Franchising in Greece: clear support commitments

‘Ongoing support’ is an easy promise to make when an established business starts expanding through franchising. But it becomes a source of friction when the franchisee expects an immediate technical fix while the head office team simply means guidance over the phone. For a healthy franchise network, post-opening support needs to be specific: what is provided, by whom, when and through which process. A clearly drafted support services schedule linked to the franchise agreement is the right tool.

1. Describe services, not general intentions

Start by listing the requests you already handle in your business: equipment faults, questions about procedures, ordering problems or a need for operational guidance. Do not copy a list of services your team cannot deliver. Use your actual operating experience to define what you can reliably take on.

For each service, complete four fields:

• Scope: the problem the support covers.
• Deliverable: exactly what the franchisee receives, such as written instructions or a visit from an adviser.
• Responsibility: who receives the request and who handles it.
• Limits: which actions remain the responsibility of the franchisee or an external supplier.

These distinctions matter in practice. Helping someone contact a maintenance provider is not the same as undertaking to repair the equipment. Similarly, operational guidance does not mean the franchisor takes over the management of the franchisee’s independent business.

Also distinguish scheduled services, such as a review meeting, from support provided on request. This prevents a regular visit from being presented as a substitute for help when an urgent problem arises.

2. Agree how requests are submitted and assessed

A support schedule needs a single point of contact for requests. This could be a dedicated email address or a ticketing system. Private messages sent to different members of staff make requests harder to track and lead to inconsistent service.

Define priority categories based on the actual impact on operations. An inability to process transactions should not be treated in the same way as a question about product displays. Explain who assigns priority and when it is reviewed, so that the ‘urgent’ label does not depend solely on how persistent the sender is.

Response time is not resolution time. A response means that someone has reviewed the request and provided meaningful initial guidance. Resolution may depend on spare parts, access to the premises or a third-party provider. Record these concepts separately, along with support hours and the frequency of updates until the issue is closed.

Ask only for the information needed: the outlet, a description of the issue, when it arose, its operational impact and any steps already tried. Provide an alternative channel in case the main one is unavailable, as well as cover when the person responsible is absent.

3. Incorporate the commitments properly into the agreement

Greece has no dedicated law providing a comprehensive framework for franchising, nor a statutory regime for mandatory pre-contractual disclosure specific to franchising. The general principles of the Greek Civil Code, relevant commercial law provisions, and rules on unfair competition and competition law apply.

For support promises, particular importance attaches to good faith in negotiations under Article 197 of the Greek Civil Code, and performance of obligations in accordance with good faith under Article 288. Sales presentations should therefore not promise unlimited support when the contract provides only limited services.

The European Code of Ethics for Franchising is a self-regulatory framework, not a Greek law of general application. It provides for full and accurate written disclosure of material aspects of the relationship within a reasonable time before signing. Support limitations should therefore be explained in advance, rather than coming as a surprise after opening.

With legal advice, specify which services are included in the agreed fees, which require approval of additional costs and which are provided by third parties. Also define how the schedule relates to the agreement and the operations manual. A procedural change in the manual should not be used to make unclear changes to material contractual commitments.

4. Monitor delivery and address shortcomings

Before making commitments to franchisees, test the process internally using real requests. Check whether they are recorded correctly, reach the right person and generate updates for the requester without repeated chasing.

Track the time taken to provide the first meaningful response, outstanding requests and recurring problems. Do not close a request simply because a reply has been sent: record the solution or explain which next step remains outstanding and who is responsible for it.

Establish an escalation process for referring requests to a senior manager when support is delayed. Repeated failures require a corrective action plan, while changes to commitments must follow the agreed contractual procedure.

Practical takeaway: before promising ‘ongoing support’, set out who does what, within which limits and at what cost. Clarity protects both parties better than an impressive but vague promise.