Slow Economy Feeds Fast-Food Fight
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New York City-The struggle to recover from the recentdownturn in the nation's economy has led to rising tensionsbetween several major fast-food chains and their respectivefranchisees, according to some industry observers. As franchisorslike McDonald's and Burger King work to rebuild flagging salesthrough new evaluation systems and renovation plans, manyfranchisees are finding themselves pressured to accept new andoften costly programs at a time when funds are increasinglydifficult to come by. The result is heightened anxieties on thepart of franchisees and lower tolerance for what may be perceivedas unrealistic expectations by the franchisor, observers say. Totheir credit, many franchisors are stepping in to help their largerfranchisees, but smaller franchisees are feeling particularly hardpressed. -Nation's Restaurant News
