Terms & Conditions

Community Rules & Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines

The GIOA (Guardian Independent Operators Association) thanks you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great forum with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our member services department via the Contact Us link on this site.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the member services department. In order to preserve an environment that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violate these rules.  GIOA is not affiliated directly with Chick-fil-A Inc beyond common goals, values and desires to support Operators.

GIOA Forum Rules

1. Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members.
2. Respect the purpose of the community. Use the community to share successes, challenges, constructive feedback, questions, and goals instead of products or services that you provide. If you’ve found a product or service helpful, please share your experience with the member services department in a respectful way.
3. Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
4. All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you. Any posts of this nature are subject to removal and privileges suspended or revoked.
5. Respect intellectual property. Post content that you have personally created or have permission to use and have properly attributed to the content creator. You expressly agree to be responsible for any copyright/trademark/service mark violations and will indemnify GIOA for any actions, fines or penalties as a result of your posts.
6. When posting items in our collaborative environment, please indicate if the item is not available for reuse. It’s also advisable to contact the owner of any material if you would like to reuse it.
7. Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities. This helps ensure all messages receive the best response by eliminating “noise.”
8. You expressly agree to not copy or distribute any other members contact information or private posts within this community.  Conversion of data, phone lists, email lists or other collection of data of members is expressly forbidden and could subject the member engaged in such activities to civil and legal liability.

Discussion Group Etiquette

1. State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
2. Send messages such as “thanks for the information” or “me, too” to individuals, not to the entire list. Do this by using the “Reply to Sender” link in every message.
3. Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address. Simply change your settings.

TERMS OF USE

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE. BY USING THIS SITE, YOU SIGNIFY YOUR AGREEMENT TO THESE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS SITE.

Copyright Notice The contents of this site, including but not limited to the text and images herein and their arrangement, are copyright © 2023 – Present through licensing agreements by Guardian Independent Operators Association (herein after GIOA). All Rights Reserved. You may copy and display the content herein, but only for personal or for non-commercial use. Further, no content shall be copied or posted online or on any computer network, or broadcast in any media. Any copy you make must include this copyright notice. No modifications of the content may be made. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any patent, trademark, copyright (except as expressly provided above), or other proprietary rights of GIOA or of any third party.

Trademarks Guardian Independent Operators Association (GIOA), Chick-fil-A, Inc, , Ficus Group, LLC, Mineral, Michael Palmer, PerkSpot, The Business Source, Cipe, Shift Agent, Westpac Wealth Partners, Rockett Getaways, Point University and all independent Owner Operators of Chick-fil-A franchisees and all other 3rd Party partners or vendors logos are service marks of GIOA or the respective owners. Any other marks are owned by GIOA, its business partners or as attributed herein. 5000 Futures is a licensed copyright to GIOA and all rights are reserved by its respective owners.

Content GIOA makes no representations about the suitability of the content of this site for any purpose. All content is provided “as is” without any warranty of any kind. GIOA HAS NOT MADE AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHATEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS OF THIS SITE; AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED BY GIOA. GIOA WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO ANYONE WITH RESPECT TO ANY DAMAGES, LOSS OR CLAIM WHATSOEVER, NO MATTER HOW OCCASIONED, IN CONNECTION WITH ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS SITE. IN NO EVENT SHALL GIOA BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WITHOUT REGARD TO THE FORM OF ANY ACTION INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CONTRACT OR NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTIONS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE, COPYING OR DISPLAY OF THE CONTENT. Notwithstanding the above, in no event shall GIOA’s total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) exceed the amount paid by you, if any, for accessing this site. While GIOA believes the content to be accurate, complete and current, there may be inadvertent technical or factual inaccuracies and typographical errors and GIOA does not warrant that the information is accurate or complete or current. It is your responsibility to verify any information before relying on it. At any time and from time-to-time GIOA may make changes in the products and/or services described herein, however, GIOA makes no commitment to update the information and expressly disclaims liability for errors or omissions in it.

Links to Other Sites Some of the sites listed as links herein are not under the control of GIOA. Accordingly, GIOA makes no representations whatsoever concerning the content of those sites. The fact that GIOA has provided a link to a site is not an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship or affiliation by GIOA with respect to such site, its owners or its providers. GIOA is providing these links only as a convenience to you. GIOA has not tested any information, software or products found on these sites and therefore cannot make any representations whatsoever with respect thereto. There are risks in using any information, software or products found on the Internet, and GIOA cautions you to make sure that you completely understand these risks before retrieving, using, relying upon or purchasing anything via the Internet.

SMS Text Messaging Program

SMS Consent Communication. The information (phone numbers) obtained as part of the SMS consent process will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.
Types of SMS Communications. If you have consented to receive text messages from GIOA, you may receive messages related to the following: customer care and account notifications; membership updates and benefits; event and conference reminders; enrollment and compliance deadlines; and educational announcements and resources.
Sample message: “GIOA: Reminder — registration for the 2026 Annual Conference closes Friday. Details at gioa.info/conf. Reply STOP to opt out of SMS messaging from GIOA at any time.”
Message Frequency. Message frequency may vary depending on the type of communication and your interactions with GIOA.
Potential Fees for SMS Messaging. Standard message and data rates may apply depending on your carrier’s pricing plan. Fees may vary for domestic versus international messages. Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Opt-In Method. You may opt in to receive SMS messages from GIOA by submitting an online form on gioa.info and checking the SMS consent box, which states that you agree to receive Customer Care and Account Notification text messages from GIOA.
Opt-Out Method. You can opt out of receiving SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any SMS message you receive. Alternatively, you may contact GIOA directly at 1-855-GIOA411 or help@gioa411.com to request removal from our messaging list.
Help. For assistance, reply HELP to any message we send you. You may also contact GIOA directly at 1-855-GIOA411 or help@gioa411.com for support.
Additional Options. If you do not wish to receive SMS messages, you can choose not to check the SMS consent box on our forms. You may reply START to any message after opting out to resume receiving messages, or re-submit your phone number and check the SMS consent box on one of our website forms.
You are responsible for keeping your contact information current and for any charges imposed by your wireless carrier. GIOA reserves the right to modify or terminate the SMS program at any time without notice. Additional details about how your mobile information is collected, used, and shared are described in our Privacy Policy under “SMS/Text Messaging Program.”

Dispute Resolution Use or viewing of this web portal constitutes an agreement between you and GIOA. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia and the United States, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Any Cause of action shall be brought exclusively in the Arbitration offices of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), under the Rules of The American Arbitration Association with exclusive venue in Gwinnett County, Georgia. This is the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter herein and shall not be modified except in writing, signed by both Parties.

PRIVACY STATEMENT

Guardian Independent Operators Association (GIOA) is committed to earning your trust by respecting and protecting the privacy of the information you provide to us online. Here’s how GIOA gathers, uses and safeguards information about you when you visit our web portal.

Information We Gather on Our Web portal When you join the platform, request information or complete online enrollment forms within our web portal, we may ask that you provide identifying information and demographic information about yourself (e.g. name, email, phone number, address, state or residence, operator number, photos or photo likenesses, etc.). This information is required for identification and qualification purposes, and it is used to identify you as a unique user. GIOA will never ask for confirmation of your personal or account information through an email, and you should never respond to an email (especially unsolicited email) that asks for your personal information). We may collect Personal Health Information (PHI) – The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPAA requires that covered entities protect the privacy of your PHI that has been provided or obtained through a 3rd party source. Data that you provide is subject to being shared with business partners. Such information is gathered through pre-qualification questionnaires and application forms. We will disclose such information to business partners to the extent it is necessary for them to perform their analysis and services. We do not rent, sell or otherwise disclose information on our online visitors or their PHI with other 3rd parties for their own marketing use.

Other Information We Capture GIOA’s web server automatically recognizes only your IP address when you visit our web portal as an anonymous visitor (without logging in). Our web portal does not recognize your email address. However, GIOA collects your email address when you communicate with us via email; provide your email address to us when completing an online application or pre-qualification questionnaire, or register to access secure areas of our web portal. If you register on our web portal, please keep your email address up to date in your personal profile. This email address will be used to retrieve a forgotten password and assist you in using other self-service features. GIOA also collects aggregate information about pages visited within our web portal.

Does GIOA have security measures in place to protect your information? GIOA has implemented reasonable physical, technical and administrative security standards to protect personal information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. Our service providers and vendors are contractually bound to maintain the confidentiality of personal information and may not use the information for any unauthorized purpose. While GIOA has taken steps to make the information you provide to us as secure as possible against unauthorized access, please keep in mind that no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. Any information disclosed online can potentially be intercepted and used by unauthorized parties.

Does GIOA disclose your personal information? We disclose personal information to business partners that are necessary to provide our products and services. For Example:

• Authorized Service Providers – We may disclose your information to service providers we have retained to perform services on our behalf. These service providers are contractually restricted from using or disclosing the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements.
• Legal Requirements and Business Transfers – We may disclose personal information (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process, (ii) in response to law enforcement authority or other government official requests, (iii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, (iv) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity or (v) in the event that GIOA is subject to a merger or acquisition to the new owner of the business. Disclosure may also be required for company audits or to investigate a complaint or security threat.

What We Do With Information We Gather? We use the information we gather about visitors to our platform in one or more of the following ways:

• Provide information and services as requested by you.
• To verify you are a qualified member, Operator, media contact or prospect.
• To help ensure a safer online environment for our online visitors.
• For general aggregate site visitor analysis and statistical research.
• Develop new services.
• To inform you of products and services that may be of interest to you.
• To inform customer service representatives about account access and service requests that will enable us to provide better customer service.

Our Policy for Children Our web portal is not intended to attract children under the age of 13. We do not use our web portal to knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 18. Parents and/or guardians are solely responsible for supervising their minor children’s use of our web portal.

Links to Other Websites Our web portal contains links to other Internet sites. It is our intent to provide links only to other quality websites. However, we cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of information you provide to these linked sites. Any information collected by websites other than the GIOA web portal is not covered by this privacy policy, and provisions of privacy policies contained on other websites may differ from the provisions of this privacy policy.

Cookies A “cookie” is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognize you each time you visit this site (personalization, etc). Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as news-feeds.

Questions or Comments If you have questions regarding our online privacy policy, please send an email message to info@gioa.info or telephone our offices at 855-606-3726 and request our legal department for instructions on how to submit questions or concerns in writing.

GIOA Forum Rules, Discussion Group Etiquette, Terms of Use and Privacy Statement are subject to change and updates.  Last Updated 6-05-26