Stoking an old row

Now this is the sort of thing I like. Long-term readers might recall a few weeks ago I mentioned what I saw as the pointlessness of franchises entering and winning franchise awards since not all franchises shared anything in common.

There were a few comments, not least from the guv’nor round these parts, suggesting I wasn’t being entirely fair, that these sorts of awards were important and no less back-scratching than any other sort.

It would therefore feel wrong not to point out that some franchise organisations take part in different awards. Take BB’s Coffee and Muffins, which has just won an award but not one for being a franchise – this is from the Sammies and is entirely for the catering industry. It’s won the best sandwich award.

I haven’t tasted the sandwiches and can’t comment on their (award-winning) quality. What I can say with some strength of feeling is that BB’s seems to have entered a competition with the peers in its industry and won a gong that’s actually going to mean something to its customers. All of which seems to me to make better sense than ‘hey there we’ve won an award for being a franchise’, which only tells the buyer about the behind-the-scenes stuff – which is actually precious little of their business in the first place.

My congrats to BB’s. I’d guess this award is going to make a lot more difference to their business than some others.

Guy Clapperton is a freelance journalist who specialises in small business issues and has written for the likes of The Guardian, the FT and the Daily Mirror. Guy has written about finance and franchising for SmallBizPod. http://www.guyclapperton.co.uk