Chapter 23: Corporate and Field Communications

 

SEC. 1     GENERAL COMMUNICATIONS PREREQUISITES

One of Market America’s main goals is to provide the most effective and efficient service to its UnFranchise® Owners. Each administrative department’s ultimate objective is to be friendly and fair while maintaining consistent and aligned adherence to the requirements of the UnFranchise Business Development System. By supporting and implementing the following general communications prerequisites, UnFranchise Owners and Market America will achieve the best service possible.

  1. Correspondence:

    1. Hours of operation: Market America’s UnFranchise Services department is open Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

    2. UnFranchise Manual: Policies and procedures in the Market America UnFranchise Manual govern all functions and activities in the field and at the corporate office. UnFranchise Owners should have the latest edition of the UnFranchise Manual readily available for reference when communicating with the corporate office.

    3. Available mediums: Several channels are available for communicating with Market America. Among them are fax, mail, telephone, voicemail and email.

    4. UnFranchise Owner information: UnFranchise Owners must ensure that their addresses (mailing, shipping and email when applicable) and telephone numbers are accurate and up to date.

    5. Market America response: UnFranchise Owners should assemble all supporting documentation and needed information prior to contacting Market America (UnFranchise Owners should contact their upline Certified Executive Coordinator or Certified Trainer for guidance in assembling this information). This information will greatly reduce research time and ensure a timely and accurate response. In addition, UnFranchise Owners should provide the respective department with the best way to get back to them (i.e., phone numbers and times).

    6. UnFranchise Owner follow-up: If Market America responds back to an UnFranchise Owner’s inquiry and the company requires additional information, it is the UnFranchise Owner’s responsibility to obtain the information and initiate the follow-up. In the event a follow-up is not initiated, Market America will consider the inquiry satisfied.

    7. Market America addresses: Sending mail to the wrong address may cause loss of mail or processing delays.

      1. Signature required: Mail this correspondence to Market America’s physical address: 1302 Pleasant Ridge Rd., Greensboro, NC 27409.

      2. Signature NOT required: Mail this correspondence to one of Market America’s post office boxes (as applicable): P.O. Box _______, Greensboro, NC 27425.

        P.O. Box 35364 (Orders and UnFranchise AutoShip Forms)
        P.O. Box 35663 (Address Changes, Linkage Corrections and Forms 1000, 1001, 925, etc.)
        P.O. Box 35512 (All other correspondence)

    8. Responsibility/Accountability: Market America cannot be responsible or accountable for mail and faxes being delivered on time or as expected. UnFranchise Owners are advised to check for receipt via their UnFranchise Management System (UFMS), MARVIN, or by calling UnFranchise Services.

  2. Paperwork/Documentation:

    1. UnFranchise Owners are responsible for the validity and accuracy of all paperwork submitted to the company. Market America processes paperwork as it is received. Market America CANNOT alter submitted paperwork, so please make sure it is correct before it is submitted to the company.

    2. All paperwork must be mailed on its original form with the UnFranchise Owner’s signature unless otherwise instructed by the company. If a specific representative requests paperwork to be sent in otherwise, it should go to that representative’s attention.

    3. UnFranchise Owners must stay on top of their businesses. Please deal with problems that may occur in a timely manner. The longer an UnFranchise Owner waits, the harder or sometimes less likely the problem will be able to be resolved. In some cases, UnFranchise Owners could lose valuable time and money.

  3. Telephone calls:

    1. Our telephone number is (336) 478-4006.

    2. Please remember that an UnFranchise Owner’s first responsibility is to learn the policies and procedures listed in the UnFranchise Manual. It is also a requirement that UnFranchise Owners are trained by their upline. The upline has a vested interest in making sure that downline UnFranchise Owners and their businesses succeed. The upline is an UnFranchise Owner’s point of reference and who they should contact for help and advice.

    3. Before contacting the company, UnFranchise Owners should first verify what is in the UnFranchise Manual. Second, UnFranchise Owners should contact their sponsor, Certified Executive Coordinator, Certified Trainer, or Advisory Council Member. If UnFranchise Owners don’t know who these upline UnFranchise Owners are, they can call UnFranchise Services for their names and telephone numbers.

    4. Phone calls should be limited to five minutes. UnFranchise Owners need to have all details and information ready, including all UnFranchise Owner names, ID numbers, dates, check or money order numbers, order numbers, etc. Note: If UnFranchise Owners have detailed or multiple questions, or a complicated problem, it is better to send a detailed fax instead.

    5. UnFranchise Owners should keep a log of the date of each call, the person spoken to, a summary of the problem and the answer that was given. UnFranchise Owners must allow sufficient time for Market America to respond to the inquiry before calling again. It is a good idea to keep a log of calls to the upline in the same manner as well.

    6. Only one UnFranchise Owner from the field should call the company about a certain situation. That UnFranchise Owner should speak with the same representative until the issue is resolved. If more than one UnFranchise Owner does call, all parties need to deal with the person at the company already handling the problem.

    7. Again, UnFranchise Owners should consult the UnFranchise Manual and their upline first before calling the corporate office. The upline should be able to handle most questions or inquiries brought to them. Sometimes, however, UnFranchise Owners need to contact the corporate office. UnFranchise Owners should call the correct department or person regarding each situation (see The Company — Organization).

    8. When UnFranchise Owners receive correspondence (via email, fax, mail, phone or voice mail) from someone in a specific department, they must deal with that person/department unless otherwise instructed by the company.

  4. Faxes:

    1. Our fax number is (336) 605-0041.

    2. Please remember that UnFranchise Owners are responsible for making sure Market America receives their faxes.

    3. Market America has 48 hours (two business days) to respond to faxed requests.

    4. Only certain information can be faxed: address changes, changes of credit card information or pull week on UnFranchise AutoShip, cancellation of UnFranchise AutoShip, cancellation of an UnFranchise Business, cancellation of an order, linkage correction forms, or faxes regarding requests for information.

    5. Only UFMS members can fax their orders using their own credit card as payment.

  5. Electronic mail:

    1. UnFranchise Owners can electronically mail (email) requests to marketamerica@marketamerica.com. If UnFranchise Owners have a question for UnFranchise Services, they can direct their email to unfranchiseservices@marketamerica.com or CS@marketamerica.com.

    2. All email transmissions need to include the UnFranchise Owner’s name and ID number so that Market America is able to respond.

    3. Market America will try to respond to all email requests with a valid ID number and valid return email address within two business days.

SEC. 2     VOICEMAIL

All UnFranchise Owners should utilize the voicemail services provided by Market America. The company uses voicemail to communicate urgent messages to UnFranchise Owners en masse. Voicemail is also a powerful management tool for UnFranchise Owners to use in communicating with their downline organization.

SEC. 3     GMTSS ONLINE

GMTSS Online should be used to give access to all meetings, trainings, seminars and conventions being held worldwide. DO NOT call the office for schedules and locations.

SEC. 4     MARKET AMERICA’S RESPONSIVE VOICE INFORMATION NETWORK (MARVIN)

MARVIN is a state-of-the-art voice-response system that allows UnFranchise Owners to access the most pertinent information about their business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by dialing (336) 605-5556. After UnFranchise Owners dial the MARVIN number and listen to the greeting, they should press 1 for the UnFranchise Owner Information Service (for Powerline Voice Link (PVL), press 2). UnFranchise Owners will be prompted to enter the nine-digit UnFranchise Owner Identification Number of the business they are inquiring about. UnFranchise Owners will then be presented with a Main Menu of options from which to make an applicable selection. UnFranchise Owners may press “∗” at any time to return to the Main Menu.