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Prior to
their purchase, many of Equine Legal Solutions'
boarding
forms package
customers have had no written boarding contracts at
all, or they have used the same contracts for years.
As a result, they are understandably concerned about
how their boarders will react to being asked to sign a
new contract that is far more robust (and therefore,
often a lot longer) than their previous contracts.
Here are our recommendations.
Stop Gossip Before It Starts
If you've
been in the boarding business for any length of time,
you know that any change at a stable precipitates
gossip, and lots of it. To make sure your boarders
hear about the new contract from you first, tell all
of your boarders about it at the same time. Don't even
hint to anyone, even trusted friends, that a new
contract is coming until you've made a formal
announcement.
Everything Goes Down Better with Snacks
To
introduce the new contract, schedule a barn meeting at
a time when most of your boarders will be able to
attend, such as an evening or weekend. Send out
announcements a week or so in advance so your boarders
can plan ahead to attend. Don't pass out copies of the
new contract before your barn meeting - it will just
give boarders ample opportunity to get worked up about
anything they don't like or don't understand in the
new contract. Make the barn meeting a social event -
serve beverages and snacks. Consider having the barn
meeting coincide with another fun barn event, such as
a tack swap or games day. If you have some upcoming
improvements planned for your barn or you have a new
service to offer, start off the meeting by announcing
them, no matter how small they are. It never hurts to
start on a positive note!
Prepare for the Meeting
While you
don't necessarily want to give a speech with notecards
in hand, do plan how you'll introduce the new
contract. First, explain why you're implementing a new
contract. Common reasons include: "Our insurance
company/lawyer is requiring us to update our
contracts/have a better liability release;" "We
haven't updated our contracts in X years;" and "We've
recently experienced some problems with X that we need
to address in our contracts." Part of the key to
smoothing the way for a new boarding contract is
helping your boarders understand you aren't doing this
to be unfair or inconvenient, but rather that you have
sound business reasons behind it.
Second,
distribute a copy of the contract to each person at
the meeting. If you are using Equine Legal Solutions'
boarding contract, you might also want to distribute
copies of the instructions, which help explain various
sections that might otherwise be confusing, such as
the indemnification clause.
Third, give
the boarders a few minutes to look at the contract,
then ask if there are any questions. Be prepared with
answers to questions you can anticipate. If you don't
know the answer to a question, be honest, tell the
boarder you don't know the answer, but you will look
it up and get back to them promptly. That's far better
than trying to guess at the answer or making up an
answer. Here are some commonly asked questions and
suggested answers:
Answer: It's
far more detailed than the old contract so we can be
more clear about expectations on both sides. If we
know what to expect and boarders know what to expect,
we'll both avoid a lot of problems.
Answer: In
order to bring a legal case against us, a boarder
would have to allege we were negligent in some way. By
specifically including negligence in the liability
release, we discourage boarders from suing us.
Answer: More
than anything else, we want to discourage lawsuits.
Our contracts are with our boarders, but at the same
time, our boarders bring a lot of people to the barn
who haven't signed this contract and might sue us,
such as family members and guests. We want our
boarders to keep an eye on those guests and help
prevent accidents from happening in the first place.
We think that's more likely to happen if our boarders
have a financial incentive to help us prevent
lawsuits.
Answer:
While our insurance can pay for our legal defense if
we get sued, it doesn't prevent anyone from suing us
in the first place, and it doesn't prevent them from
winning if they do sue. Liability releases do both of
those things.
Answer:
Equine activity statutes don't really offer very much
legal protection for us, and they have a lot of
potential loopholes.
Answer: We
want to have a powerful incentive for boarders to pay
us on time. Also, we're concerned about reports from
all over the country about boarders disappearing and
leaving horses behind. If that happens to us, we want
to be able to find the abandoned horses new homes. If
you pay your board on time, this will never be an
issue for you.
Answer:
These are the terms on which we're going to operate
our business going forward. We hope everyone will
agree to them, but if anyone decides not to do so,
they can give us 30 days' notice and find a new
facility. We will miss them, but we just can't afford
not to have everyone sign this new contract.
At the close
of the meeting, make sure everyone understands when
the new signed contract is due, and that if they don't
return it by the deadline, they can expect to receive
a 30-day notice.
Follow Up is Key
After the
meeting, immediately distribute (by email or
otherwise), a copy of the contract to each boarder who
didn't attend the meeting. Accompany it with a cover
letter explaining the need for the new contract, and
setting a deadline for return of the new contract.
As each
signed boarding contract comes in, review it to make
sure the boarder filled it out completely and
correctly, and that there are no edits made by the
boarder. Any incomplete or incorrect contracts should
be returned to the boarder with a written note about
what needs to be fixed. If the boarder has made their
own edits to the contract, the contract should be
returned with a note that politely states that the
contract sets forth the terms on which you will be
doing business going forward and those terms are not
negotiable.
A few days
before the new contract is due, follow up in person,
by phone and/or email with each boarder who has not
yet returned their signature page for the new boarding
contract. Politely make sure they know they'll receive
a 30-day notice if you don't receive it by the
deadline.
On the day
after the deadline for returning the new boarding
contract, send a 30-day notice (or whatever notice
your current boarding contract requires) to each
boarder who didn't return the new contract. A few
boarders may in fact leave rather than sign. This
isn't a tragedy - you can replace them with boarders
willing to sign the new contract with no problems.
Better to have a stall vacant for a month or so than
to have it occupied with a horse whose owner refuses
to sign your contract - that's just asking for
trouble.
After the Dust Settles
If you don't
already have a filing system, the new boarding
contract is a good excuse to implement one. Keep your
files in an area that is not readily accessible to
boarders, but is readily accessible to you or your
stable manager. Put each boarder's contract in a
folder with their name on it, then file them by the
boarder's last name. If there are any other documents
for that boarder, such as termination notices, you can
file them in the same place. When you send out bills
every month (which you should do), place a copy in the
boarder's file.
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