Buying a franchise: how to consult other franchisees

Before buying a franchise, speaking to people who already run one can help you understand what the agreement means in practice after signing. But an enthusiastic recommendation or an isolated complaint is not enough to base a decision on. These conversations within the franchise network help you spot patterns, check promises against reality and raise questions that the sales presentation often leaves unanswered.

1. Choose people with a range of experiences

Ask the franchisor for contact details for current operators and explain that you want to carry out an independent assessment. Do not limit yourself to the person who appears at every sales meeting: they may have had a genuinely good experience, but their circumstances may be quite different from yours.

Look for variety: someone who has opened recently, an established operator and, if possible, someone who has faced a significant difficulty. It is also worth speaking both to an owner who personally manages their outlet and to one who delegates day-to-day operations, especially if you plan to hire a manager.

When comparing experiences, consider the city, business format, how long the outlet has been operating and the owner’s level of involvement. The experience of an established outlet does not necessarily reflect what you will encounter when opening a new one.

No set number of interviews guarantees a sound purchase. What matters is widening your sample when contradictions emerge. If all your contacts were selected by the brand, try to find others through publicly available business contact channels, without demanding personal details or disrupting their work.

Where possible, include a former franchisee. Their account may provide useful context about the relationship, but it should not be treated as a definitive judgement on the entire network either.

2. Ask about facts, not just satisfaction

Arrange a brief conversation at a convenient time. Introduce yourself as a prospective buyer and make clear that you do not need confidential information, customer data or employee records.

Use a consistent set of questions so you can compare answers:

• Expectations: What aspect of the day-to-day work turned out differently from what you imagined before joining?
• Involvement: Which tasks require your personal attention, and which have you been able to delegate?
• Decisions: Can you describe a time when you proposed a change and how the brand responded?
• Incidents: When a specific operational problem arose, who stepped in and how was it resolved?
• Changes: Have any new requirements been introduced during the relationship, and how were they communicated?
• Peer relationships: Are there opportunities to exchange experiences with other franchisees?
• Overall assessment: Would you choose this franchise again, and under what conditions?

After each general answer, ask for an example. “Communication is excellent” tells you less than hearing how an incident was handled, how long a response took and what was documented.

Also ask about the interviewee’s previous experience. Someone who runs several businesses may be able to resolve difficulties that would be decisive for a first-time buyer. The aim is not to judge the individual, but to understand how much their experience depends on the franchise model and how much on their own resources.

3. Understand the legal framework for these conversations

In Argentina, franchise agreements are specifically regulated by Articles 1512 to 1524 of the national Civil and Commercial Code. They should not be treated as relationships without their own legal framework.

One protection is particularly relevant to exchanges between operators: Article 1519(c) deems clauses that prevent a franchisee from forming non-economic ties with other franchisees invalid. This supports the ability to build relationships within the network, but it does not authorise the disclosure of trade secrets or make every form of economic collaboration an unrestricted right.

Nor does it give prospective buyers an automatic right to receive every operator’s personal telephone number or to demand interviews. Operators may decline a conversation, and their confidentiality obligations must be respected.

Separately, Article 1514(a) requires the franchisor, before signing, to provide economic and financial information covering two years of performance for units similar to the one being offered, which have operated for a sufficient period in Argentina or abroad. Franchisees’ accounts do not replace this pre-contractual information. A favourable conversation does not release the franchisor from its obligations.

4. Turn the conversations into a documented decision

Prepare a table with four columns: topic, reported fact, context and outstanding question. Clearly distinguish what you have observed yourself from what a third party has told you.

If several operators describe the same problem, ask the franchisor for a specific explanation. You can raise the issue without identifying anyone: “I have received comments about operational changes being communicated at short notice. What procedure do you follow?” Do not attribute quotations without permission.

Assess the quality of the response too. Acknowledging a difficulty and explaining corrective measures is more useful than denying that any problem exists. Any significant contradiction concerning promised obligations should be clarified in writing and, where appropriate, incorporated into the agreement following professional review.

Practical conclusion: before signing, gather a range of experiences, look for verifiable examples and keep a list of resolved and outstanding discrepancies. Do not buy simply because one person’s account appeals to you: decide when you can explain why that experience is relevant to the business you intend to run.