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Ask Dan Prechtel

Ask President Dan Prechtel: August 2009

Franchise Alliance President Dan Prechtel addresses anonymous online character assassination.

Consultant Question: Why hasn't our company posted replies to the absurd claims on some of these so-called consumer web sites or blogs?

Dan Prechtel Response: We have elected to ignore these postings while pursuing our legal remedies to have them removed. My concern is that dignifying any of it with a reply actually adds credibility to the sites. Much like barking back at a barking dog.

How do you defend yourself against an anonymous web poster? In this case we have good evidence that it was done by a would be competitor, not a real client. It's ironic that the fake complaint on one of the sites isn't even against our company, but they take the time to name our people to make sure it comes up on the search engines. Sad.

We have bank references, BBB accreditation, IFA membership, CPA references, attorney references, landlord references, franchise partner references, consultant references, supplier references, we put ourselves out there as transparently as a pane of glass! These cowards don't even have names.

I've looked over the worst site, and it's probably nothing to worry about. A client that puts any stock in this outfit isn't someone we need on our team anyway. They have managed to attack the only four credible companies in our industry: Entrepreneur's Source, FranNet, Business Alliance, and Franchise Alliance. More proof that the postings are an inside job is the careful wording in the phony complaints, certain to hit a nerve with an unknowing client.

If you spend some time on these sites, which I have, you get an idea of the idiots that post on them and the idiots that advertise on them. "Get rich quick in real estate." That's a beauty! They attack some legendary brands like Marriott, UPS, Subway, just to name a handful. In short, maybe we should use these postings as a "badge of honor."

After all, the tabloids only write phony stories about the biggest stars! In our business it's John Tittle at BAI, Phil Cuban at FranNet, Terry Powell at TES, and yours truly, Dan Prechtel, at Franchise Alliance! Let's move on and continue to focus on helping our clients find their dreams.

Best regards for another great month! Dan Prechtel

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