Marco,
the AI agent for landscaping and snow removal.

Quotes

Seasonal contracts

Renewals

Follow-ups

A clear written contract

Quebec's consumer protection office (Office de la protection du consommateur, OPC) recommends a written contract that specifies the duration (start and end dates), the amount of snow that triggers a visit (for example 5 cm), the snow removal time frame, where the snow is left, the tasks included such as spreading abrasives, the total cost and the payment terms. These are the fields Marco collects and your contract template picks up.

Contract concluded by text message, email or phone

This is a distance contract: your contact details, the description of the service, the total price and the terms must be disclosed before the contract is concluded (art. 54.4 of the LPC, Quebec's Consumer Protection Act, Loi sur la protection du consommateur), and a copy of the contract sent within 15 days (art. 54.7). Without these disclosures, the customer may cancel the contract within seven days of receiving the copy (art. 54.8).

Door-to-door sales and itinerant merchants

Soliciting a customer somewhere other than at your place of business makes you an itinerant merchant (art. 55): a permit from the OPC is required, as is a written contract (art. 58), and the customer may cancel within 10 days (art. 59). According to the OPC, the snow removal contractor may neither ask for nor accept a deposit during that period. A visit planned by Marco at the customer's request is not solicitation (art. 57).

Changing the price mid-season

A clause that allows the contract to be modified unilaterally is prohibited, unless it specifies what may change and provides for written notice at least 30 days beforehand, with the customer's right to refuse (art. 11.2). Marco never announces a new price that you have not approved.

Renewals by email or text message

Under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (Loi canadienne anti-pourriel, CASL/LCAP), a customer who bought a service from you in the last two years, or whose written contract is in force or ended within that period, has an existing business relationship with you (art. 10(10)a) and d)): this is implied consent to send them their renewal. Each message identifies your business and offers a way to unsubscribe (art. 6(2)).

Quebec's Law 25

Marco asks only for what is needed for the quote (art. 5 of the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels dans le secteur privé), and the person is informed of the purposes of the collection and of their rights (art. 8). Your privacy policy names the person in charge of the protection of personal information (art. 3.1).