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Question - subscribers contacting your techs directly

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Ken

How do you address a client who calls technicians directly for service and support questions rather than calling the main phone and using the service dept?   They even text message our techs’ cell phones.

anon

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Answer

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    This is more an issue between you and your techs than it is with your subscribers.  The Standard Form Contracts prohibit your subscribers from soliciting your employees for employment.  I confess that that provision does not specifically address the subscriber contacting the employee directly, assuming it is expected that the service call will be through your business and not something the tech charges for on the side.  

    Your employees need to understand, and agree, that no outside business is permitted, and that includes private deals with your subscribers.  If the employee is not doing the work and charging on the side, and bringing the work to your attention, then the simply answer is tell them to always refer the subscriber to the service department.  There is no reason your subscribers should have your employees cell or private phone number.  How your service department lost control of customer service is something you should look into.  Better supervision, or control, over the employees is also necessary.  The customer didn't find their phone number, the tech gave it to them.

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Question - e-contracts 

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Ken,

    We have your contracts and I have searched through most of your article database and I haven’t found an answer to this question. When we go to using an E-contract, and when it is printed out, I would prefer to have it print in an 8 ½ x 11 format due to the lack of legal sized paper for most customers. Since this means it will print on more than 2 pages, should there be a signature line on each page? An initial here place on each page? Would a “page 1 of 4” be sufficient?     Typically in the old school paper world, it would be a front and back single sheet 8 ½ x 14 or 8 ½ x 17 , or even worse. How should a multi page contact be structured so that all pages are still considered the complete document from electronic to paper?

Thanks

Jason Holmes

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Answer

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    Consumer laws that deal with contract format [and by that I mean font size, font color, provision placement] have not, as far as I know, kept pace with electronic contracts.  One would assume that the electronic version of the contract should comply in terms of font size, color, boldness, placement. etc.  Thus the font size should be readable, text that has larger minimum size and placement will comply in the electronic version.  The consumer is signing the e-contract.  It's signed before it's printed.  The Standard Form Contracts are customized state by state to comply with the consumer laws in your state.

    It won't matter if the contract prints out on 4 pages because it was originally drafted as 8.5 x 14 and you're printing it out as 8.5 x 11.  Because the contract is e signed it's also not important to have each page signed.  If an issue arises regarding the authenticity of the printed contract it will be compared to the original e signed form, which hopefully have been preserved.  When the contract is printed the print should comply with font requirements.  I don't know of any cases that have been decided where the printed e-signed copy didn't comply with consumer laws thus rendering the contract unenforceable - but that's only because I haven't researched it - those cases may be out there.  

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