Overall, the concept is solid and the business model can work. However, the corporate office nickel-and-dimes franchisees—charging excessive postage, unnecessary DPS fees, and restricting printer choices—making it harder to run a profitable business.

That consumers and some clients like the map and find it familiar from traveling in other places.

Fees, fees and more fees. No outside the box thinking. A consistent ongoing addition of fees. Most recently an email came across that if you don't attend one of the conferences, you get fined.

It’s important to recognize that we’re in the advertising business, which is not black and white by nature and requires flexibility. The current structure feels overly rigid—particularly when it comes to DPS fees, which seem excessive and should be reconsidered. Franchisees should be allowed to run their businesses without having every step of the process tightly controlled, including the freedom to choose their own printers. Franchisees have a vested interest in quality—this is their livelihood—and they are not going to make decisions that compromise the product or brand. It’s also worth noting that many franchisees have been in the advertising industry for a long time—some even longer than the current CEO, who does not come from an advertising or marketing background. That level of experience should be acknowledged and respected. From a franchisee perspective, many of these policies appear to be driven more by revenue generation at the franchisor level than by what actually supports strong, sustainable local advertising businesses.