Terms of Service

1. Who We Are

ChairHop Inc. ("ChairHop," "we," "us," or "our") operates the ChairHop platform — our website, app, and any related tools (collectively, the "Platform"). We're based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and we currently serve users in Canada and the United States.

By using ChairHop, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the Platform. We'll let you know about any major changes to these Terms by email or by posting a notice in the app.

2. Key Terms

A few words we use throughout these Terms:

• Client — someone who uses ChairHop to find and book hair or beauty appointments.
• Stylist — an independent hair or beauty professional, salon, or their staff who offers services through ChairHop.
• Booking Fee — the non-refundable fee ChairHop charges Clients per appointment booked.
• Cancellation Window — the period before your appointment during which you can cancel without a fee. Each stylist sets their own window.
• Confirmed Appointment — an appointment the stylist has accepted and the deposit has been charged.
• Deposit — the amount held on your card at booking and charged when the stylist accepts your appointment.
• No-Show — when a client doesn't show up for a confirmed appointment without cancelling first.
• Response Window — the 48-hour period after you request a booking during which the stylist must accept or decline. If they don't respond, your deposit hold is released automatically.

3. Your Account

To use most features of ChairHop, you'll need to create an account. Here's what we ask:

• You must be 18 or older.
• The information you provide — your name, email, and phone number — must be accurate and kept up to date.
• Keep your password secure. Don't share it with anyone.
• If you think someone has accessed your account without permission, let us know at admin@chair-hop.com right away.

You're responsible for everything that happens under your account. We're not liable for losses caused by someone else using your account if you shared your login or didn't keep it secure.

4. How ChairHop Works

ChairHop is a marketplace — not a salon. We connect you with stylists, but we don't employ them, supervise them, or control how they work. Every service you book is provided by an independent stylist, not by ChairHop.

This means:

• Your service contract is with the stylist, not with us.
• ChairHop is not responsible for the quality, safety, or outcome of any service.
• Stylists set their own prices, cancellation policies, and service offerings.
• ChairHop doesn't guarantee that a stylist's availability is always current or that a confirmed appointment won't need to be rescheduled.

5. For Clients

Booking an appointment

When you find a stylist you like and request a booking, here's what happens:

• A deposit is held on your card (but not charged yet).
• The stylist has 48 hours to accept or decline.
• If they accept, the deposit is charged and you get a confirmation by email.
• If they don't respond within 48 hours, the hold on your card is released and you're not charged.

Before you book, please be honest about what service you're requesting. And if you have any allergies, sensitivities, or health conditions that might affect your appointment — let your stylist know. We're not responsible for harm that could have been avoided if you'd shared that information.

Cancellations and no-shows

Life happens — we get it. But stylists depend on their bookings, so please cancel with as much notice as possible.

• Cancel before the stylist's cancellation window: full deposit refund, minus the Booking Fee.
• Cancel within the cancellation window: you may be charged a cancellation fee set by the stylist.
• Don't show up at all: the stylist may charge you the full appointment value.
• The Booking Fee is non-refundable in all cases.

The stylist's cancellation policy is shown on their profile and confirmed when you book. Make sure you've read it before confirming.

Payments

All payments are handled through Square. ChairHop doesn't store your full card number — that lives with Square, which is PCI-compliant. We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

If you think you've been charged incorrectly, email admin@chair-hop.com within 30 days. We'll look into it.

Reviews

After an appointment, you can leave a review for your stylist. Keep it honest — your experience is valuable to other clients. Don't post fake reviews, include the stylist's personal contact information, or use reviews to harass anyone. We can remove reviews that violate these rules.

Disputes about service quality

If you're unhappy with a haircut or another service outcome, that's between you and your stylist. ChairHop doesn't get involved in service quality disputes. We're here for payment issues and safety concerns — not artistic disagreements.

6. For Stylists

You're an independent contractor

Using ChairHop doesn't make you an employee of ChairHop. You're an independent contractor. You set your own hours, prices, and services. You're responsible for your own taxes, insurance, and licences.

This is the most important thing to understand about your relationship with ChairHop. If you have questions about what this means for your tax situation, please talk to an accountant.

Your profile and services

Your profile is your storefront. You're responsible for keeping it accurate, including your services, prices, availability, and cancellation policy. Don't misrepresent your qualifications or the services you offer.

ChairHop can remove profile content that violates these Terms or our community standards.

Accepting and honouring bookings

When you accept a booking, you're making a commitment to your client. Please honour confirmed appointments. If you need to cancel, do it as early as possible through the Platform and make sure the client gets a full refund.

We track cancellation rates. Here's what happens if yours gets too high:

• First late cancellation: a heads-up from us.
• Two or more late cancellations in 60 days: your search ranking drops temporarily.
• Three or more late cancellations in 60 days: your account may be reviewed and new bookings paused.
• A persistent pattern: your account may be permanently closed.

You can appeal any consequence by emailing admin@chair-hop.com within 14 days.

Getting paid

ChairHop pays you after each completed appointment, minus our service fee and Square's processing fee. Both fees are deducted from your earnings — clients don't see them.

To receive payouts, you'll need to connect a bank account through Square. We don't store your banking details — Square does.

We may hold your payout if there's a dispute, a chargeback, or something unusual on your account. We'll tell you if that happens.

Taxes

You're responsible for your own taxes. ChairHop doesn't withhold or remit income taxes, sales taxes, or any other deductions on your behalf. This includes GST, HST, and QST in Canada, and applicable state and federal taxes in the US. We're not tax advisors — please consult an accountant.

Licences and insurance

You must hold all licences required by law in your province, state, or territory to offer the services you advertise. You must also carry:

• Commercial general liability insurance: minimum CAD $2,000,000 per occurrence (or USD equivalent).
• Professional liability insurance: minimum CAD $1,000,000 per occurrence (or USD equivalent).

If we ask for proof of insurance, you need to provide it within 5 business days. If you don't, we may pause your account until you do.

Portfolio content

When you upload photos to your profile, you're telling us you own them (or have permission to use them), that they show your own work, and that anyone who appears in them has given their consent. You keep ownership of your photos — you're just giving us permission to display them on the Platform.

If any of your content turns out to infringe someone else's rights, you're responsible — not ChairHop. See Section 11 for more on this.

7. Payments

Full details of how deposits, captures, refunds, chargebacks, and fees work are in our Payment Terms, which are part of these Terms. The short version:

• Clients: your deposit is held at booking and charged when the stylist accepts. If they don't accept within 48 hours, you're not charged.
• Stylists: you're paid after your appointment is completed, minus fees.
• Refunds: full refund if you cancel outside the cancellation window, or if the stylist cancels. Partial or no refund if you cancel within the window or no-show.
• Chargebacks: if a client disputes a charge, we'll work with Square to resolve it. Stylists are responsible for chargebacks on their appointments.

8. How We Expect You to Behave

ChairHop is a community. We expect everyone — clients and stylists — to treat each other with respect. Here's what's not allowed:

• Harassment, threats, or abusive behaviour toward anyone on the Platform — in messages, reviews, or in person.
• Discrimination based on race, colour, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
• Posting false information — in your profile, reviews, or anywhere on the Platform.
• Using stolen or unauthorized payment methods.
• Disputing legitimate charges (friendly fraud).
• Trying to take transactions off the Platform to avoid ChairHop's fees.
• Scraping or copying data from the Platform without our permission.
• Impersonating anyone, including ChairHop staff.

If you violate these rules, we may suspend or close your account. Serious violations may be reported to law enforcement.

9. Safety and Reporting

If something unsafe or illegal happens during an appointment, please reach out to us:

• Email: admin@chair-hop.com
• In-app: use the "Report" button on a profile or in a conversation

Tell us what happened, when, and who was involved. We'll review every report and take action when our standards have been violated. For emergencies, always contact local law enforcement first.

ChairHop isn't responsible for investigating or prosecuting criminal conduct, but we take safety seriously and will cooperate with law enforcement when required.

10. ChairHop's Intellectual Property

The ChairHop name, logo, and everything we've built — the code, design, features, and content — belongs to us. You can use the Platform to run your business or book appointments. You can't copy it, reverse-engineer it, or use our branding without permission.

11. Your Content

You own the content you post on ChairHop — your photos, reviews, and profile information. By posting it, you give us permission to display and use it to run and promote the Platform.

You're responsible for making sure your content doesn't infringe anyone else's rights. If you think someone has posted content that infringes your copyright or trademark, email admin@chair-hop.com with "IP Infringement Notice" in the subject line and tell us: what you own, what's been infringed, and where it is on the Platform. We'll investigate and remove content that violates intellectual property rights.

12. Our Limits

ChairHop provides a booking platform. We're not responsible for what happens during a stylist's appointment — including injuries, property damage, or dissatisfaction with the service. Those are between you and the stylist.

The Platform is provided "as is." We do our best to keep it running, but we can't promise it'll be available all the time or error-free.

If something does go wrong and ChairHop is at fault, our liability is capped at the greater of: what you paid ChairHop in the last 12 months, or CAD $100 / USD $100. We're not liable for indirect or consequential damages.

Quebec residents: some of these limitations may not apply to you under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act.

US residents: some states don't allow certain liability limitations, so these may not fully apply to you depending on where you live.

13. Things Outside Our Control

Sometimes things happen that are outside anyone's control — natural disasters, internet outages, government actions, pandemics. If something like that prevents us from performing our obligations under these Terms, we're not liable for the delay. We'll do our best to get back to normal as quickly as possible and keep you informed.

This doesn't let anyone off the hook for obligations that already existed before the event — for example, a stylist who cancels because of a power outage still needs to refund their client.

14. Closing Your Account

If you want to leave

You can close your account at any time by contacting admin@chair-hop.com. If you're a stylist, you'll still need to honour any confirmed appointments before your account closes.

If we close your account

We can suspend or close your account if you violate these Terms, behave abusively, provide false information, or do anything that harms the Platform or its users. We'll try to give you a heads-up if there's time, but we may act immediately in serious cases.

Sections that should survive after your account closes — like IP rights, indemnification, and dispute resolution — stay in effect.

15. Resolving Disputes

Try talking to us first

If you have a problem with ChairHop, email admin@chair-hop.com. Most issues can be resolved quickly without any formal process. We'll do our best to respond within 30 days.

Canadian users

These Terms are governed by the laws of Quebec and the federal laws of Canada. Any legal dispute that can't be resolved informally will be handled by the courts in Montreal, Quebec. Nothing here takes away your rights under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act.

US users

For users in the United States, these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any legal dispute that can't be resolved informally will be handled in the courts of New York County, New York.

No class actions

You agree to resolve disputes with ChairHop individually, not as part of a class action or group proceeding. This doesn't apply to any rights you have that can't be waived under applicable law.

Note: The class action waiver and New York governing law for US users should be reviewed by legal counsel before publication.

16. Privacy

How we handle your personal information is explained in our Privacy Policy. By using ChairHop, you agree to how we collect and use your data as described there.

17. A Few More Things

• These Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Payment Terms are the full agreement between you and ChairHop.
• If a court finds any part of these Terms unenforceable, the rest still applies.
• If we don't enforce something right away, that doesn't mean we've given it up.
• You can't transfer your account or your rights under these Terms to someone else.
• These Terms are written in English. French version coming soon for Quebec users.

18. Contact Us

Questions? We're here.

• General support: admin@chair-hop.com
• Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada