Meal Assembly Watch

I have begun to ponder the long-term impact the meal assembly industry will have on other franchises. I have no doubt that MA will go down in history as a fad business that sold too quickly and crashed with disastrous results. The names Stephanie Allen, Judy Byrd and others will go down in infamy. The meal assembly industry and others (such as Ebay drop off stores) will be studied thoroughly by business students for years to come. But what impact will meal assembly have on other franchises?

Will it make those who seek self-fulfillment in self-employment more cautions? Will it make them more cynical? Will it give potential risk takers a moment of pause before they sign on the dotted line?

Will those who seek to leave Corporate America think twice about leaving “the grind” and the management to get locked into a system that thwarts change, reacts slowly, forces you to follow established rules even when those rules go against what customers want? Are you just trading one pair of shackles for another?

I think meal assembly is a prime example of an idea that looked good on paper, but had no checks and balances to keep it under control.
· It’s the perfect example of a company that didn’t have a proven track record of profitability before becoming a franchise.
· It’s the perfect example of what happens when inexperienced Franchisors allow dollar signs to be their only motivation.
· It’s a prime example of management not hiring the right people for the job and thinking that their friends are cheap labor.
· It shows what happens when you just copy an idea and then rest on your laurels waiting for the franchise checks to come in.
· It’s an example of what happens when there is no forward thinking and no ability to handle the changing landscape of consumer wants.

And the list goes on and on…

I have read many articles of failed and hapless business schemes being compared to meal assembly and their crash and burn results as “just like the meal assembly industry”.

Will the mantra be, “Do your research and don’t buy into something like one of those meal assembly stores?”

Will the potential small business owner now be frightened off because of meal assembly and others?

Meal assembly isn’t the worst franchise out there and it isn’t the only folly people have bought into over the past couple of years. I think the Ebay drop off stores will vie for top honors amongst franchise blunders, but I think there is a tremendous amount that needs to be learned from meal assembly and things you need to look out for before you sign on the dotted line and reach for that checkbook. And if it causes people to think twice about some get rich quick scheme, or taking the advice of some association or making sure the business actually has a proven track record of profitability then that’s a good thing.

People keep saying a business takes 5 years to mature and show profitability; meal assembly will have come and gone within those same 5 years.

Other Articles of Interest:

• The end of the line for Super Suppers
• Eyes Wide Shut
• Where will the meal assembly industry be in 2009? (Part 2)
• Where will the meal assembly industry be in 2009? (Part 1)
• Selling Your Restaurant? There is Hope in 2010
• Do Franchises Know What They’re Doing?
• Big Brother is Watching
• Connecting the meal assembly dots (Reprise)
• Is 2009 a good time to buy a franchise?
• Meal Assembly not recommended as an investment