This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who else handles it and what choices you have. Personal information means anything that identifies you as a person, such as your name, email address or phone number. We handle it under British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and, where it applies, Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
1. Who we are
Vertex Infotech Strategies LTD ("Vertex Strategies", "we", "us") is a company registered in British Columbia, Canada, and based in Vancouver, BC. We design, build and run workflow automations for service businesses.
This policy covers our website, vtxstrategies.com, the contact form, the first call that follows it, and the services we provide to clients.
Questions about privacy, or a request under section 8, can go to hello@vtxstrategies.com. That address reaches the person at Vertex who is responsible for privacy.
2. What information we collect
Here is what we collect, and when.
When you send the contact form:
- your first and last name
- your email address and phone number
- your company name and industry
- the kind of automation you need, and your budget
- the package you asked about, if you came from one of our package pages
- the page you sent the form from, and how you found our site (for example, the website or ad that linked to us)
When you book a diagnostic: your name, your contact details, the date and time we agree on, and what you tell us about your business so we can prepare.
From the first call with our AI assistant: a record of the call, which can include a recording and a written transcript of the conversation.
When you become a client: the contact and billing details we need to deliver the work and invoice for it, and the information about how your business runs that the work requires.
When you browse the site: if you turn analytics on, information gathered through cookies and an analytics service, such as the pages you visit, how long you stay, the type of device and browser you use, and your general location (city or country). Our website also briefly processes technical details, such as your IP address (the number that identifies your internet connection), to deliver pages and block spam. Section 10 explains cookies.
We don't need details about your own customers, patients or clients to understand your business, so please leave them out of the form and the call.
3. Why we use it
We use personal information to:
- answer your inquiry, including the first call from our AI assistant
- run the free 30-minute diagnostic, if you want one
- deliver our services, and invoice and take payment for them
- understand how people use the site, so we can improve it
We don't use your information for other purposes without asking you first, unless the law requires or allows it.
4. Your consent
The first call. Here is what happens after you send the contact form:
- Our AI assistant calls you within about 10 minutes to learn about your business and confirm that we're a good fit. If you send the form outside our calling hours (Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Vancouver time), it calls at the next opening.
- Only if you want to continue, we arrange a free 30-minute diagnostic call with you.
The form has a checkbox for your consent to this automated first call, and the form can't be sent until the box is ticked. Sending the form with the box ticked is your express consent to the call from our AI assistant. We keep a record of that consent with your inquiry.
Website analytics. We don't use analytics until you turn it on. Turning it on is your express consent, and you can turn it off again at any time. Section 10 explains how.
Everything else. For other information, your consent is implied when the purpose is obvious. For example, if you email us a question, you expect us to use your email address to reply.
Marketing emails. We send marketing emails, such as news or offers, only to people who have agreed to receive them. You can unsubscribe at any time, through the unsubscribe option in the email or by writing to us, and we honour every request within 10 business days.
You can also withdraw your consent to anything else we do with your information. Section 8 explains how.
5. Who else sees your information
We use outside service providers to run parts of our business. They fall into these categories:
- Cloud automation platforms, which carry information from our website form to our other systems and run the workflows behind our services
- AI voice calling services, which place the first call and record and transcribe it
- CRM systems (customer relationship management: the place where we keep records of inquiries and clients)
- Analytics services, which show us how the site is used
- Payment processing services, which handle invoices and payments
Some of these providers process or store data in the United States. While your information is there, it is subject to US law, and courts, law enforcement and national security authorities in the US may be able to access it.
If you'd like to know more about how a provider handles your information, write to us and we'll point you to its published privacy notice.
We may also disclose personal information when the law requires it, for example in answer to a court order.
6. How we protect it
- Encryption. Your information is scrambled while it travels between your browser and our systems (in transit) and while it is stored (at rest), so it can't be read without the right keys.
- Limited access. Only the people who need your information to do their work can see it.
- Contractual safeguards. Our service providers are bound by agreements to protect the information they handle for us.
No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information, as the law requires.
7. How long we keep it
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes in section 3. After that, we delete it.
Some records, such as invoices, we must keep longer because the law requires it, for example for tax purposes.
8. Your rights
You have the right to:
- see the personal information we hold about you
- correct it if it's wrong
- ask us to delete it
- withdraw your consent at any time, by giving us reasonable notice
To use any of these rights, email hello@vtxstrategies.com. We may ask you to confirm your identity first, so that we never give your information to the wrong person. We respond within 30 days.
If the law requires us to keep something you've asked us to delete, we'll tell you. If withdrawing consent means we can't do something you've asked for (for example, run a diagnostic without a way to reach you), we'll explain that too.
If you have a concern. Please tell us first, at hello@vtxstrategies.com, and we'll work to put it right. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
9. If there's a breach
A privacy breach means personal information is lost, or seen or used by someone who shouldn't have it.
If a breach happens and there is a real risk of significant harm to you, such as financial loss or identity theft, we will notify you and the privacy commissioner, as the law requires.
10. Cookies
Cookies are small text files a website saves in your browser so it can remember things between pages and visits. We also use similar browser storage that works the same way. We use two kinds:
- Necessary. These keep the site working and remember your cookie choice. They are always on.
- Analytics. These let an analytics service count visits and show us which pages people read, so we can improve the site. The reports we see are summaries; they don't name you.
Your choice. Until you choose, we use only the necessary kind. The analytics service doesn't load at all, so nothing is sent to it. On your first visit, a bar at the bottom of the screen asks what you'd like:
- Accept turns analytics on.
- Manage preferences lets you switch Analytics on or off, then select Save.
- Closing the bar with the × button keeps analytics off.
We don't use advertising cookies, and accepting analytics doesn't add any.
You can change your mind at any time:
- Open Cookie Settings, the link at the bottom of every page, switch Analytics on or off, and select Save. Your choice is saved in your browser, so if you clear your browser data or use another device, you'll be asked again.
- Or block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking all cookies may stop parts of the site from working.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our services or the law change. When we do, we'll post the new version on this page and change the "Last updated" date at the top. If a change affects how we use information we already hold, we'll ask for your consent where the law requires it.
The rules for using our site and services are in our Terms of Service. Questions about this policy are always welcome at hello@vtxstrategies.com.