The Burgerim disaster

[Recursion]

This is a fascinating post-mortem of a failed restaurant chain.

https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/emerging-brands/burgerim-disaster

When Burgerim told franchisees in mid-December that it was considering a bankruptcy filing and hired an insolvency counsel, it was the first time many operators had heard from the company in weeks.

The message featured the name of a person put in charge of the brand, along with an email that didn’t work. Phone calls to company headquarters went unanswered. Voice mailboxes were full. Even employees had no idea what was going on.

But one type of contact to Burgerim did generate a quick response: one from someone interested in opening a franchise.

The inquiry through the company’s website generated a response from a sales rep on New Year’s Eve, 13 days after the company told franchisees it was restructuring and a week after it allegedly told operators that its offices were closed through the holidays. The email got the prospect’s name wrong, starting with “Hello My Dear Wilhelm” before it launched into a sales pitch on Burgerim that included a link to a video made by social media influencer and Kim Kardashian friend known as “Foodgod.”

[dalton99a]

1. Oren Loni: