Company Policies

Privacy Policy

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ANALYTICS:

This website collects personal data to power our site analytics, including information about your browser, network, and device; web pages you visited prior to coming to this website and your IP address.  This information may also include details about your use of this website, including clicks, internal links, pages visited, scrolling, searches, and timestamps.  We share this information with Wix, our website analytics provider, to learn about site traffic and activity.

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COOKIES:

This website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website or app.  These functional and required cookies are always used, which allow Wix, our hosting platform, to securely serve this website to you.  These analytics and performance cookies are used on this website, as described below, only when you acknowledge our cookie banner.  This website uses analytics and performance cookies to view site traffic, activity, and other data.

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VISITOR DATA:

When you buy something on this website, we collect personal information from you to fulfill the order.  We may collect information like your billing and shipping address, details relating to your purchase, email address, name and phone number.  We share this information with Wix, our online store hosting provider, so that they can provide website services to us.  Our payment processor PayPal Inc will also collect payment information from you.  You can read their privacy policy at https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/privacy-full.  As you go through checkout, this site may automatically complete your shipping and billing address by sharing what you type with the Google Places API and returning suggestions to you to improve your checkout experience.

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When you submit information to this website via webform, we collect the data requested in the webform in order to track and respond to your submissions.  We share this information with Wix, our online store hosting provider, so that they can provide website services to us.  We also share this information with Zapier for data porting.

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EMAIL POLICY:

We may send you marketing emails, which you can unsubscribe from by clicking the link at the bottom of the email.  We share your contact information with Mailchimp, our email marketing provider, so they can send these emails on our behalf.

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You’ll receive an automated email within 12 hours after you abandon your shopping cart, if all of the following occur:  You enter your email address at checkout or are logged into your customer account and you add a product which is in stock to your shopping cart and you close your browser or leave this website without completing your purchase.  You can unsubscribe from these messages at the bottom of the email.  The email will link back to this website, where you can pick up where you left off and complete your purchase.

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We may email you with messages about your order or account activity.  For example, we may email you to tell you that you’ve created a customer account or your customer account password has been reset or updated or that you’ve made a purchase or that your order has shipped.  It’s not possible to unsubscribe from these messages.  We share your contact information with Wix, our website hosting provider, so they can send these emails to you on our behalf.

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CREDIT CARDS:
When you make a purchase from us on this website, we use Wix Payments as our payment solution.  Wix Payments is a fully integrated, native payment solution provided to us by our online store service provider, Wix.  Wix Payments makes use of the following third-party service providers which will also receive your personal information and process it in accordance with their privacy policies:

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Stripe - payment processing services.  You can read Stripe’s privacy policy at https://stripe.com/privacy.​

Sift - fraud monitoring and detection services.  You can read Sift’s privacy policy at https://sift.com/service-privacy.

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SITE SECURITY:

This website is protected by built-in security measures that comply with the highest industry standards:

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• SSL Certificate -- Authenticates this website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection, so that visitors (and browsers) know they can trust this website.

• TLS 1.3 Encryption -- Encrypts data using the latest industry-standard protocols to keep visitors’ information safe.

• DDoS Protection -- In a DDoS attack, sites are flooded with unwanted traffic and become unavailable.  Wix reroutes this malicious traffic to keep this website accessible at all times.

• Level 1 PCI Compliance -- This website complies with the highest global standard for secure online payments.

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Accessibility Policy

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ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT:

Franconia History LLC hosts various outdoor guided walking tours of Alexandria and other nearby cities.  Due to the nature of these older cities including cobbled streets, narrow pavements, flooded roads and steep gradients in some places our tours vary in accessibility; however, we make every effort to ensure we can make tours as accessible as is possible for visitors.  Our tours have different starting points and often vary in time.  Therefore, please check the tour information on our website for the individual tours you plan to attend.  Tour length currently ranges between one and five hours depending on the tour.

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We encourage visitors to book onto our tours via our website to ensure that their place is reserved; however, we do also welcome visitors on our tours who have not pre-booked.  Tours are available on different days depending on the type of tour; so please ensure you check the date and time of your tour when booking.  We ask visitors to arrive ten minutes prior to the start of the tour to ensure that we are able to start the tour on time. 

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We strive to do everything we can to meet visitor’s specific needs and are always seeking to improve on our customer experience.  Please read over the tour descriptions on our website carefully for more information.  If there are any questions we do not answer, please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can endeavor to make sure your needs are met. 

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GETTING HERE:
Please check the starting points of the tour you are attending before making your journey.  As there are steep gradients on some of these tours, we encourage people to consider using parking lots closer to the start point of the tour.  Please do not hesitate to contact us beforehand if you require additional advice regarding parking your car or getting on public transport in the city. 

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ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION:
As our walking tours are situated within an historic city, there are aspects of our tours that we are unable to alter.  These include cobbled streets, narrow pavements, flooded roads, steep gradients and curbs; there are also sections of stairs on some of our tours. We advise visitors of the following main considerations: 
 
Some of our tours are marked as active walking tours; guests are advised that they should be physically capable and prepared to walk around an urban environment for up to three hours.  We make use where possible of existing outdoor street furniture for visitors to rest while we tell stories; however, all guests should ensure that they are physically able to keep up with a tour group.  On certain tours we use unavoidable steps; while on other tours we are able to avoid steps.  Visitors should be physically capable of climbing steps.  These are highlighted on individual tour information as well as at the start of tours.

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Care should be taken when walking on different surfaces if wet or icy; particularly in cobbled or uneven areas and when using steps or curbs.  All our tours take place out of doors and visitors should wear appropriate clothing for the weather conditions (ie. waterproof jacket, umbrella, sun protection etc.).  Sensible footwear is also recommended due to the uneven nature of some surfaces. ​  As the tours take place outside; all lighting is from natural light sources and the hours of our tour operation throughout the year reflect this.  Visitors are advised to stay hydrated during tours, especially on warmer days.  Visitors are encouraged to bring water with them.  Walkers, folding chairs and pushchairs are allowed on our tours, but visitors may find uneven or muddy surfaces more difficult to navigate.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries on the suitability of a tour.

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WHEELCHAIRS AND MOBILITY VEHICLES:

Any guests who use a wheelchair must be capable of travelling throughout the length of the relevant tour, some parts of which will be on uneven terrain.  Manual wheelchair users are likely to need to bring a personal assistant with them.  Self-propelled wheelchair users even with assistance are likely to struggle in some areas and as a result may experience difficulty on some areas of tours.  Guests who use an electric wheelchair or mobility scooter must ensure they have sufficient battery power for the duration of a tour.  Our guides will be happy to assist where possible at points where a wheelchair user is struggling with terrain.  Please refer to individual tour information as some tours are unsuitable for wheelchairs and mobility vehicles.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries on the suitability of a tour.

 

HEARING IMPAIRED GUESTS:

Our walking and driving tours are predominantly verbal with stories told by guides; this is however also accompanied by visual aids presented by guides.  We do our upmost to take advantage of quieter locations to tell longer stories with guides continually ensuring throughout tours that visitors are able to hear adequately.  Visitors are advised that they should be able to adequately hear a guide within an external environment. 

 

VISUALLY IMPAIRED GUESTS:

Visitors with visual impairment are advised to consider the above accessibility information as well as specific tour information to ensure that the tour is suitable.  Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries on the suitability of a tour or if we can help with adapting the tour to your requirements.

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ASSISTANCE DOGS:
All dogs are welcome on our walking tours including registered guide dogs, hearing dogs and medical alert dogs.  Please make us aware of this beforehand by email at franconiahistory@gmail.com.

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TOILET FACILITIES:

As we host outdoor walking tours we are not able to provide permanent toilet facilities for visitors.  We however try to ensure our tours are designed to pass via public accessible toilets as a rest break for visitors.  We are however not able to guarantee that these will be open at all times during our tours. Our guides will always try to direct visitors towards open facilities if required.

 

ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY:
A large print version of this accessibility statement can be made available by contacting us directly.  For more information, please email franconiahistory@gmail.com and we will do our best to help.

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Franconia History LLC takes measures to ensure the accessibility of its Franconia History tours and website and include accessibility as part of our mission statement.  The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.  It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA.  Franconia History, L.L.C. is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA.  Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.

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FEEDBACK:
We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of Franconia History tours.  Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on Franconia History tours by calling us on the phone at 703-350-2104 or reaching out via e-mail at franconiahistory@gmail.com anytime.  You can also write to us directly at the following:

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Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum, Inc.

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

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We try to respond to feedback within five business days.

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COMPATIBILITY:

Franconia History LLC's website is designed to be compatible with assistive technologies.  The website technology is supported natively in widely-distributed user agents that are also accessibility supported.  Franconia History LLC's website is not fully compatible with mobile devices or cellular phones using a zoom factor above three hundred percent.

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Accessibility of Franconia History LLC's website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer: HTML, WAI-ARIA, CSS, and JavaScript.  These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

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LIMITATIONS:

Despite our best efforts to ensure the accessibility of Franconia History LLC's website, there may be some limitations.  Below is a description of known limitations, and potential solutions.  Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below.

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Background images may intrude into the text fields because portions of the website are built into a fixed space that isn't conducive to mobile device zoom features.  We monitor user comments and typically repair issues within ten business days. Please contact us if you encounter an issue.

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Cancellation Policy

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TOUR CANCELLATION POLICY:

Franconia History LLC understands that schedules change, especially while you are on vacation or with family.  You are welcome to reschedule your tour with us at no additional charge up to twelve hours prior to the scheduled start time of your tour.

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If cancellation is required, you are requested to notify us no later than twelve hours before your scheduled tour start time.  Please note that any cancellations you make within twelve hours of your scheduled tour start time will cause the forfeiture of one-half of the fee you paid for the tour.

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Franconia Museum LLC cannot be held responsible for delays or cancellations of customer trips that result from weather, traffic, mechanical difficulties or circumstances beyond our control.  If Franconia History LLC is forced to cancel your tour due to reasons outside of company control, all prior payments will be refunded to you within ten business days.

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E-STORE REFUND POLICY:

Thank you for shopping at Franconia History LLC.  We offer refund and/or exchange within the first thirty days of your purchase.  If thirty days have passed since your purchase, you will not be offered a refund and/or exchange of any kind.

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Eligibility for Refunds and Exchanges:  Your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it.  To complete your return, we require a receipt or proof of purchase.  We only replace items if they are defective or damaged.  If you need to exchange it for the same item, send us an email at franconiahistory@gmail.com and mail your item to:

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Nathaniel Lee

c/o Franconia Museum, Inc.

6121 Franconia Road

Alexandria, VA 22310

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Once your returned item is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item.  We will also notify you of the approval or rejection of your refund.  If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment within ten business days.

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If you have not received a refund yet, first check your bank account again.  Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted.  If you have done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us at franconiahistory@gmail.com.  Please do not send the product back to the manufacturer.  It must be sent to the following address:

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Nathaniel Lee
c/o Franconia Museum, Inc.
6121 Franconia Road
Alexandria, VA 22310

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You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item.  Shipping costs are non-refundable!  If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund.

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Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you may vary.  Please understand, we cannot guarantee that we will receive your returned item.

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