Personal Luthier Privacy Policy

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Personal Luthier Privacy Policy

Effective: October 7, 2021
Last modified: October 7, 2021

Introduction

This document provides users, clients (past, current, or former), and all other parties (known hereinafter as you) accessing PersonalLuthier.com (known hereinafter as our Site) and/or our products and services with relevant information regarding our collection, use, and storage of user information. All questions regarding this policy should be directed to Nathan Richardson via email at Info@PersonalLuthier.com, or by phone at (207) 420-1187.

Summary

Personal Luthier (known hereinafter as “we” or “us”) provides the following summary of our Privacy Policy. This summary covers some, but not all, elements of this policy; it is not a complete summary and should not be taken as such.

Personal Luthier collects no personal information beyond client name, email, and/or phone number and collects no additional information in the operation of our business that is not provided by our clients. The information we collect is used solely for contacting clients, operating our business, and providing products and services as described on our site (PersonalLuthier.com) and in our Terms of Service. Personal Luthier does not sell, trade, or disclose client information to any party unless required to comply with all applicable laws.

Contact

All questions regarding our Privacy Policy should be directed to Nathan Richardson via email at Info@PersonalLuthier.com, or by phone at (207) 420-1187.

Information We Collect

In the operation of our business, administration of our Site and social media accounts, and all associated acts of providing our products and services (known hereinafter as “the regular operation of our business”), we must collect some client and user information. We gather said information for the sole purpose of the regular operation of our business. As well, in the regular operation of our business, we use Google Forms to collect some client information. As such, we abide by, and ask that all clients also acknowledge and accept, all relevant privacy policies and terms of service for Google Forms and Google Suite writ large.

Client Information

We collect the following information via our Booking Form:

  1. Your name (first and last).
  2. Your email address.
  3. Your relationship with the guitar.
  4. The topic of your inquiry.
  5. Your preferred contact method.
  6. Your acknowledgement that you are of the age of majority in your state of residence or that you have the consent of your parent or legal guardian indicating that you may access our Site and/or products and services.
  7. Your permission to share your inquiry and our answer publicly.
  8. Your interest in subscribing to our email newsletter.

We may also collect the following information if you provide answers to optional Booking Form questions or if said information becomes necessary to correspond with you as part of the regular operation of our business:

  1. Your phone number.
  2. Additional details of your inquiry.
  3. Your interest in learning more about, or enrolling in, subscription services,
  4. Your interest in receiving in-home instrument service or a referral to a service provider in your area.

We also, by way of you submitting your inquiry through our Booking Form, collect your acknowledgement of, and agreement with, our Client Agreement Statement and our Terms of Service. The Client Agreement Statement summarizes key, but not all, provisions of our Terms of Service. Our Terms of Service can be found on our Site at PersonalLuthier.com/Terms or by requesting a copy via email at Info@PersonalLuthier.com.

We collect the following information via our Client Satisfaction Form:

  1. Your email address.
  2. Your satisfaction with our products and/or services (as ranked on a scale of 1­–5).
  3. Your consent to share your answers to this form publicly.

We may, if you provide answers to any optional questions on this form, also collect the following information:

  1. Your name.
  2. Any details about your ranking of our products and services.
  3. Any additional information you wish to share with us.
  4. Your relationship with the guitar.
  5. The topic of your inquiry.
  6. Your method of consultation.
  7. Your interest in subscribing to our email newsletter.

We also, by way of you submitting your inquiry through our Client Satisfaction Form, collect your acknowledgement of, and agreement with, our Client Agreement Statement and our Terms of Service. The Client Agreement Statement summarizes key, but not all, provisions of our Terms of Service. Our Terms of Service can be found on our Site at PersonalLuthier.com/Terms or by requesting a copy via email at Info@PersonalLuthier.com.

We collect the following information via our Affiliate Referral Form:

  1. Your email address.
  2. Your relationship with the guitar.
  3. Details about your interest in our Affiliate Referral Program.
  4. Your acknowledgement of having received prior products or services from us.

We may, if you provide answers to any optional questions on this form, also collect the following:

  1. Your name.
  2. Your interest in subscribing to our email newsletter.

We also, by way of you submitting your inquiry through our Affiliate Referral Form, collect your acknowledgement of, and agreement with, our Client Agreement Statement and our Terms of Service. The Client Agreement Statement summarizes key, but not all, provisions of our Terms of Service. Our Terms of Service can be found on our Site at PersonalLuthier.com/Terms or by requesting a copy via email at Info@PersonalLuthier.com.

Independent of the abovementioned forms, and as part of the regular operation of our business and/or as part of any related correspondences, we may gather additional information that you provide us related, but not limited, to your history, experience, skill, tastes, abilities, preferences, professional or personal use, opinions and other subjective and unquantifiable information, and/or physical information related to you and the guitar.

Social Media and Other Correspondences

We may, in the regular operation of our business, correspond with you and other users, clients (former, current, or prospective), and other third parties including but not limited to associates, relatives or next of kin, teachers, technicians or other service providers, and any and all agents, associates, or other affiliated parties. Our correspondences are conducted via the following media.

  1. Email.
  2. Phone.
  3. Video call (i.e.: Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, etc.).
  4. Social media methods including but not limited to like, comment, post, share, and direct message options.
  5. Direct US mail.

We agree to abide by any and all relevant terms of service for any platform beyond our Site that we use to correspond with you. We ask that all users, clients, and other associated parties also abide by the terms of service and all other relevant policies for said sites and platforms.

Further, we may, insofar as it aids in the operation, improvement, or continuation of our business, our Site, and/or our products and services, or the enforcement of our Terms of Service, or as required by law, maintain a record of the abovementioned correspondences including but not limited to email records, call transcripts and/or recordings, and downloads and/or screenshots of social media activity. All such information is confidential. You may request a copy of the information we have collected from our correspondences with you at any time by emailing Info@PersonalLuthier.com.

Website, Email, and Social Media Analytics

In the regular operation of our business, we may use analytics to improve, modify, and/or discontinue, in part of completely, any product and/or service we provide. These analytics include but are not limited to website traffic and engagement data (as provided by WordPress.com), email campaign reports (as provided by Mailchimp), and social media impressions and engagement (as provided by social media platforms including but not limited to Instagram and Twitter).

We reserve the right to, at any time and at our sole discretion, update the manner in which we gather said analytics and update this policy accordingly. Some of said analytics (such as email campaign reports) include identifying information (such as email addresses and their affiliated names). We never endeavor to identify any individual through any information not readily available in our analytics. Details of user engagement are always confidential.

Financial and Payment Information

Personal Luthier accepts payments electronically, in cash, and in some cases by check or money order. As such, we maintain, for accounting purposes, a record of all payments made to us and may use third-party software such as, but not limited to, QuickBooks for such purposes. Personal Luthier uses Venmo and/or PayPal for processing payments electronically, and as such abides by, and expects our clients to abide by, the terms of service for those platforms. We collect no additional payment information from any platform or financial institution. We may, however, maintain a record of client usernames and associated payments from any third-party payment service.

Personal Luthier or any individual legally acting on our behalf will never ask for any bank account or credit card information without first providing you with an invoice for products or services you receive.

Cookies

Our Site (PersonalLuthier.com), hosted by WordPress.com, uses cookies to aid in the operation and delivery of our site and to improve user experiences. Please review the WordPress.com Cookie Policy at https://automattic.com/Cookies for more information.

Please note, we intend to not use cookies for any purpose not explained in the above link. All visitors to our site may be able to control cookie behavior on their devices’ by accessing the cookie settings on their device(s). Further information about cookies can be found with the US Federal Trade Commission at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-privacy-online. Personal Luthier makes no claim of completeness or accuracy of any third-party links included in this policy.

Information We Never Collect

There is some information that we will never collect. Personal Luthier, or any party legally acting on our behalf, will never ask users, clients, or any other party accessing our Site or our products and services for any of the following:

  1. Personal information including but not limited to birthdate (with the exception that birthday in mm/dd format could be requested for promotional purposes), place of birth, prior or other family names, social security number, driver’s license state or number, income, or other information considered private, not otherwise publicly available, and irrelevant to the operation of our site or the acts of providing our products and services.
  2. Demographic information including but not limited to age, race, gender, sexual orientation, income, religion, or any class protected by law, with the exception that our web and social media analytics may track some of this information (i.e.: age or location). We, however, will never ask a specific person to provide this information. All web and social media information of this nature is considered anonymous by us.
  3. Passwords to any account.
  4. Any criminal background information that you are not required, by law, to disclose to us, your neighbors, your employer, or any other party. 
  5. Any information about your affiliations with any political party or political action committee (PAC), nonprofit, or any public-service group or organization.
  6. Any banking or financial information not directly related to invoices for products or services you purchase (for yourself or someone else). Personal Luthier uses Venmo and/or PayPal for processing payment electronically, and as such abides by, and expects our clients to abide by, the terms of service for those platforms. We collect no additional payment information from either platform. We never collect bank account, bank routing, debit card, or credit card numbers or any payment information not directly related to your purchases.
  7. Any other information not explicitly listed above.

Should you receive a request for any of the information listed in this section, please do not respond as such a request could be malicious (virus, malware, ransomware, etc.) in nature. Instead, please contact us to notify Personal Luthier of any such requests at Info@PersonalLuthier.com or by phone at (207) 420-1187.

How We Use the Information We Collect

In the regular operation of our business, we use your information in the following ways.

Client Information

  1. To provide our products and services to you and administer our site in such a way that it remains, as much as possible, available for users to access as provided by our Terms of Service.
  2. To contact you regarding our site, products, services, and any sales or other related promotions, including but not limited your requests for consultations or other products or services.
  3. To contact you requesting payment for products or services you receive.
  4. To issue any credit or resolve any other dispute.
  5. As required to comply with any law enforcement or government agency or any legal matter involving you and/or your associates.

Financial Information

  1. To accept and process payment for services you receive or are purchasing for another party for which you are qualified, and legally eligible, to make such a purchase.
  2. To issue refunds as applicable in our Terms of Service.
  3. As required to comply with any law enforcement or government agency or any legal matter involving you and/or your associates.

Website, Email, and Social Media Analytics

  1. To monitor impressions and engagement of various web, advertising, email, or other campaigns.
  2. To study trends and insights regarding website and other traffic in support of improving, modifying, or discontinuing any product or service to provide clients with a better experience.
  3. To use general or specific trends in site, email, social media, or other traffic for any purpose that benefits or aids in the operation and/or growth of our business.
  4. As required to comply with any law enforcement or government agency or any legal matter involving you and/or your associates.

Disclosure and Non-Disclosure of Collected Information

Personal Luthier, in the regular operation of our business, adheres to the following guidelines covering the disclosure and non-disclosure of collected information.

General Non-Disclosure

Personal Luthier, whenever possible, within the regular operation of our business, never discloses private, collected information coming from any client, their legal guardian, or any agent or associate legally acting on their behalf. Further, we do not disclose any payment information, service history, or other information that describes, in any way, a client’s relationship with us or any other party. We maintain that we keep all such information private and between you and Personal Luthier, unless required by law or to comply with law enforcement. Should Personal Luthier develop subsidiaries or be acquired by a parent company, collected information may be shared as part of a merger, and should that or similar situations arise, Personal Luthier will notify you of the details of such disclosures.

Personal Luthier only publishes your comments, questions, reviews, feedback, or other statements, and/or our responses to said statements, related to our business, site, products, or services with your consent. You can permit us to publish such statements either with express written permission or by selecting “Yes” along with any applicable preferred byline format when completing our any of our forms. Please note, this question is never optional.

You reserve the right to request, at any time, that we unpublish any public-facing content you previously permitted us to use in the operation of our business. Such requests should be made in writing and sent via email to Info@PersonalLuthier.com. You acknowledge and understand that while we can honor your request and remove your content from our site and/or social media accounts in a timely manner, we have no control over any other party’s collection (via downloads, screenshots, or other forms), use, or distribution of any content you permit us to use while it is publicly available. As such, we cannot be held liable in any way for any action taken by any other party with said content and you agree to hold harmless, defend, and indemnify Personal Luthier our agents, and all our other associates against any and all claims or losses resulting from such action.

Affiliate Referral Program Relationships

Specific to the Personal Luthier Affiliate Referral Program, we do not disclose any information regarding payments, service history, or other account specific details.

We may, however, inform our clients, users, and other Site visitors of the existence of a referral agreement between Personal Luthier and you (a company or individual that is, including but not limited to, a: guitar-maker ‘luthier’, technician, educator, manufacturer, retailer, or other service provider). Such notice, serving primarily to inform our clients of the existence of our agreement, will only include mutually agreed upon information such as:

  1. Your company name, location, and contact information.
  2. The services or products your company provides.

The Affiliate Referral Program is a service purchased by other service providers and does not constitute any implied personal or professional endorsement.

Personal Luthier cooperates with all government and law enforcement officials to enforce and comply with the law. We may therefore disclose personal information, usage, correspondence, service history, the existence of any agreements (i.e.: subscriptions or enrollment in the Affiliate Referral Program), and/or any other information about you or any agent legally acting on your behalf when engaging with us, if we deem it reasonably necessary to:

  1. Satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process (such as a subpoena or court order), or enforceable governmental request.
  2. Enforce our Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations thereof.
  3. Detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues.
  4. Protect against harm to the rights, property, or safety of Personal Luthier, our clients, or the public, as required or permitted by law.

Information Storage and Maintenance

Because Personal Luthier is headquartered in Maine, all collected information is subject to the laws of the United States of America, regardless of the country of origin of said content.

Personal Luthier stores collected information offline when possible and practical. As part of the regular operation of our business, we use third-party platforms with their own remote, third-party storage. At the time of this policy’s last update those platforms include:

  • WordPress.com (and Titan, our email provider through WordPress.com).
  • Jetpack (WordPress analytics),
  • MailChimp (our email campaign platform),
  • Google Suite (for our forms, calendars, and secondary email).
  • Instagram (social media).
  • Venmo and PayPal (payment platforms).

In our use of third-party platforms, we password protect and use two-factor authentication when available. It is our policy to update our passwords regularly.

We reserve the right to discontinue use, modify our use, or change any such service providers at any time for any reason. We agree to notify you in the event that any such change involves transferring files containing any of your information.

Regarding the maintenance of the information we gather, we manage our content to best support its use for the abovementioned purposes. Beyond that, Personal Luthier maintains lists of active current clients, users, subscribers, and affiliates. These lists are updated monthly, or more often if needed. We also keep record of email addresses (and any attached name) that have unsubscribed from our email campaigns. We maintain a record of all former clients, including those who willfully ended their engagement with our Site and/or our products and services, as well as those who had their access to our Site and/or products and services restricted or revoked for any violation of our Terms of Service. It is our policy to maintain these records indefinitely.

Security

We take reasonable efforts to ensure the privacy of all information we collect. When possible, we store client contact information offline. In cases where Personal Luthier uses a third-party platform as part of the regular operation of our business, including but not limited to MailChimp, WordPress, Instagram, other social media, Venmo, PayPal, and Google Suite, we password protect and use two-factor authentication when available. It is our policy to regularly update our passwords.

Personal Luthier acknowledges and asks you to also acknowledge and understand that it is impossible for any company to completely safeguard information or prevent malicious attacks or compromises to information security. As such, you acknowledge that any and all information you transmit to us via any media is always done so at your own sole risk. Further, in the event of a security breech, suspected or confirmed, Personal Luthier will notify you of such threat via email. As part of our response to such an event, we may advise that you update your passwords; however, we will never ask you for any passwords.

Updating User Information

All clients retain the right to update their contact or other information with us at any time. Such requests should be made in writing and submitted via email to Info@PersonalLuthier.com. Further, clients retain the right to request a copy of all information pertaining to them and may request a copy of said information, in writing, by emailing us at Info@PersonalLuthier.com.

Modifications to this Policy

As needed for the regular operation of our business, we reserve the right to modify, amend, limit, or terminate any portion of this policy. Such alterations to this policy, as well as any related notifications are subject to our Terms of Service.  

No modification to any provision of this policy shall affect any other provision, and all unmodified provisions shall remain in full force and effect. As such, we provide notice as described in our Terms of Service (publishing updates to our Site and distributing email notifications), when possible and as required by law, regarding any modifications to this policy. It remains your sole responsibility to ensure you are accessing the most current version of this policy. Should you continue to use our Site and/or products and services after a modification(s) to this policy are published, you are subject to the new, modified terms as provided in our Terms of Service and your continued use shall constitute your acceptance of the most current version of this policy.

Personal Privacy Responsibility

Finally, Personal Luthier reminds you that your information privacy is your sole responsibility. Visitors to our site, as well as clients or other parties with which we correspond, do so at their own sole risk and understand the risks and implications of sharing any information, private or otherwise, over any means of transmission.

This means that when you engage with us via direct correspondence, social media, or any other means not mentioned here, you willingly and completely accept responsibility for proactively maintaining your own privacy, safeguarding yourself from risk, and actively mitigating any compromises to your privacy. We ask that you agree to never share passwords, or other private (financial, personal, or other) information, with anyone. Further, you agree to not share any personal information including but not limited to private identifying information (social security number, birthdate, etc.), financial information, or contact information without first verifying the source, validity, and necessity of such request.

Personal Luthier, or any individual legally acting on our behalf, will never ask for passwords or personal identifying information that could be used maliciously, nor will personal luthier request any financial information without first providing you with an invoice for products or services you have purchased from us.

This is the end of this document.

Personal Luthier
And
Learning to Speak Guitar

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