Who is responsible for the salaries, administrative fees, meals, travel, and lodging expenses of the Carls All-Star Team members while they are trainers at a franchisee's restaurant?
Carls Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
For your first two Franchised Restaurants, you will receive the assistance of our All-Star Team in the preopening and opening of those two Franchised Restaurants. The All-Star Team may consist of our corporate staff and/or it may include one or more of our franchisees, as we may determine. The All-Star Team's primary responsibility is to assist with restaurant set-up, restaurant crew station training and guest experience during your Franchise Restaurant pre-opening and opening. You will be responsible for the salaries, administrative fees, meals, travel and lodging expenses of the All-Star Team members while they are trainers at your Franchised Restaurant. For additional details, see Items 5 and 7.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 41–54)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Carls's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is responsible for covering certain expenses related to the All-Star Team. Specifically, for the first two franchised restaurants a franchisee opens, Carls will provide an All-Star Team to assist with pre-opening and opening activities. This team may consist of corporate staff or existing franchisees.
The primary role of the All-Star Team is to help with restaurant setup, crew training, and ensuring a positive guest experience during the pre-opening and opening phases. However, the franchisee is responsible for the salaries, administrative fees, meals, travel, and lodging expenses of the All-Star Team members while they are training at the franchisee's restaurant.
This means that in addition to the initial franchise fee and other startup costs, a new Carls franchisee must also budget for these additional expenses related to the All-Star Team. This could potentially be a significant cost, depending on the size of the team, the duration of their stay, and the location of the restaurant. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider these costs when evaluating the overall investment required to open a Carls franchise and should ask Carls for an estimate of these costs.