Glass Doctor Announces Franchising Plan to Target Firefighters and Law Enforcement Personnel
April 2, 2012

by Katie O'Mara, komara@glass.com

The Dwyer Group, parent company of Glass Doctor, recently announced its plan to attract firefighters and law enforcement personnel through the company's new program, Public Protectors Franchise Advantage (PPFA) program.

The program was inspired by The Dwyer Group's long-standing pledge to hire veterans.

"We look at it through the lens of the veterans program," says Doug Dixon, vice president of marking and operations for franchise development at The Dwyer Group. "The veteran program was started by Don Dwyer after the Gulf War. The idea was to try to give them a start at getting into business themselves. It has been successful over the years and as we were talking about that we started to think of a similar group-public servants."

"People that are in those roles sometimes start at a young age and are able to retire early. Some even retire after 20 or 25 years, but they are not done working," says Dixon. "We thought this could be a win-win situation where we could put together a program that shows our appreciation for them and at the same time help them with their new career."

The veteran program has brought 236 veterans to the company since 1991, but the goals for the PPFA program remain open. Those eligible for the program must have worked in firefighting or law enforcement full-time for at least two consecutive years.

"Those who are eligible will get a 20 percent discount off the base franchise fee. When somebody buys one of our franchises there is a fee that they pay to buy the territory and that fee is based on population. The base fee for Glass Doctor is $28,000," says Dixon. "We have a mutual evaluation process where over a period of time we see if they are a good fit for us and they see if we are a good fit for them."

The Dwyer Group will also be awarding a free franchise to one program applicant. Those eligible must submit an application by July 1, 2012. A panel will review those applications and award a base level franchise to one winner.

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