VIRTUAL RECEPTION TERMS OF SERVICE
Veta Virtual provides digital (automated) reception services and live virtual (remote) receptionist to Members as Workhaus’s Virtual Receptionist Services Partner.
The Member rents office space from Workhaus and wishes to receive Virtual Reception Services from Veta Virtual.
Monthly Reception Services Packages are available to Members to select from. Those Packages can be found in the Workhaus Services Rider – Virtual Reception.
These Terms of Service cover details about how Veta Virtual provides its Services, and include promises Veta Virtual makes to Members, any special situations that may come up, and various legal clauses it is important that Members are aware of.
IN THE CASE OF DIGITAL VIRTUAL RECEPTIONIST SERVICES
Digital Receptionist packages (1) provide coverage on a 24 hours per day, 7 days per week basis, (2) include auto-attendant call answering with a custom message, with call forwarding to 10 local external number, (3) and include the number of minutes of coverage indicated in the Package purchase, i.e., Digital Package 100 provides 100 minutes.
Members choose the Digital Receptionist package that best meets their needs. Customized packages and optional add-ons are available. Inquiries about customized packages and optional add-ons may be directed at any time to Veta Virtual at support@vetavirtual.com.
IN THE CASE OF LIVE VIRTUAL RECEPTIONIST SERVICES
Live Receptionist services will be provided by a Veta Virtual Dedicated Team. Veta Virtual will make every possible effort to assign a Dedicated Team generally knowledgeable about the nature of the Member’s business.
Dedicated Team members may include, at Veta Virtual’s discretion, Veta Virtual employees, individual freelancers engaged by Veta Virtual as independent contractors, or the employees of, or independent contractors (freelancers) engaged by, a third party to which Veta Virtual subcontracts the provision of Services on its behalf.
Veta Virtual promises that it shall provide Services (1) in good faith and to the best of its abilities and those of its Dedicated Team members, and (2) in accordance with high ethical standards.
If a Member is not satisfied with the quality of service provided by a specific Dedicated Team member, the Member will contact the Escalations Team at support@vetavirtual.com. Reasonable efforts will be made by Veta Virtual (working with the Member, as applicable) to assist the Team member to improve the quality of service to a professional standard. If after such efforts, professional service cannot be provided by the Team member, Veta Virtual will remove the Team member from the Member’s account.
Veta Virtual will assign a Dedicated Team of sufficient size that in the ordinary course of business all incoming calls can be answered live by a Team member. Veta Virtual acknowledges that “in the ordinary course of business” will take into account that the number of calls to a Member may have throughout a normal workday and will make all commercially reasonable efforts to account for, in particular, peak incoming call times in terms of the availability of Team members. The Member acknowledges that there may be occasions when the number of incoming calls is more than the number of Team members available can answer live and that in such case, the incoming call will be sent directly to voicemail.
For clarity, when accounting for “spikes,” i.e., temporary peak incoming call times in a normal workday, Veta Virtual will account for a 25% increase in average call volume during such peak periods.
When a Member plans to hold an event for which invitees will, for example, be asked to RSVP by telephone, or a sales, marketing, or another type of campaign that can reasonably be expected to generate more telephone calls than a normal business day, the Member will ensure Veta Virtual is provided with a minimum of three (3) business days’ notice the timing and duration of the event or campaign so that Veta Virtual can allocate resources accordingly.
If it is necessary for the provision of Services to transfer (or port) a Member’s telephone number(s) to Veta Virtual, the Member shall execute a letter of authorization in favour of Veta Virtual for that purpose and take such other steps or issue such instructions to the Member’s current telephone service provider as may be necessary/as instructed by Veta Virtual, which steps may be, in fact, to do nothing (and, in particular, to not contact the Member’s current provider) beyond executing the letter of authorization.
PAYMENT FOR SERVICES
The Member will pay for Services as described in the Workhaus Services Rider – Virtual Reception.
If the Member begins using Veta Virtual’s Services at any time other than the first day of a month, the cost of the Package the Member selects will be prorated according to the number of days Services are to be provided in the part Service Month divided by thirty (30) days.
The Member will pay for Veta Virtual’s Services (through Workhaus) on a prepaid month-to-month basis.
Payment for a Service Month is not refundable for any reason. In no event will Veta Virtual provide Services in or with respect to a Service Month without prepayment of a Package.
NON DISCLOSURE OF THE MEMBER’S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Veta Virtual will never disclose to anyone other than the Member or use for any purpose other than delivering Services any Confidential Information, i.e., any confidential or proprietary creative, technical, financial, marketing, manufacturing, distribution or other technical or business information or trade secrets belonging to the Member or a Caller to a Member. If Veta Virtual has any questions as to what comprises such confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets, or to whom, if anyone, it may be disclosed, Veta Virtual will consult with the Member.
Veta Virtual acknowledges and agrees that its Confidentiality obligations extend to Dedicated Team members and any other employees, contractors, subcontractors or other persons or entities that provide services to or on behalf of Veta Virtual in connection with Services provided to the Member. Veta Virtual will inform all such persons of these Confidentiality obligations and take commercially reasonable steps to ensure their compliance.
Veta Virtual may, for training and quality assurance purposes, record calls while providing Services. Veta Virtual will retain recorded calls for no longer than thirty (30) days, except that it may, if necessary, adjust this retention period from time to time. The Member agrees that notwithstanding anything else in these Terms of Service, Veta Virtual will not be liable to the Member for any loss suffered arising out of the release of such recorded calls howsoever such release may occur including third-party hacking.
With respect to any of the Member’s Personal Identifying Information Veta Virtual may collect in the course of providing Services, Veta Virtual confirms it complies with all laws, in particular, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act of Canada (PIPEDA). Please review Veta Virtual’s Privacy Policy on its Website if you have not already done so.
PUBLICITY
Except as provided in this (Publicity) section, neither the Member nor Veta Virtual will make public statements to the press or on social media platforms, about the other’s competence, abilities, sensibilities, or business acumen, or their experience with the other Party. Neither Party shall, publicly or privately, disparage the other, or their products, or services.
It is not a violation of this section if the Member places a review of Veta Virtual’s Services on a website intended as a platform for consumers to review service providers (e.g., yelp.ca). The Member promises that before placing a negative review on any public platform, the Member will contact Veta Virtual’s Escalations Team at Veta Virtual’s Email Address or by telephone to 647-250-0403 and give Veta Virtual an opportunity to address their concern(s).
Veta Virtual may approach the Member for the purpose of obtaining its consent for Veta Virtual to use its name and identifying marks in its advertising, marketing, or other promotional efforts (i.e., on the Website). For clarity, Veta Virtual will not do so with the Member’s consent.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
The damages each of the Member and Veta Virtual may be found to be liable to the other in any legal proceeding is limited to the lesser of the value of the six (6) months of Services at the rate of the Member’s most recent Package or five thousand dollars ($5,000).
Veta Virtual will never be liable to the Member for any loss of business or reputation or any other loss howsoever affected by an act or omission by or on behalf of Veta Virtual, whether gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, and whether in contract, tort, strict liability, or otherwise.
In no event will the Member or Veta Virtual be liable to the other for any indirect, special, consequential (including loss of profits), exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or related to the provision of Services, or the performance, non-performance, or breach of these Terms of Service, even if notice of the possibility of such damages has been given.
Force Majeure: Neither the Member nor Veta Virtual will be considered in default of performance of any obligations in these Terms of Service (other than payment for Services by the Member) if such performance is prevented, delayed, or interrupted by Force Majeure. “Force Majeure” shall be understood to be any cause which is beyond the reasonable control of the Party affected, including but not limited to interruption (slowdown or outage) of Internet service or connectivity, an outage or failure by one or another of Veta Virtual technology or back-office providers, war, hostilities, revolution, civil unrest, strike, lockout, epidemic or pandemic, government-ordered restriction or cessation of activity, accident, fire, natural disaster, wind or flood or any requirements of law, or an act of God.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Any legal dispute between the Member and Veta Virtual will be governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, or the province in which the Member rents space from Workhaus.
If any part of these Terms of Service is wholly or partially unenforceable for any reason, such unenforceable provision or part thereof shall be deemed to be omitted from these Terms of Service without in any way invalidating or impairing the remaining parts.
TERM, TERMINATION, EXTENSION OF THIS AGREEMENT
These Terms of Service will come into force the first time the Member purchases a Package and will remain in force as long as Veta Virtual continues to provide Services to the Member.
The Member may cancel Receptionist Services effective at the end of the most recent month Services have been paid for by advising either the Reseller or Veta Virtual in writing of the cancellation with two business days notice. Veta Virtual will cancel Receptionist Services mid-month if expressly instructed to do so in writing, but will not refund the Member for the balance of the month. Veta Virtual may cancel its provision of Receptionist Services to the Member upon providing five (5) business days’ notice except in the case of cancellation for non-payment, in which case Veta Virtual can cancel its provision of Services summarily and without notice.
These Terms of Service may be signed by counterparts by email, text message, personal delivery, and/or delivering original counterparts to the other Party through Workhaus.
Written notices or communication between the Member and Veta Virtual may be by email or text message.
These Terms of Service and the Workhaus Services Rider – Virtual Reception make up the entire agreement between the Member and Veta Virtual. Those documents supersede all previous understandings, agreements, communications and/or representations, written or oral, between the member and Veta Virtual.
DEFINITIONS
Appointment Reminder – An Outbound Call by Veta Virtual to remind a Caller of an upcoming appointment with the Member, such Appointment Reminders to be made not more than forty-eight (48) and not less than twenty-four (24) hours before the appointment time/date made by Veta Virtual on behalf of the Member. Veta Virtual shall make two (2) attempts to complete an Appointment Reminder by speaking with the Caller live or by leaving a message and such attempts, whether successful or otherwise and whether or not the Caller keeps the appointment, shall meet Veta Virtual’s obligations pursuant to this Agreement. If a Caller makes an appointment with the Member directly, Veta Virtual shall not make an Appointment Reminder call unless other arrangements have been made in writing.
Appointment Scheduling – When Veta Virtual schedules appointments between Members and Callers and communicates such appointments to the Member by way of accessing the Member’s electronic calendar (i.e., Calendly, Office 365, Google Calendar, ICal, or such other readily available calendar software the Member prefers that allows multiple user access.)
Call-Back – A return call to a Caller by Veta Virtual on behalf of the Member, usually in response to a message left by the Caller outside of Service Hours.
Call Notes – A record of the content of calls received or made by Veta Virtual on behalf of the Member available to the Member on the Dashboard.
Call Overflow – Calls answered by Veta Virtual that cannot, because of their number and timing, be answered by the Member.
Call Screening and Forwarding – Telephone call answered by Veta Virtual on behalf of the Member for the purpose of determining who is calling and for what purpose and either forwarding the call immediately to the Member (to the appropriate extension, if applicable) with initial contact by Veta Virtual to advise the Member who is on the line, or taking a message to be forwarded to the Member, or forwarding the call to the Member’s Voicemail Box.
Call Summary – A log of calls received and made by Veta Virtual, including Call Notes. Available to the Member on the Dashboard.
Check-In – A form of Follow-Up call. “Checking-In” has a corresponding meaning.
Caller – A caller to the Member.
Days – Calendar days unless otherwise specified in and with respect to a paragraph in this Agreement.
Dashboard – As defined in paragraph 1.3 herein.
Dedicated Team – A group of individuals (Dedicated Team members) assigned by Veta Virtual, in its sole discretion, to provide Services to the Member.
Digital Receptionist Services – 24/7 auto-attendant call answering with a custom message, with call forwarding to 1 local external number. Optional add-ons include a toll-free number and voicemails sent directly to the Member’s email with an audio file attached.
Extra Minutes – Minutes of Handle Time that are not “free” minutes of Handle Time in a Package and which are charged at the rate per Extra Minute set out for the Package and payable by the Member in addition to payment for a Service Month.
Follow-Up – An Outbound Call by Veta Virtual to follow up with a Caller on behalf of a Member, often to remind the Caller, on behalf of the Member, of an event or obligation. “Following up” has a corresponding meaning.
Handle Time – Caller contact time by Veta Virtual charged to the Member as either Minutes or Extra Minutes. Dedicated Team member activities included in Handle Time are (1) answering an Inbound Call, (2) in the case of an Outbound Call, speaking with a Caller either (i) live, (ii) by way of leaving a message, (iii) speaking with another person who answers the Caller’s telephone, or (iv) speaking with the Member when Call Screening and Forwarding, (3) time a Dedicated Team member is on hold, and (4) after-call work time including writing up Call Notes and updating the Member’s calendar with respect to an Appointment (unless that updating is done with the Caller on the line). Handle Time does not include telephone ring time or the time a Caller is on the line with the Member after being transferred by a Dedicated Team member.
Inbound Call Answer – A call from a Caller that is answered by Veta Virtual on behalf of the Member with a custom greeting.
Minutes – The number of “free” minutes of Handle Time included in a Package for a Service Month. Minutes do not include Extra Minutes.
Outbound Call – A telephone call by Veta Virtual to a Member’s Caller. Examples of Outbound Calls include Appointment Reminders, Call-Backs, Check-Ins, and Follow-Ups. “Outbound Calling” has a corresponding meaning.
Package – One of the plans described in these Terms of Service.
Service Hours – As defined in paragraph 1.2 herein.
Service Month – A calendar month for which a Member purchases a Package. A Member’s initial Service Month and the cost of the related Package may be pro-rated.
Services – The services Veta Virtual provides as described in these Terms of Service.
Veta Virtual’s Email Address – support@vetavirtual.com.
Voicemail Box – A dedicated voicemail box as that term is commonly understood for the Member’s use during a Service Month.
Website – www.vetavirtual.com or such other website as Veta Virtual may advise the Member from time to time.