Kumon franchise review: Franchise Scam 1

Taking up a Kumon franchise was a decision I regret every day of my life. Having been sold on lies and deceptive materials from a Kumon franchise sales rep, I decided to own a Kumon learning center franchise. I convinced my family members to invest in the venture and took on a business partner. I was shown all sort of fabricated data convincing me that the market was great and the other franchisees were supportive of my venture and would welcome me into the "Kumon family." I was then requird to undergo training at the company's headquaters in New Jersey. Having worked in a couple of corporate positions prior to my regreted decision, I found the training to be substandard and complete nonsense. The trainers were a complete joke and a bunch of amateurs trying to find a voice. The head of the training department didn't was like a deer in the headlights and claimed to have been with the company for over 15 or 20 years. The woman was definitely not normal. I finally got my Kumon learning center up and running after investing $100, 000+ of my money and that of my family members and business partner. The center got off to a bad start. In 8 months I had just 14 students. I realized that the "Kumon family" that I was promised was actually the "Adams family." The two other Kumon learning centers closest to my center turned out to bad mouth my new center and spread lies about us in the community and market. We invested $2000 every month in marketing and pitching signs in the town but the signs would mysteriously disappear. A friend informed me that she saw the instructor of the center 6 miles south of me drive through my town, pull the yard signs out of the ground and load them into the trunk of her car. This is blatant stealing. I complained by my complains fell on deaf ears. If I had any reason other than to maintain the peace, I should have been wiser and reported the theft of my signs. Over the next few months we kept pumping money down a black hole called the Kumon learning center. The Kumon program or product (as the company prefers to call it) is nothing more than a rubbish bunch of stupid worksheets that we had to pay a royalty of over $40 per student. In the 12th month we could take it no more. The rent and expenses were killing us, with enrollment touching just 26 students. Yet, the company staff would occassionally visit us and blow smoke up our back sides promising an illuision of financial success that kept us into putting more and more money down the black hole of a Kumon center. Finally, having been financially wiped out we tried to sell the place, but could not find any buyers. With no solution in sight we closed doors on the center. Our experience had been bitter, and we squarely blame the company and the treacherous women who owned the nearby Kumon centers who did everything in their bag of rotten tricks to make sure we shut down. We were in a great market and would have done very well if we owned a Sylvan or a Aloha learning center where the franchisees are supportive. We were destroyed by Kumon's own franchisees. So, if you are being sold the dream of a Kumon franchise with great financial success beware, there is none. Don't be fooled. You will be ruined. Kumon franchise is a mirage and a scam.