McDonald's Franchisees Reveal Chain's Secrets

According to a recent survey of McDonald's franchisees, the Golden Arches may be in some trouble, Business Insider reports.

A total of 27 franchisees were interviewed, encompassing 241 of the fast-food stores, and many believe "the partnership is dead." From too much work to too little pay off and too many expectations, the franchisees spilled all.

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"We are doing so much, so fast and we aren't doing any of it properly," one person wrote, mentioning staffing problems as another issue that McDonald's is facing.

While McDonald's has made huge attempts to modernize the fast-food chain, which has been around since the 1950s, many of their attempts have proven too costly and time consuming. In fact, of the complaints recorded in the survey, two main categories arose: concerns regarding costly and complex changes and corporate executives ignoring the concerns of franchisees.

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"Every week there is a new initiative for the managers to focus on," said one franchisee. "They need to slow the initiatives down and have less of them, as even our long-term employees are now quitting ... McDonald's Corporation is thinking short term, not long term."

While the outlook franchisees have for the company is more positive than it had been just three months ago, many of them still fear that corporate executive's lack of listening will be a breaking point for many.

"Our relationship with Corporate is the worst I've seen in my decades as an Operator," stated one franchisee.

"There is a rush to get out, more and more stores are up for sale. Sad to see McDonald's becoming something entirely different than founder Ray Kroc's vision," added another.

Business Insider reached out to McDonald's for comment, but they did not respond.