Complaint Review: Dollar Stote Services - Las Vegas Nevada

john la fronz sure has alot of time on his hands to write several long winded rebuttals. i figured he was busy attending important meetings and overseeing site locations and build outs. funny because i have tried contacting him several times as well as drss months before my store closed. were you too busy then? for weeks at a time? i have way too many complaints about your company to list them all but the biggest one is why are you guys so overpriced? why do you guys spend so much on things you could find anywhere online for cheap? you waste a ton of the clients money on unnecessary things. all for the "look" of a "professional" retail store. money that could be better spent on advertising, purchasing more merchandise, emergency funds, is wasted on indoor signs, incredibly expensive and unnecessary outdoor signs, and pre-packaged merchandise that for the most part will not sell. i signed on with them because they offered what the others didn't. they were supposed to help you succeed through teir expertise in the business. all i got was overpriced merchandise that i could not sell for a dollar without losing money. most items that people wanted were $.65-$.89. don't forget that shipping costs haven't been added yet. overall you are making very little return unless you raise prices on your own. funny thing is, when i suggested this to a drss rep. she said no, that it was a bad idea. we kept it at a dollar for a few months and continued to make about $.15 per item until she finally agreed that we raise the prices. the customers weren't happy but we had  no choice. i spoke to another dollar store owner, who's business happened to succeed and he said that he could not keep any of his items at a dollar price point. he, himself said that his first year he nearly did not make it. but he was able to secure a loan on his own to purchase more and better quality merchandise while raising the prices. they may claim they have provided the support they advertised but truthfully, it is no support at all. what were they doing to help us when we struggled? what were they doing to help us when we were having trouble with the landlord? or when we had to close our doors? where was the support then? with their kind of support, you're better off on your own. if any of you are planning to open your own dollar store, i would highly recommend you to invest your money in a different venture. dollar stores are a lot of work for little pay. i'm certain a hotdog stand at the park costs less and turns a better profit thatn dollar stores. but if your mind is set on owning a dollar store, DO NOT GO WITH DRSS!! they will bankrupt you. this is not a disgruntled ex-client trying to get back at a company, this is the truth. from the very beginning since they pitched their sell to me, i was skeptical. but they reassured me that with drss' support i would have nothing to worry about. i trusted that they would have my back in times of trouble and it wasn't true. they know that the blame can and will always be pointed back to the owner or the economy while they walk away with your money scott free.

if anyone is planning on using drss to build out your store please contact me first to get the real scoop on drss. contact me via email: dollardeals01@gmail. com

as for you, john la fronz, you know where and how to reach me, visalia, ca. dollar deals. send my regards to your support reps cassandra and michelle

This website is little more than a blog, where anyone can say anything about any business.  These individuals can remain nameless and faceless.  The claims they make can be completely false, they can claim that they have done "research" or conducted "investigations" and not provide any facts that can be substantiated to support their claims.  Individuals can "vent" about anything at all with total disregard  for truth or facts, and the victim is left to address claims that have no basis in fact.

A sad thing about such websites and the internet is that anyone can hide behind a false name and make slanderous and libelous claims that can inflict serious harm on a business or an individual without fear of retribution; without giving the victim the opportunity to face their "accuser" and seriously address their claims.

"Noah", whoever he may actually be, has never contacted our company in any way.  We have no record in our database of any "Noah" as a prospective owner, nor as an actual owner.  We have never received an inquiry from a "Noah" , nor have we accepted a deposit from anyone named "Noah".  We are pleased that whoever "Noah" really is chose a less common name to hide behind; this made it very easy to research. Perhaps "Noah" is actually a competitor of ours ?

Although we have been in business since 1995, only 5 actual customers of ours since 2007 have seen the need to post to this site.  Of the 5, three have had their concerns resolved to their satisfaction as noted at the end of the postings.  The other 2 are recent, and we are seeking to address their concerns. In that same period of time, we have accepted deposits (which allow us to begin store development work on behalf of the depositors) from
  4, 493 individuals (through the end of 2012).  Of those 4,493 people, only 5 (.0011%) felt the need to post on this site. That indicates a SATISFACTION RATE OF 99.9989 % !  Do you know of many , or ANY businesses that can make that claim ?

I would refer anyone with a serious interest in our business opportunities to the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada.  You will  see that after 17 YEARS in business, we have an A+ rating.  The BBB is a place where actual  consumers with actual concerns can go to have them seriously addressed.  You file an inquiry with the Better Business Bureau, and the company has the opportunity to respond specifically to the consumer and seek to address their concerns. The BBB acts as an intermediary in this process, and resolves each matter based on FACTS provided by both sides.

Our A+ rating is based on our response to actual claims over a very long period of time.  I think most would agree that the Better Business Bureau has a long history  and a much greater credibility than a one-sided website such as the ripoff  report.

That being said, we would like to address a few specific claims made by "Noah" (whoever he or she might be): 
  "I have investigated..."--investigated how ? What type of research was done ?

"Outright Lies"--lies about what ? the writer never says "Overall success rate"--we are not a franchise, so we do not publish information regarding the history of our stores.  Not all stores are featured on our website. 
On what basis does the writer determine that there is a "failure rate" ?

"Products are controlled by JW Imports"-- NOT TRUE!  JW Imports does not "control" any products; this company hand selects merchandise from over 75 suppliers and negotiates prices on each.  This information is then made available to the stores, each of which makes their own buying decisions and deal directly with the suppliers,  as independent owners should.
 
"Locations are not special..." NOT TRUE !  --Is the writer aware of every location we have provided to every store owner, the specifics of each, what the owners perception of the locations were ?

"I...investigated the 193 YouTube videos..." NOT TRUE! --there are, in fact 443videos.  (Great job of investigating !)  Many feature new store owners who speak to their overall satisfaction with the development process.  "90% of business have failed..."--NOT TRUE!  This statement is categorically not true; is not even remotely close to being
accurate--another asinine and ridiculous  unsubstantiated claim.

Store References are less than 60 days old--we provide references of recently opened stores so that prospective store owners can speak to owners who can affirm their satisfaction with the product and service they have just received; the owners can speak about what we are providing TODAY !

"...mislead people on their other new businesses "  -- how ? As "Noah" says, the Teen Stores and Fitness Centers
are new concepts; they have not been in operation for years as he claims, but only months, and yes, we have opened a number of these stores.

"...the owner of Discount Retail Store Services pays his bills..."--TRUE !- I am not sure why "Noah" believes that paying one's bills is a bad thing; perhaps he could call me and explain that. I am always available at the number shown below.

"The BBB account is under Dollar Store Services only and keeps its A+ rating based on ...paid membership" -- NOT TRUE ! Our other two long- established companies are  members of the BBB, with A and A+ ratings.   Membership does not get a business a rating; performance and customer satisfaction secures a rating.  I would suggest that the BBB would take issue with "Noah's" "pay for praise" claim.

"Thanks to the information provided by a (sic) upper management employee..." I look forward to speaking with "Noah" so that I can clarify who this unnamed employee  might be, and what this "information" he was provided might be.

"...they will give your deposit back.." TRUE!--if a prospective owner cannot secure funding, or if we cannot
find them an acceptable location, or if they simply decide that they do not want to go forward, of course our deposit is 100% refundable, as advertised.  Again, "Noah" will have to explain to me why doing what we say we will do and returning deposits is a bad thing.  We are not in the business of collecting deposits, we are in the business of assisting independent minded individuals  in getting into business for themselves.

"...this is not a sure thing."  TRUE !--every new business venture has an element of risk; we do everything that we can to assist every client that has the desire to start their own business, providing them with the tools to be as successful as possible, however, there are no guarantees of success in this or any other business endeavor.

I would urge any reader that has interest in any of our business opportunities, or questions about them, to contact me directly.  I, and our entire staff of over 90 dedicated employees are always happy to speak to prospective store owners about our store development programs, meet with them, and provide them with contacts for new store owners.  I encourage any interested parties to visit our corporate offices in Las Vegas at any time, (no need to even make an appointment) to meet with our staff, tour our facility, evaluate our training centers, and get comfortable with the benefits that our development programs can provide to you.

Remember--you can visit the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada's website (southernnevada.bbb.org) and read for yourself our history of performance with that organization, and I encourage you to do so. I look forward to speaking with you.
 
John LaFronz
General Manager,
Dollar Store Services
1-800-829-2915
x134

PS--"Noah"--I look forward to hearing from you, as well.