Chefsville values the privacy of information pertaining to its customers and associates.

How We Use Personal Information and Browsing Information

Chefsville and our business associates use Personal Information and Browsing Information for a variety of purposes, including the following:

• To help provide you with a smooth, efficient shopping experience that is tailored to you. For example, to:
  • help you quickly find information, products, and services;
  • make the Site easier for you to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same information;
  • provide you with information about your order history, gift cards, wish lists and gift registries you create, reviews you write, questions you answer, products you pick or people who are following your picks (if you choose to make picks and allow followers)
  • help create content that is customized to your particular preferences or interests; and
  • make third party offers of products and/or services more relevant to you.
• To alert you to How Chefsville Use Personal Information and Browsing InformationChefsville and our business associates use Personal Information and Browsing Information for a variety of purposes, including the following:
  • To help provide you with a smooth, efficient shopping experience that is tailored to you. For example, to:
    • help you quickly find information, products, and services;
    • make the Site easier for you to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same information;
    • provide you with information about your order history, gift cards, wish lists and gift registries you create, reviews you write, questions you answer, products you pick or people who are following your picks (if you choose to make picks and allow followers)
    • help create content that is customized to your particular preferences or interests; and
    • make third party offers of products and/or services more relevant to you.
  • To alert you to Chefsville and third party products, services, and promotional offers that may be of interest to you, through email, direct mail or other methods of delivery, such as mobile content delivery programs.
  • To allow you to participate in trusted store or similar programs, subscription services, rewards programs or other membership programs that we offer or participate in with business affiliates. This may involve collecting and disclosing Personal Information (including your order details) for purposes such as allowing third parties to track which of their members visit or use the Site (for example, to obtain purchase protection or to earn points or discounts for purchases made on our Site through links from the partner site).
  • To announce and disclose the names, and cities and states, of winners of contests, sweepstakes, and promotions.
  • To fulfill and ship your order, to process your payments, and to communicate with you about your order and to provide customer service.
  • To assist in marketing efforts, including, for example, by tailoring and serving advertisements, and by tracking the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
  • To operate the Site and to improve Site content, layout and design, and vendor selection.
  • To monitor the usage and performance of the Site and to conduct system administration and system troubleshooting.
  • To comply with legal requirements and process (for example, in response to subpoenas, court orders, and law enforcement or governmental requests or investigations), to protect our legal rights or the rights of others (for example, by working to reduce the risk of fraud or Site misuse); and to enforce our Terms of Use or other policies or agreement.
  • In connection with an unusual business transaction, such as the bankruptcy or liquidation of, sale of, purchase of, or merger with our business or another business. Such a transaction may involve the disclosure of Personal Information and Browsing Information to prospective or actual purchasers or third parties. In general, we strive to limit such disclosures to circumstances where Personal Information and Browsing Information will be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy. In the event that we or all of our assets are acquired in such a transaction, Personal Information and Browsing Information may be one of the transferred assets.

  Personal Information and Browsing Information collected while you use our Site may be combined with information we collect by other means, including, for example, information related to your purchases or other activities in our retail locations, and information provided in calls or emails to us.

  In addition to the uses described above, we also use Personal Information and Browsing Information to help us determine which areas of our Site are most popular so we can enhance the experience of Site visitors. We may aggregate certain Browsing Information or Personal Information so that it does not relate to any specific Site visitor (“aggregate information”) in order to detect, analyze, and describe patterns of Site usage. Browsing Information and aggregate information can provide an overview of our Site users’ characteristics, demographics, and collective viewing, search and shopping habits. We use such information, and share it with our vendors, business partners (including advertising partners) and other third parties for purposes such as: tailoring Site and email content and services for individual users and recipients; conducting targeted advertising; offering promotions and discounts; and to offer third party products and services.

  It is not possible to describe each and every Disclosure of Personal Information and Browsing Information that we engage in. Accordingly, the description above is only a list of examples, and we reserve the right to Disclose Personal Information and Browsing Information for any other lawful purpose.

  The Information We Collect

  Information We Affirmatively Collect From You—Personal Information

  In general, when we collect Personal Information about you on the Site, you are asked to affirmatively provide the information or to take some action—such as in registering an account, or placing an order—on or through the Site. Other information you affirmatively provide, such as about your preferences (e.g., specific products or brands you like), and demographic information (e.g., gender, age, or income range) is generally maintained along with Personal Information. You can choose not to provide any information that is affirmatively requested of you, however, this may limit your ability to use the Site. For example, you must provide certain information about you in order to access all of the Site’s features, to obtain promotional or email offers, to create wish lists or gift registries, to participate in special or loyalty programs (including gift certificates) through the Site, to write and share product reviews, to enter contests or sweepstakes, or to place an order on the Site.

  Depending on the purpose, we may ask you to provide different categories of Personal Information. For example, if you place an order, we may ask you to provide information including your name, phone number, email address, shipping and billing addresses, zip code and credit card information.

  User-generated content on our Site (such as product reviews, product ratings and wish lists created by users) may include Personal Information. We Disclose any Personal Information submitted with or included in the user-generated content provided to the Site.

  In addition to collecting information on the Site, we may collect information from you when you visit one of our stores, or communicate with us over the phone or e-mail. This information may include Personal Information and other information such as your name, billing and mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, purchase and return history, gift card usage, and participation in events and promotions that we offer. This information may be matched with, and stored in connection with Personal Information provided or collected in connection with the Site.

  Information Collected Automatically—Browsing Information

  When you visit our Site, we automatically collect what we refer to as Browsing Information about you.

  Browsing Information includes certain information that is automatically sent by, or collected from, your computer, web browser, and/or other device used to access the Site. This may include information such as your computer’s IP address, unique device identifier associated with the device you use to access the Site, the URL of the webpage you visited before coming to the Site and when exiting the Site, the location from which you (or your computer or access device) accesses the Site, and information about your computer or browser type and settings (such as your browser version, language settings). We also may collect or access information associated with cookies or other Tracking Technologies, as further described in our “Cookies and Tracking Technologies Used on the Site” section below.

  Browsing Information also includes certain information about your use of the Site, such as the pages and services you click on or access on the Site, the data you or your computer or access device transfers to or receives from the Site, session information (such as page response times), click-stream data and other information about the unique way in which you use the Site. This information can allow us to record and understand the precise way in which you interact with the Site in any particular visit, including each of the webpages you visit, and the manner in which you engage with each webpage (e.g., where you move your cursor, what you scroll through, what searches you run and products you view, etc.). Browsing Information also includes preference data, such as search and purchase information and other preference-related information that you submit to the Site (such as the styles and brands you prefer, what activities you enjoy and other lifestyle information).

  Cookies and Tracking Technologies Used on the Site

  We and our business associates use cookies and certain other tracking technologies on the Site to collect, process, and store Personal Information and Browsing Information. This section describes these cookies and tracking technologies in general terms.

  Cookies are small files that are stored on your computer or other device that you use to access this Site. The Site uses two kinds of cookies, in both the first and third party form: session ID and persistent cookies. A session ID cookie generally expires when you close your browser, while a persistent cookie remains on your computer for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can generally be removed by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” file, and your browser may offer you settings to reject cookies; we are not able to guarantee that any particular browser’s instructions or settings will work properly. If you enact settings to reject cookies, or if you delete cookies, you may not be able to access or use some portions and features of the Site.

  Cookies are used for a variety of purposes, including to enable you to select, place and purchase products in our shopping cart, to make it easier for you to navigate the Site (such as by storing your Personal Information, so you don’t have to enter that information more than once), and enhance your shopping experience. Cookies are also used to track the number of times users have visited the Site, to determine and analyze their use of the Site, to store information that they provide (such as preferences), to store technical information useful for interactions with the Site, and to track the number of visitors to the Site. Cookies are utilized to collect Browsing Information, including the information described in the “Information Collected Automatically—Browsing Information” section above.

  The Site also may use other technologies including but not limited to web beacons and locally shared objects, to collect, process, and store Personal Information and Browsing Information (all, along with cookies, are collectively referred to as “Tracking Technologies”), and for any of the purposes that cookies are used for. Web beacons—sometimes called single-pixel .gifs or action tags—assist in delivering cookies and allow us to collect Browsing Information about Site users. Web beacons may also be included in emails in order to determine whether the emails have been opened and acted upon. Locally shared objects—sometimes called Flash cookies—collect and hold more data than cookies, and are stored differently on your computer. Locally shared objects may not be deleted, or prevented, through the use of browser settings or controls. For more information about locally shared objects, including instructions on how to control or delete them, review information provided by Adobe in connection with Flash technology you use, such as //www.adobe.com/security/flashplayer/articles/lso/.

  The Tracking Technologies used on the Site may be used by Chefsville, or by any of our service providers or business affiliates, including third party advertising companies, for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy (including the collection and use of Browsing Information and Personal Information). In addition, our service providers, business affiliates, and advertising companies may use Tracking Technologies to measure advertising effectiveness (such as which web pages are visited or what products are purchased and in what amount), to understand shopping patterns, to determine whether you have seen a particular ad before so as to avoid duplication, and for their own business purposes that are not described in this Privacy Policy.

  Email Communications That We Send; Consent to Electronic Notice of Breaches

  We may send you, or you may elect to sign up to receive, emails from us. To help us understand whether we are providing information of interest to you, we may include software code or other Tracking Technologies in our emails to monitor whether you opened a particular email, whether you have clicked on the images and/or links in the email, the date and time the message was opened, and whether your computer is capable of receiving HTML-based email.

  Chefsville endeavors to allow you to unsubscribe at any time from our email programs by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email message. We reserve the right to send you service announcements or similar administrative messages (for example, if we need to temporarily suspend the Site for maintenance), without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them. In addition, because we must communicate with you about orders that you have placed, you cannot opt out of receiving emails relating to your orders.

  In the event that we or our Site suffers a data security breach that requires us to provide you with notice, such as under applicable law, you consent to allow us to provide you with such notice by sending an e-mail to the primary e-mail address that is associated with your account.

  Your Right to Access and Update Personal Information

  You can view some of the Personal Information that we maintain about you and your account by logging into your account on Chefsville.org or Chefsville Sites and viewing the My Account section. You can update certain information about your account, such as your mailing or billing address information, email address, and phone number by clicking the Edit Account Settings link within the My Account section, however, we may still possess and maintain records that do not reflect any updates that you provide in this manner.

  Not all Personal Information is maintained in a manner that can be accessed or updated by you. For example, Personal Information that we collect and maintain independent of the Site—for example, that you provide in a retail location or over the phone—generally is not directly accessible to you. Additionally, we generally do not maintain Browsing Information in a manner that can be accessed or updated by you.

  If you have questions or concerns about our information practices, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Us” , below.

  Security and Passwords

  Chefsville takes what it believes to be commercially reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect Personal Information. However, since no security system is impenetrable and “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet, we cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information or Browsing Information. In addition, any information you include in a product review or post to any message board, discussion group, or other public posting area on the Site is available to anyone with Internet access.

  If you create an account on the Site, you may be asked to choose a password for your account, which can be used to access information associated with your account (including Personal Information). You should choose a password that is not easy to guess, and does not use words that you would find in a dictionary. Do not disclose your password to any other person. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and we will attribute activities that occur using your account information (e.g., through the use of your password) to you. If you suspect that your password has been compromised, change it immediately, or contact us at “info” at sign + [dot] org.

  Links To Other Sites

  The Site contains links to third party websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of any other website. If you visit any third party website, or provide any personal information to such site, you are not submitting that information to us, and we have no control over the website’s privacy practices. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our Site, and to familiarize themselves with the privacy statements of all websites that they visit and interact with.

  Children’s Privacy and Note to Parents and Guardians

  Chefsville does not knowingly collect personal information about children under 13 years of age. If we become aware that we have unknowingly collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete such information from our database. If you are a parent or guardian of a child under the age of 13, and you believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Us” section.

  Updates to this Privacy Policy

  Chefsville reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Effective Date” at the top of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to check this page periodically for any updates. If you continue to use of the Site following the posting of an updated version of this Privacy Policy, we will treat your continued use as acceptance of the updated version.

  Governing Law; Visitors Residing Outside The United States

  This Privacy Policy and the privacy practices of our Site and Chefsville are governed solely under the laws of the State of Texas, USA, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

  For those who use our Site and reside outside the United States are responsible for compliance with local laws. If you reside outside of the United States, by using our Site, you consent to the collection, transfer, storage, processing and use of your personal information in the United States of America in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

  Contact Us

  If you have any remaining questions about how we treat your privacy, just let us know. You can contact us by writing to: info [@] chefsville {dot} org .