Founder of Heidi’s Seeks Talks With Franchisees
In an apparent effort to iron out problems with angry store owners, the founder of Heidi’s Frogen Yozurt Shoppes said Friday that she has asked for a meeting with representatives of the chain’s franchisees.
“We are on track and hope to assure our franchisees that we are willing to be pliable whenever it will benefit the entire organization,” Heidi A. Miller said in a news release announcing the meeting.
Earlier this week, several store owners publicly discussed their dissatisfaction with Miller, a 33-year-old body builder who has been called the queen of frozen yogurt. At least four Superior Court lawsuits and 10 arbitration claims have been brought by franchisees against the Laguna Hills company, claiming mismanagement and misrepresentations by the chain’s executives.
When asked about Miller’s proposed meeting, about half a dozen franchisees said they were not optimistic about the outcome, and some were still calling for the demotion of Miller as president of the frozen-dessert empire.
“We’ve had meetings before,” said Vince LoFranco, owner of six franchises in Santa Clara County, who has filed a lawsuit against the chain. “I’ve had my hopes up so many times before that we’d be able to get to the bottom of these problems . . . but I’ve been completely let down.”
Skip Villerot, owner of three Heidi’s stores and president of the Assn. of Heidi’s Franchisees, said he is willing to meet “anytime, anywhere. I want to solve this damn thing and get it over with.”
Several franchisees complained that the association, which represents most franchise owners, has been trying for at least six months to sit down with Miller and resolve differences about issues ranging from the cost of equipment to the type of toppings used in the stores.
The franchisees said Miller had not shown up for some previous meetings, but had overruled concessions made by her executives. “She has already agreed in the past to make changes--like hiring a chief executive. But that’s not happened,” LoFranco said.
