Edible Arrangements is a company known for its fresh fruit cut in the shape of floral arrangements But among its franchise owners, the Wallingford-based company might become known for something less appetizing.
More than 200 stores across the country have joined together to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Connecticut challenging parent company policies, including mandatory seven-day-a-week operating hours for franchisees.
A lawyer representing the franchisees, Justin M. Klein, of Marks & Klein LLP in New Jersey, said the store owners are also upset about being charged additional fees for technology improvements — such as those for online purchases — which weren’t in the original franchise-franchisee contracts. “The fees run afoul of the contractual obligations of the two parties,†said Klein.
Klein said that roughly 170 disgruntled franchisee managers had collectively voiced their displeasure directly to the company in hopes of… carry on reading.