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This Terms of Service
Agreement (the "Agreement") is by and between SLB Associates Incorporated (SLB Associates) and
the person acknowledging this agreement. By using the content and/or services presented on
this website, the user is acknowledging his/her acceptance of the terms stated in this
Agreement. This Agreement covers any content or services accessible through such site. SLB
Associates may change the Terms of Service from time to time. By continuing to use the Service
following such modifications, you agree to be bound by such modifications to the Terms of
Service. The use by you of any content or services accessible through this site may be subject
to your acceptance of separate agreements with SLB Associates or third parties.
General Terms and Conditions
You acknowledge and agree that use of any content or service provided through this site is
entirely at your own risk. Services and content are provided "as is", without warranty of any
kind, either express or implied, and SLB Associates and its suppliers disclaim any and all
warranties, including, but not limited to: (1) any warranties concerning access to the
service, the availability, accuracy, usefulness of content, products or services and (2) any
warranties of title, warranty of non-infringement, warranties of merchantability or fitness
for a particular purpose. SLB Associates does not warrant that the service will be free of
downtime. In fact, it is expected that there will be periods when the web site will be
inaccessible due to maintenance or technical problems. SLB Associates does not warrant that
the service is free from bugs, viruses, errors, or other program limitations nor does SLB
Associates warrant access to the Internet or to any other service or content through the
service. The entire liability of SLB Associates and its representatives (as defined below) for
any reason shall be limited to the amount paid by the customer/individual/organization for the
related services or content purchased from SLB Associates or its service providers. To the
maximum extent permitted by applicable law, SLB Associates and its affiliates, licensors,
third-party content or service providers, distributors, dealers or suppliers
("representative") are not liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential
damages (including, but not limited to: damages for loss of business, loss of profits or
investment, or the like), whether based on breach of contract, breach of warranty, tort
(including negligence), product liability or otherwise, even if SLB Associates or its
representatives have been advised of the possibility of such damages, and even if a remedy set
forth herein is found to have failed its essential purpose. Some states do not allow the
limitation and/or exclusion or liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above
limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. The limitations of damages set forth above are
fundamental elements of the bargain between SLB Associates and you. SLB Associates would not
be able to provide its content and services to you without such limitations. If you are
dissatisfied with any portion of the service or content, your sole and exclusive remedy is to
discontinue using the service and its related web sites. The terms and pricing are subject to
change at the discretion of SLB Associates, and SLB Associates makes no representation that it
will adjust the individual/organization fees of any individual/organization for subsequent
price adjustments.
”Virtual Consultant” Ask Business-Related Questions
SLB Associates provides
a mechanism for individuals/organizations, etc. to ask questions related to business matters
of the type that would typically be asked of a business consultant. SLB Associates, through
its associates and a network of consultants responds to those questions posed by
individuals/organizations. SLB Associates has a stated objective to respond to each question
within one to three business days, however, there is no assurance or warranty that every
question can or will be answered within that time frame.
The scope of the "Virtual Consultant" service is generally limited to responses that can be
provided by a consultant with no more than one to two hours research into the specific subject
matter. It is not the intent of this service to provide in-depth research. Instead, the
service is intended to provide a sounding board, feedback on ideas and suggestions on finding
solutions. Our consultants often do limited amounts of research in order to respond to
specific questions, however, there is no promise that we will research any particular question
that we determine, in our sole discretion, to be beyond the scope of this service. In the
event that SLB Associates determines that your question is beyond the scope of this service
and decides not to respond to your question, your account will be credited for the amount paid
for that specific question.
SLB Associates does not
provide legal advice or other advice that can only be provided by licensed professionals. When
individuals/organizations ask questions that request such advice, our consultants will often
provide suggestions for reading material (either online or traditional) that will assist the
individual/organization in better understanding the subject matter. Such suggestions or
referrals to other web sites are not to be considered as legal advice. Legal matters should be
referred to a competent attorney.
SLB Associates exists to assist individuals/organizations with starting, managing and growing
their small businesses. SLB Associates reserves the right to screen out and reject questions
that are, in our sole discretion, not related to starting, managing and growing a small
business. Questions that are related to personal rather than business activities or that are
related purely to large company or government matters may be returned unanswered.
SLB Associates reserves the right to limit the number of times that it will respond to the
same question from an individual/organization. The limitation shall be based upon a standard
of reasonableness that is determined by SLB Associates in its sole discretion.
Individuals/organizations who attempt to jam the system with questions that, in our sole
discretion, appear intended to damage our ability to respond to other
individuals/organizations rather than providing needed assistance to the
individual/organization making the request, will be returned unanswered and we further reserve
the right to discontinue providing this service to anyone attempting to damage our system of
response.
Individuals/Organizations who ask questions do so with the understanding that responses are
provided based on the knowledge and experience of the consultant answering the question. Many
responses reflect the opinions of the responding consultant. Many questions have no clear and
obvious answer and any response will, of necessity, be based on the judgment and opinion of
the consultant making the response. Many questions are also subject to misinterpretation. Our
consultants have neither the opportunity nor the ability to determine and review all of the
relevant facts. Therefore, SLB Associates cannot and does not warrant that its answers are
"correct". In fact, SLB Associates acknowledges that its responses may contain errors or may
misinterpret the question that was asked. There is a further risk that reference materials to
which we refer an individual/organization relative to a particular subject matter may contain
inaccurate or even offensive material. This is particularly true when web sites to which we
refer individual/organization contain other links to other web sites, which we have not (and
cannot) research. The individual/organization asking the question bears responsibility for
assessing the validity and applicability of the response before using the information provided
in the response.
Our goal is to acquaint the user with as much information as is available to us at what we
determine, in our sole discretion, to be a reasonable cost. We work with the information to
present it in a manner that will be usable by the typical small business.
Responses from SLB Associates carry the following disclaimer:
By using this service you agree that in consideration of SLB Associates' furnishing management
or technical assistance that you waive all claims against SLB Associates, its associates or
business partners arising from this assistance. The above information is provided as
assistance based on information, which you have provided to SLB Associates. SLB Associates has
not undertaken to confirm the accuracy of such information nor perform thorough investigation
in providing a response. You should not rely on this response as authoritative in making
business decisions; this service is not a substitute for counsel with respect to specific
matters of law, tax, investment, or other disciplines where review of the facts, circumstances
and relevant rules could and should be undertaken.
SLB Associates attempts to provide meaningful assistance, but the information provided in its
responses may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. SLB Associates'
assistance is provided without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. In no event
shall SLB Associates be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages
of any kind, or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or
not advised of the possibility of damage, under any theory of liability, arising out of or in
connection with the use or performance of information provided by way of this assistance
program. Please be advised that SLB Associates may use portions of your question. Your name
will not appear without your permission. If you object to our publishing your question, please
contact us immediately.
Content Sections
SLB Associates may publish information on various topics that it believes to be useful to
owners of small businesses. The content consists of articles, glossaries, frequently asked
questions, archives of questions that have been answered by SLB Associates’ consultants,
forms, documents and tools usable for certain limited applications and links to suppliers of
topic specific content. Content is believed to be current and accurate at the time it is
published, however, there is no guarantee, either written or implied, that all content is
current and accurate. Facts change, interpretations change, and applicability varies from
business to business and situation to situation. Any material contained on this site should be
read with those facts in mind.
Services and content are provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, either express or
implied, and SLB Associates and its suppliers disclaim any and all warranties, including, but
not limited to: (1) any warranties concerning access to the service, the availability,
accuracy, usefulness of content, products or services and (2) any warranties of title,
warranty of non-infringement, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose. SLB Associates does not warrant that the service is free from bugs, viruses, errors,
or other program limitations nor does SLB Associates warrant access to the Internet or to any
other service or content through the service.
Links to Third Party Sites
The links from our site that go to other sites are for convenience only, and do not imply that
we endorse or approve of those sites. We have no control over the content found on other sites
and make no warranties as to the accuracy or adequacy of any information found at such sites
are made. Similarly we are not responsible for information found on or through our site, which
is generated by third parties. SLB Associates is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim,
liability, or damage related to your use of the site, whether from errors or omissions in the
content of our site or any other linked sites, from the site being down or from any other use
of the site. Your use of these sites is at your own risk.
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