Buying a Franchise in Mexico: How to Speak to Franchisees

Before buying a franchise, it is worth listening to people already working with the brand. A sales presentation explains the business model; conversations with franchisees reveal how the day-to-day relationship works. Within the franchise community, these references help you check promises, provided you do not mistake personal accounts for conclusive evidence. The key is to speak to a varied group of people, ask about facts and document anything that still needs clarification.

1. Build a sample that does not depend on the seller

Ask the franchisor to put you in touch with operators willing to share their experience. Do not limit yourself to the most successful outlet or someone who regularly takes part in sales presentations. Their perspective may be valuable, but it does not necessarily reflect the conditions you will encounter.

Seek different perspectives:

• A recently opened outlet, whose operator still remembers the challenges of getting started.
• A more established outlet, whose operator can explain how the relationship with the brand has evolved.
• An outlet comparable to your proposed business, in terms of format, location and customer profile.
• Someone who has left the network, if you can find them and they are willing to talk.

You do not need to turn this exercise into a statistical survey. The aim is to gather a sufficiently varied range of experiences to identify meaningful similarities and differences.

When contacting an outlet directly, ask for an appointment with its owner or authorised operator. Avoid questioning staff while they are serving customers. Explain that you are considering an investment and ask how much time the person can spare. It is also worth finding out whether anyone recommending the brand receives compensation for referring buyers: this does not invalidate their experience, but it provides context.

2. Ask about specific incidents, not general satisfaction

“Would you recommend the franchise?” tends to produce answers that are too broad. It is more useful to explore particular situations: what happened, who got involved, how long a response took and how the matter was resolved.

Use the same basic set of questions in every conversation:

• What recent operational problem required the franchisor’s involvement?
• Who did you contact, and how did they follow up on your request?
• Which aspects of getting started differed from what you were told during the sales process?
• How does the brand communicate changes to procedures?
• Can you put forward suggestions? Can you recall one that received a response?
• What information do you wish you had had before committing?
• What should you be able to handle yourself, even with support from the brand?

Ask for examples without requesting manuals, customer data or other confidential material. If someone says “the support is excellent”, ask what the support team actually did. If they say “they never reply”, try to establish whether this was an isolated incident or a recurring situation.

With former franchisees, ask about the circumstances of their departure and when the events took place. An experience from several years ago may relate to a different management team or a format that is no longer offered. Hearing criticism does not mean you should accept it without checking, just as hearing praise does not prove that everything works well.

3. Keep references separate from your legal rights

In Mexico, franchises are specifically regulated under the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial). Article 245 requires the franchisor to provide information about the state of its business at least thirty days before entering into the agreement. This pre-contractual information is commonly known as the Circular de Oferta de Franquicia, or COF.

The Regulations under the Industrial Property Law, which apply insofar as they do not conflict with the current law, set out the information that must be provided. This includes the franchisor’s identity, a description of the franchise, how long it has been established, the payments required and the technical assistance offered.

Interviewing operators supplements this information; it does not replace it. Nor should you assume that you have an automatic right to receive every franchisee’s personal telephone number. Requesting references is a due diligence measure, and sharing them must respect privacy and confidentiality obligations.

Article 246 also requires a written agreement with specified minimum content, including how technical assistance will be provided. If the interviews reveal a practice that matters to your decision, ask the franchisor to clarify its scope in writing and have your lawyer review how it is reflected in the contractual documents.

4. Turn conversations into decisions backed by evidence

After each interview, record the date, type of outlet, how long the operator has been involved and the events described. Clearly distinguish between first-hand experience, opinion and comments from third parties. Do not record conversations without consent or publicly attribute private statements.

Organise recurring themes in a simple table: issue, accounts received, franchisor’s explanation and checks still outstanding. For example, if several operators describe difficulties getting a response, request details of the support procedure, who is responsible and how requests are followed up.

One person’s refusal to speak does not prove there is a problem. However, references that are always controlled by the seller, repeated contradictions or pressure to sign before those contradictions are clarified are grounds for pausing your assessment.

Practical conclusion: seek a range of experiences, ask about facts and check patterns against documents. Buy when the important questions have been resolved, not when you have collected enough praise.