Under what circumstances related to the Hardees franchisee's environment does the SLA not apply to Downtime?
Hardees Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The SLA does not apply to any Downtime to the extent it was caused by: (i) Customer or Authorized Operator environment issues affecting connectivity or interfering with Digital Ordering, including without limitation, Customer or Authorized Operator's connection to the Internet (i.e., problems with the Customer or Authorized Operator's Internet Service Provider, modem, cable, DSL or dial-up connection, mobile phone connection or other Customer or Authorized Operator Internet connectivity issues) or any other Customer or Authorized Operator equipment or software (including third party attacks, including without limitation, hacks, intrusions, distributed denial-of-service attacks or any other third party actions intended to cause harm to or disrupt Customer's Third Party Providers, including without limitation, e-commerce software, payment gateways, Aggregators, and loyalty or rewards providers, that are integrated into the Olo APIs), Customer or Authorized Operator's firewall software, hardware or security settings, Customer or Authorized Operator's configuration of anti-virus software or anti-spyware or malicious software, Customer's use of or placement of Javascript code and/or other tracking or measurement software or code (including Google Analytics), or operator error of Customer or Authorized Operator; (ii) directly or indirectly integrating any Aggregator orders into the POS if such failure to integrate is no fault of Olo; (iii) Customer or Authorized Operator's Point of Sale (POS) failure(s) or the failure to properly maintain the POS environment, including updating the POS firmware or version of the software running on the POS as recommended by either Olo, a third party POS reseller or servicer, or the POS provider themselves; (iv) verified bugs of any third party software used in conjunction with Digital Ordering and failure of third party professional services; (v) force majeure events as described in Section 10.10 of the Master Services Agreement; (vi) issues related to third party domain name system (DNS) errors or failures; (vii) emergency maintenance of the Licensed Applications, including without limitation suspension of Licensed Applications in response to a Breach of Security, for which Customer or Authorized Operator may not receive advanced notice; or (viii) Permitted Downtime.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 85–541)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hardees's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the SLA (Service Level Agreement) regarding Downtime does not apply under specific circumstances related to the franchisee's environment. These circumstances primarily involve issues within the franchisee's control or external factors affecting their systems.
Specifically, the SLA does not apply if Downtime is caused by issues affecting connectivity or interfering with digital ordering, such as problems with the franchisee's internet service provider, modem, cable, DSL, dial-up connection, mobile phone connection, or other internet connectivity issues. It also includes any other franchisee equipment or software, including third-party attacks like hacks, intrusions, or distributed denial-of-service attacks intended to harm the franchisee's third-party providers. This extends to the franchisee's firewall software, hardware, security settings, configuration of anti-virus software, anti-spyware, malicious software, use or placement of Javascript code, other tracking or measurement software or code (including Google Analytics), or operator error.
Furthermore, the SLA does not apply to Downtime caused by the franchisee's Point of Sale (POS) failures or failure to properly maintain the POS environment, including updating the POS firmware or version of the software running on the POS as recommended by Olo, a third-party POS reseller or servicer, or the POS provider themselves. These stipulations indicate that Hardees franchisees are responsible for maintaining a secure and functional IT environment to ensure the SLA remains applicable. If these conditions are not met, Hardees is not liable for downtime.