Questions to Ask Current Franchisees Before You Sign an FDD

Top TLDR: Current franchisees listed in FDD Item 20 are the most direct source of real information about operating in a franchise system. Before signing, call five to ten operators across different markets and ask the same structured questions about ramp-up time, support quality, and whether opening costs matched Item 7 estimates. Use the full list, not just names the franchise development team suggests.

The Franchise Disclosure Document tells you what the franchisor is required by law to disclose. Current franchisees tell you what it's actually like to run the business. Both are necessary. Neither is sufficient on its own.

FDD Item 20 contains a complete list of current franchisees — their names, addresses, and phone numbers. The FTC requires franchisors to include this information specifically so prospective buyers can conduct independent validation. Most buyers glance at the list and don't make a single call. That's a significant missed opportunity. The conversations you have with people already operating in the system are often more useful than anything else in the due diligence process.

This guide is a practical conversation framework for using the Item 20 contact list effectively. It covers how to approach franchisees, what specific questions to ask, and how to interpret what you hear. It's designed for anyone evaluating a pet franchise opportunity — whether you're early in your research or approaching the final stages before signing.

Nothing here substitutes for working with a franchise attorney. Franchisee conversations inform your judgment; a qualified attorney protects your legal interests.

Why Franchisee Validation Is Different From FDD Review

Reading the FDD gives you the franchisor's version of the story, in a legally mandated format, filtered through lawyers. That's valuable — but it's institutional. The document is designed to disclose; it's not designed to convey what day 30 of operations felt like, or how the franchise team responded when a location had a difficult month, or whether the Item 7 investment estimates were anywhere close to what actually happened.

Franchisees give you the unfiltered version. They've been through the process you're considering. They've experienced the training firsthand. They've lived through the ramp-up period and dealt with real problems using real support. And unlike the franchise development team, they have no financial interest in convincing you to sign.

That independence is the whole point. A franchisee who is candid with you about challenges is more valuable to your due diligence than one who tells you everything is fine — because honesty, positive or negative, helps you make a better decision.

How to Approach the Conversations

Start by contacting five to ten franchisees from the Item 20 list. Don't limit yourself to the ones the franchise development team suggests calling — those are usually the most enthusiastic operators in the system. Pull contacts from the full list across different markets and different opening dates.

Request a 20–30 minute phone call. Most franchisees will agree to talk; they remember being in your position. Frame the call honestly: you're evaluating the franchise and want to hear a real operator's perspective before making any decision.

Go in with a structured set of questions written out in advance. Ask the same core questions with each franchisee so you can compare answers. Varied responses on the same question tell you something important. Consistent answers — whether consistently positive or consistently cautious — tell you something else.

Don't just take notes on the content of answers. Pay attention to hesitation, qualifications, and things people say differently than you'd expect. "The support is fine" is a different answer than "the support has been genuinely helpful." A long pause before answering a question about the ramp-up period is worth noting.

If anyone on the current franchisee list declines to speak with you, that's worth noting too — though not necessarily a red flag by itself. If multiple people decline or give evasive non-answers, that pattern deserves more weight.

Questions About the Opening Process and Pre-Opening Support

The period between signing and opening day is one of the most demanding — and most variable — phases of franchise ownership. How much real support you receive, and whether the process matches what the FDD describes in Item 11, is often what separates smooth openings from chaotic ones.

Ask these:

How closely did the actual opening process match what was described during the sales process?

Were the Item 7 investment estimates accurate relative to your real costs? If your actual costs were higher, which categories ran over — and by how much?

How responsive was the franchise team during site selection and construction? Were there delays, and how were they handled?

Did the training adequately prepare you to open? What was covered well, and what did you wish had been covered better before day one?

Was the on-site opening support — the franchise team being present at launch — what you expected? How long did they stay, and what did that look like in practice?

What's the one thing you wish you'd known before signing that you know now?

This last question often yields the most candid answers. It's open-ended, and it gives franchisees permission to share something they might not volunteer if asked more directly.

Questions About Ramp-Up Time and Early Revenue

The FDD's Item 7 working capital estimate includes a defined period — usually three to six months — designed to carry the location through the ramp-up phase before revenue stabilizes. Whether that estimate is accurate, and how long the ramp-up actually takes, is one of the most practically important questions you can ask.

Ask these:

How long did it take your location to reach what you'd consider a stable, predictable revenue level?

Did the working capital estimate in Item 7 prove adequate for your actual ramp-up, or did you need more than was estimated?

How quickly did membership grow in the first three months? Was the pace what the franchise team suggested you should expect?

What drove membership growth early on — was it primarily marketing, walk-in traffic, word of mouth, or presales before opening?

Were there any revenue surprises in either direction in your first six months — things that performed better or worse than you expected?

For a dog park bar concept, the membership model is central to the revenue picture. Early membership growth — which depends heavily on pre-opening marketing, community awareness, and local word of mouth — determines how quickly a new location reaches sustainable cash flow. Dog franchise investment analysis covers how the revenue model works in more detail.

Questions About Ongoing Support Quality

The franchise fee and royalties you pay are partly paying for the ongoing support infrastructure. Whether that infrastructure is actually there when you need it is something only current operators can tell you from experience.

Ask these:

How would you describe the ongoing support from the franchise team after your grand opening? Is it proactive or reactive?

When you've had operational problems — something unexpected with staffing, a challenging situation in the park, a slow month — how did the franchise team respond?

Do you feel like the quarterly business reviews (or whatever the franchisor's ongoing check-in structure looks like) are genuinely useful, or are they more administrative in nature?

Has the franchise system improved since you opened — new tools, updated processes, better marketing support — or has it stayed roughly the same?

If you called the franchise team today with a real operational problem, what would that conversation look like?

Good franchise support is responsive, specific, and available when it actually matters — not just during the sales process. Franchisees who've been in the system for a year or more will have a clear, experience-based view of whether that's true.

Questions About Seasonality and Revenue Patterns

For an outdoor dog park concept, seasonality is a real operational factor. How much revenue varies across seasons, how operators manage through slower periods, and whether the franchise system provides guidance on seasonal programming are all worth understanding before you open.

Ask these:

How much does your revenue vary across seasons? What are your strongest and weakest months?

How do you manage staffing and operating costs during slower periods?

Has the franchise system provided any specific guidance on seasonal programming — events, promotions, or membership strategies for slower periods?

How does weather affect your location — not just what the climate is like on average, but how a rainy week or a heat wave actually affects attendance and revenue?

If you're in a colder market, how do you handle winter? Has it been more or less of a factor than you expected going in?

Wagbar has noted that its model works even in colder climates — understanding from existing operators in similar markets what that actually looks like in practice is more useful than any general claim about weather adaptability.

Questions About the Relationship With the Franchisor

Beyond logistics and support mechanics, the relationship quality between franchisee and franchisor affects everything from problem-solving to long-term satisfaction. Franchisees who feel heard and respected operate differently than those who feel like a revenue stream with no real voice.

Ask these:

How would you describe your relationship with the franchise team overall?

When you've had disagreements or concerns, how have those been handled?

Do you feel like the franchisor is actually invested in your success, or does the relationship feel more transactional?

Has the system changed in ways you weren't expecting — new requirements, fee adjustments, operational changes — and how were those communicated and managed?

Would you do this again? And would you recommend this system to someone in the position you were in before you signed?

That last question often produces the most honest answer in the entire conversation, and the reasoning behind it — not just the yes or no — is what matters most.

Talking to Former Franchisees

The Item 20 list also includes former franchisees — those who left the system in the last several years through termination, non-renewal, or voluntary exit. These conversations are harder to initiate but often the most revealing.

A franchisee who left voluntarily may have done so for entirely personal reasons — relocation, health, a better opportunity — that tell you nothing about the franchise system. Or they may have left because the economics didn't work, the support wasn't there, or the relationship with the franchisor deteriorated.

Ask former franchisees the same core questions, with one addition: why did you leave, and would you recommend this system to someone considering it today?

You may not reach many people from this list. Some will decline to talk; others have signed non-disclosure agreements as part of their exit. But the ones who are willing to be candid can give you information you won't find anywhere in the FDD.

How to Interpret What You Hear

A few consistent themes from multiple franchisees carry more weight than any single comment. One frustrated operator can reflect a difficult personal situation; five who describe the same problem with support response time or the same disparity between Item 7 estimates and actual costs signals a pattern.

Positive indicators: Franchisees who say the ramp-up matched expectations or exceeded them. Those who describe getting real responses to real problems from the franchise team. Those who say the training actually prepared them for the work. Those who say they'd do it again without a long pause or heavy qualification.

Indicators worth digging into: Consistent mentions of the same challenge across multiple conversations. Hesitation or qualifications when asked about whether they'd recommend the system. Significant divergence between Item 7 estimates and actual opening costs. Descriptions of the post-opening support as primarily check-the-box rather than genuinely helpful.

Clear warning patterns: Multiple franchisees who describe feeling misled about the ramp-up timeline or financial performance expectations. Consistent descriptions of support that disappeared after opening. Strong discouragement from the franchise team about talking to other franchisees directly. These patterns, when they appear consistently, are worth discussing in detail with your franchise attorney before proceeding.

Most validation conversations with healthy franchise systems produce a mix — candid acknowledgment of challenges alongside genuine enthusiasm for the concept and the community. That's what real operator experience looks like, and it's more reliable than either uniform praise or uniform discouragement.

Applying This to Pet Franchise Evaluation

For buyers evaluating Wagbar specifically, the franchisee contact list in Item 20 of the current FDD is the right place to start these conversations. The system has franchisees in multiple markets — Richmond, Virginia (AJ Sanborn, with a financial services background), Phoenix, Arizona (Dianna, with IT sales experience), Knoxville, Tennessee, Los Angeles, California, and others — across different geographic and demographic contexts.

Speaking with operators in markets similar to your own target location will give you the most applicable picture of what to expect. Talking to newer franchisees gives you insight into the current opening process and what it's like to work with the team today. Talking to franchisees who've been open longer tells you what the ongoing relationship looks like over time.

Request the current FDD through the Wagbar franchising page to access the Item 20 contact list and start these conversations as part of your due diligence. For the full context of what to review across all 23 FDD items, the complete FDD reading guide walks through each one. And for investors who want to understand what the investment structure looks like before picking up the phone, the pet franchise financing guide covers the full funding picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many franchisees should I contact before making a decision?

Five to ten conversations, spread across different markets and opening dates, is a reasonable minimum. More is better when the conversations are producing varied or conflicting answers. Don't stop at two or three even if those conversations felt positive.

Can the franchisor restrict me from talking to franchisees?

No. The FTC franchise rule specifically requires franchisors to provide the franchisee contact list in Item 20, and it is your right to contact them. If a franchise development team actively discourages contact with current operators, treat that as a significant warning sign.

What if franchisees don't respond or won't talk?

Some won't. That's normal. Work through the list until you've had genuine conversations with several operators. If an unusually high number of people refuse to engage, that's worth noting. If you can't reach anyone willing to speak candidly, escalate that concern with your franchise attorney.

Should I ask about specific revenue figures?

You can ask, but franchisees aren't required to share specific financial figures and many won't. The more useful questions are about whether performance matched expectations, whether the ramp-up timeline was accurate, and whether working capital estimates proved adequate — because these give you useful context without requiring someone to share proprietary numbers.

Is it appropriate to ask if they'd recommend the franchise?

Yes, and it's one of the most important questions you can ask. The answer itself matters less than the reasoning — a franchisee who says "yes, but only if you have X" is giving you more useful information than one who says an unconditional yes or no.

The Conversations Worth Having

Signing a franchise agreement without talking to current operators is like buying a house without a home inspection. The FDD tells you the dimensions and the price. Franchisees tell you if the roof leaks.

The pet franchise due diligence process doesn't end when you finish reading the document — it deepens when you start having real conversations with real operators. Those conversations take time to arrange and take honesty on both sides to be useful. But they're the step that separates buyers who go in clear-eyed from those who encounter surprises they didn't need to encounter.

Use the list. Make the calls.

Bottom TLDR: Questions to ask current franchisees cover five areas: the accuracy of the opening process and Item 7 estimates, how long the ramp-up to stable revenue actually took, what ongoing support looks like in practice versus what was promised, how seasonality affects operations, and whether operators would make the same decision again. Contact franchisees from the full Item 20 list before signing, and have a franchise attorney review what you learn alongside the FDD.