. My store was not built with any of those things in mind, those who were, still have closed their doors-except for a few who can’t decide what they want to be when they grow-up
What I am is a Meal Prep Kitchen, what I was sold was a Meal Prep Business Model, not any of those things you mentioned and to think otherwise is just plain foolish.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Sorry, PAT….
“Catering – With the kitchen facilities of DD each franchisee has the opportunity to perform catering functions in their market for parties, corporate events, small weddings, school auctions/events, seasonal occasions, significant birthday parties (30, 40, 50, 60, etc.), and kids events.”
Do you have any idea how the DD kitchen facilities are designed???? No stovetop, no oven (except a coutnter-top convection oven), no blender, in some cases no fire suppression system (which any county would require for “catering functions”).
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT????? The DD kitchen facilities provide NO “opportunities.”
Dream Dinners kitchens are absolutely NOT equipped to expand in the way you suggest. Did you know this before you posted???? If you did… why would you recommend ideas that cannot be implemented in a DD kitchen. If you didn’t know… why are you speaking?
Just wondering.
Happily Dreamless,
Sarah Rivers, Owner
Dream Dinners, Raleigh NC
Dream Dinners, Cary NC
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I agree with the feedback to Pat. These ideas have been ‘beta tested’ but the feasibility and profitability in an MAK environment are unresearched, untested, and a professional gamble for struggling owners. If you want to market ideas, Pat, please do your homework first. If you have information to share on successful use of these ideas at an actual MAK, I’m certain many here are eager to hear more. Otherwise these suggestions are just more of the same unproven business ideas that put the industry in the shape it is in today.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Pat, In all fairness, I want to stop you in your tracks. The Stuff your saying is all stuff most of the Owners have either thought of, or tried. The issue for me, when we did think of NEW, Out of box ideas, we were told by the home office that IF we did do this, we would be issued a ‘breech of contract’ from our coach. And many of them did receive, me included!
NOW, Darin Leonard, can sit up North, smoke his weed, drink his wine with all the other drunks and TELL us Owners, “Dooooo whatever it takes to make it work.”
Pat, Don’t you THINK that is unprofessional of a ZOR? Perhaps a bit greedy? Cause, shit, times have CHANGED, and customers are confused as ever, STILL- about our concept. or, we Cost too much, ect. Times are changing on a daily basis Pat, disposable income is tighting up…..
What I have now, is an over rated, failed business model, that is worth scrap metal to who ever wants it!
Thanks for letting me unravel a bit- Pat’s comments just hit a nerve!
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Pat, I appreciate your advice in the manner it was given. Maytag Repairman, I like that, although, did he repair anything there either? Who knows, but I guess we have to take his word for it. Thank-you for trying to help and please don’t hesitate to post anything else you can think of now that you have a better understanding of our kitchen situations.
Here are the things that I find most concerning about life under the Darin regime. He has, it seems, purposely put the brakes on our owner’s blog (thankfully started by Sarah and Amy) by threatening to deal harshly with anyone he could pinpoint who said things he didn’t like…this site included. Our own site pretty much came to a screeching halt forcing all of our dirty laundry to pop up here and in much harsher language. Nice work, Darin!
I think he enjoys that owners are once more in the dark about how they are doing compared to other stores across the country and hoping that they are once again blaming themselves. One of the first things he did upon becoming CEO was to remove any numbers from the national rankings that gave us a good idea of how the stores as a whole were underperforming. This was done under the guise that the numbers were popping up here and on other sites. I never saw them reported anywhere, but I might have missed it. I guess that is kind of a moot point now that they had to post our poor 2007 financial performance. But not to worry owners, because “We are not in trouble”. Really, not even a little? Oh, by the way, the Dream House in Snohomish rents out now for $1,000 a week so if you know of anyone visiting Snohomish and is in need of a four bedroom place, it really is a lovely setting. That is providing that it isn’t being used to house new owners for training.
If I understand correctly, it sounds now like he is creating an intranet site where he can scowl over our postings and take us back to the culture that Tina and Stephanie started where everyone was too afraid to get on their bad side by saying what they really felt. That was how we all got into this mess! Wait some of us spoke up, they just didn’t think that they had to listen as the ‘chasm’ that we are now trying to leap hadn’t opened up yet.
Another rumor I am now hearing is that he is threatening to turn owners over to collections for unpaid royalties past and future if they close their doors and don’t pay the $20K hush money. I urge everyone who has thought of closing their doors and is worried about the boogie man coming to get them to check with an attorney or state agency to see if a precedent has been set in your state prohibiting them from collecting future royalties once your doors have closed. I believe that is the case in California, but please double and triple check that.
Check the ‘0′ at the top of the California locations page. Weren’t they a high volume store? Did they zero out all of their store data on their own so that HO couldn’t claim them as ‘temporarily closed’? I like their moxie and I wish them the very best in their post DD life.
I’m done now.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Pat, I have to chime in as well, great stuff, great suggestions, we all thought we had a “great idea” too when we opened our stores and waited for the customers, it felt like a little like waiting to get picked for the volleyball team in gym class.
Let’s not forget names like CENA and Sociale Gourmet-Who have incorporated what you have suggested. Their franchisees too are losing their asses. Two of them just closed in their home state. What you have here Pat-is for the most part (except for the few still drinkin’ the old red koolaide)an educated, savvy audience, broke bunch of folks, who has had their fill of crap.
Sorry to be blunt!
July 5th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Battered brings up a good point. Darin’s threats made the DD Connection useless so we moved our dirty laundry out into the public. There is another well thought out idea Darin. Take away the place to gripe and they won’t gripe anymore…WRONG. Now everyone knows our crap and it is thanks to you. At least with the DD Connection our complaints were private.
Now-how much money have you spent on this great “Dream Connect”? Was this one of the initiatives? WAIT…the initiatives were supposed to have been for getting revenue up and guests into our stores. The money you spend now is supposed to be to build this company back up and make us profitable again.
How does “Dream Connect” do that?
You know a way that would have saved a lot of time and money would be to admit that you were wrong by threatening us with the DD Connection. You could have told us that all employees of HO had been removed and it is was a secure site for owners. You could have told us that HO would not infringe and Big Brother the site. Amy and Sarah said they would continue to run it so we could use it. They volunteered to allow us to continue to gather and express ourselves.
Why is the money/hours being spent on Dream Connect now when we are so far in the hole. How does this help us grow our base and revenue?
I know you are reading so pony up, be a man and answer.
July 6th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Pat - what are your motives here? It sounds like you spent one day in April with North California franchisees and developed what looks to be a very generic list of recommendations. You wrote that you wanted to do a “beta” project but (surprise, surprise) they were low on funds and couldn’t afford your marketing services. Then you send your recommendations to the CEO of Dream Dinners and appear upset (you refer to him as the Maytag Repairman) because he doesn’t respond to your unsolicited ideas. Then you post your self-proclaimed “3 C’s Life Raft” ideas along with your contact info on this site (offering a convenient way for store owners to learn more about your services).
I’m not the only one posting here who finds your “Life Raft” ideas completely unworkable given the realities of a typical MAK facility. I especially find your suggestion that MAK’s could cater “small weddings” completely off base. Do you have ANY idea what goes into catering a wedding, regardless of size? Do you have any idea what type of equipment needed to prepare and rewarm dinners for a large group of people? How about the set up staff, serving staff, and clean up? (Let’s not forget the insurance and food service permit issues). Suggesting that an MAK owner (most without professional catering experience) without an appropriate (and permitted) professional kitchen could enter the “small wedding” catering market reflects your lack of understanding of both the catering and MAK businesses.
I clicked on your web site link and it looks like your niche is marketing to emerging and small to mid size companies. You’re not the first marketer that has come onto this site trying to sell unworkable ideas and you probably won’t be the last.
You’ve given us advice now here’s some advice for you: protect your reputation and your company’s reputation by taking the time to understand a potential customer’s business before you put unworkable ideas in a public forum.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Guest and all DD franchisees……..Over the last 25 years I have watched franchises spring up with great concepts, great people, and great franchisees. I have also watched franchises being sold far sooner than they should have been due to greed, inexperience, and lack of any real testing for a few years/few stores. DD falls into both these categories - great people, but not really tested enough. It goes back to the top of mind category awareness. Super Suppers and all the other knock-offs are also suffering from the same lack of category awareness. But, they seem to be re-positioning themselves a little faster, utilizing stronger advertising co-ops, and using vertical marketing partners and their distribution channels for more efficient marketing (schools, corporations, non-profits, churches, etc.). They also seem to have a better handle on the “best practices” in this meal assembly segment. This all comes down to “leadership”. Leaders lead, innovate, partner, research, re-position, adapt, change, market, and motivate. Many times leadership comes from the best and brightest franchisees. Where is the leadership at DD?? Where are the best and brightest franchisees? The silent minority.
With regards to marketing programs I always hear from franchisees that “we tried that before and it didn’t work”. Marketing is all about execution, not just ideas. If the DD franchisees are going to wait for business to improve without much change to positioning, marketing, and research, just close the doors. One tactic I have seen that is effective in motivating the franchisor to help the franchisees is to stop the royalty payment flow due to lack of R&D, marketing, and brand positioning. This is a legal matter for your franchise attorney, but I have seen various promises in the UFOC of DD that have not been executed as documented or promised.
As mentioned earlier, the repositioning ideas of catering, classes, and children’s parties are just a start in bringing new ideas to the table and brainstorming how to better position DD in the marketplace. It may be far too late, but you have 200 bright people out there with an asset, rent payments, and a monthly nut. You also have both DD and SS franchisees who ARE catering, holding cooking classes, and children’s activities in their facilities in order to survive and build their business. Who has the list of best practices? Where is the current rersearch from focus groups of your past and current customers? Why aren’t they coming back? This isn’t brain surgery. You should know by now the answers to these questions.
Good luck to you all. Take a good look again at the list of marketing ideas from my June 24 post. Have you really executed or tried these tactics? You are on a sinking ship with no help from the port of DD. Creative marketing and best practices may be your only life raft. Assume no help is coming from DD corporate. Work together, co-op your few ad dollars, hire a national PR agency like Fishman PR out of Chicago to build the category, start developing vertical marketing partners and alliances, hold a few focus groups of your customers, have all 200 franchisees submit one best practice, read Tipping Point again, align with a national charity, partner with SS to build the category, and put pressure on the DD management to start leading the sinking ship. You have a lot of work to do and please call for help. ps
July 7th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
We’ve tried rather lamishly to get into a little bit of catering. We do have the benefit (and loan payment) on a full kitchen so have a bit more flexibility. That said, for those of you DD folks (and others) who don’t have cooking facilities, there are a ton of cold catering options that can be implemented. Particularly if you look to the corporate catering segment. I don’t disagree that it will/does/should require a new (much shorter) business plan and marketing effort, but if you aren’t lucky enough to find someone to take over your lease and can’t stomach breaking it don’t immediately dismiss the catering option. Boxed lunches, deli platters, and the like are relatively easy to prepare.
Though, there is a lot of stiff competition out there.
As for our health department, they said we need to submit spec sheets for any new/necessary equipment (e.g. coolers, hot holding cabinets, etc), a menu, and undergo a brief inspection and they’ll add catering to our permit.
I briefly costed out kids parties some time back and nixed the idea rather quickly. It had nothing to do with liability issues….if you aren’t (can’t) going to put the effort into making a business out of it, the required party volume and low margins just didn’t make much sense. There are certainly non-cooked options that kids could create/make but the $ just didn’t seem to justify the effort.
As for cooking classes, that idea has come and gone as well because of the set up necessary. We did hook up with the county to offer a couple of senior trips to the store to make meals. We set the price and they paid it- for 2 HALF size meals.
As for category LACK of awareness, I couldn’t agree more.
July 7th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Fishman, is NOT the PR firm you want to waste your PR money on. We used them and they got us bupkus.
Pat, I know I appreciate your ideas, but this Meal Assembly ship has sailed, those that haven’t are sinking or sunk.
Even the “experts” have no clue what to do or how to do and I really don’t believe that your ideas as good as they seem are not the answer either.
July 7th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
So instead of actually fixing any of the problems people have grievance with, Darin and crew are just going to shut down your channel for discussing those grievances? Well that should certainly work.
Book burning and censorship are always fine remedies to any discord within the populous.
And while your ideas seem to have some merit Pat, many have been tried and some don’t really seem like they will yield any sort of tangible results. While I do agree that marketing and execution are pivotal to success, waiting 6 months for a return on the investment isn’t going to do anyone any good.
Guest is right, this ship has sailed and many folks will be lucky to make it through the next month, let alone long enough to try your ideas. The corporate offices have completely withdrawn and won’t be offering any support to their owners; that has been clearly shown by the silence from Super Suppers, the bumbling plans of Dream Dinners and the inability of The Dinner A’Fare to even get a website up and running.
And what would owners be fighting for? A business that makes them work 50-60 hours a week and pays them minimum wage? A business where they struggle to get customers in the door 10 hours a week and they don’t bring home a paycheck? I really don’t know if the idea of meal assembly is even worth saving these days.
Co-ops and coalitions and fun little buzzwords to throw around and hearken back to the days of rebelling against nameless sweatshops and poor working conditions. Norma Rae might crack a smile at the thought, but seriously, what are you hoping to gain from all of it? To spend the next few years trying plan after plan until you magically hit on the right formula that might possibly give you a part time living?
July 8th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Done catering, done cooking classes, done kids cooking. Handed an extra 100 people per week coupons to try our dinners as they went in and out of our store for the extras we were doing. I couldn’t believe how low the redemption rate on the coupons were. Bottom line - LONG hours, tons of manual labor, TONS of creativity and trial by fire led to breaking even, barely. Close your doors and find a real job that pays what you’re worth. We all should get awards for all of the effort we’ve put in trying to save our stores and pull in extra clients to stay afloat. The real world and a real job are so easy in comparison. I have a full week of paid vacation next week and I don’t have to be at my store. YAHOO!
July 8th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Amen beenthere, I have been there too and agree with you and others who have encouraged people to stop the madness!
All those things are great marketing “schemes” but work no better than wasting time handing out coupons to Mom & Dad’s at soccer fields, little league games, MOPS meetings or anything else WOMM has come up with. If you were to cost out how much time it wastes to design, print, handout (driving to and from and standing there physically handing them out) your ROI is next to nothing. Then you have all the time and effort actually DOING the event, which again we looked at as advertisement and ended up running ourselves ragged for vrtually nothing-not even to break even
Providing meals to families of working Mom’s while a noble, great idea for a ministry, actually sucks when it comes to trying to make a living at it.
A Part-time living would have been great Tuckerbox, we couldn’t even get it that far-even a Part-time income is a pipe dream for most.
The only ones making ill-gotten passive income off of Meal Prep are the Franchisors who sit on their asses and make prounouncements from on-high(I know some of think they ARE HIGH-but I digress), and actually DO NOTHING, but put gag orders on our freedom to assembly and speak freely to one another.
Someone else suggested letting corporate america take all the risks and you just put your time in and go home and enjoy life at the end of the day. That really is the easy way!
Slow down and enjoy your life-lose the useless baggage of a business that is going to eat you, your finances, your future and your family alive!