General Terms and Conditions

1. Applicability

These General Terms and Conditions apply to contracts concluded by and between SV (Schweiz) AG (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Caterer’) and the customer (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Customer’) concerning the performance of catering services (including all related performance and deliverables) by the Caterer at events held by the Customer, especially banquets, seminars, conferences, company celebrations and receptions, etc., regardless of whether:

1. The function rooms (especially restaurants, conference rooms and banquet halls) are provided by the Caterer
2. The function rooms are provided by the Customer
3. The function rooms are provided by a third party

The Caterer delivers exclusively based on these General Terms and Conditions. Any deviating terms and conditions, especially the Customer’s General Terms and Conditions, are only valid if this has been agreed explicitly on a case-by-case basis.

Individual arrangements in the event contract/quote take precedence over these General Terms and Conditions – especially in the event of any conflict between the individual arrangements and the General Terms and Conditions – and are therefore to be agreed separately and added to the event contract/quote as an individual arrangement.

2. The Caterer’s service

The Customer will entrust SV (Schweiz) AG exclusively with catering at the event or with the continuous contract for recurring catering services (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘catering’) based on the detailed offer.

The Caterer undertakes to provide the catering with care. The Caterer will strive to provide the catering in good time and to the Customer’s utmost satisfaction. The food and drink selection process will place an emphasis on impeccable quality.

3. Conclusion of the contract

The Caterer will provide the Customer with a detailed catering offer based on information provided by the Customer. After making any necessary adjustments, the Customer will award the contract by sending the Caterer electronic or written confirmation of its acceptance of the offer. In urgent cases, verbal acceptance of the offer by the Customer is also binding. In such a case, the Caterer will issue written confirmation in which reference is made to the offer.

If the Customer fails to accept the offer before the deadline set by the Caterer, the offer will become invalid.

In all cases, the contract comes into existence as soon as the Caterer confirms the order in writing.

As such, the electronic or written order confirmation and any annexes will set out the specifics of the agreement concluded between the Customer and the Caterer; such annexes are integral components of the contract between the Parties (collectively referred to as the ‘contract’).

4. Changes to the number of people

If the number of people changes by more than 20%, the Customer must notify the Caterer, in writing if possible, no later than five days before the start of the event.

The Caterer cannot guarantee that it will be able to accommodate any changes after this point. If there are more people than agreed, the Caterer will strive to serve everyone within the limits of its own capacity.

The Caterer must be given the final number of participants no later than three working days before the event. The invoice will be based on this number of people. The full price will be charged for any participants who do not attend.

Furthermore, changes in the number of people may result in adjustments to the calculated prices.

5. Minor changes

The Caterer reserves the right to make reasonable changes or adjustments to its services in response to last-minute changes in supply, unavailable goods or unexpected price increases.

6. Payment in advance

The Caterer is entitled to demand payment in advance from the Customer on the conclusion of the contract. The details will be set out in the offer and/or the contract.

7. Cancellation

If the Customer cancels an order, the Caterer will invoice the Customer for the following costs:

• 50% of the agreed price up to 72 hours before the event
• 100% of the agreed price up to 48 hours before the event

The Caterer will pass on, in full, any costs already incurred by third-party service providers (florists, technicians, etc.) that can no longer be cancelled.

8. Withdrawal by the Caterer

The Caterer is entitled to withdraw from the event contract or quote if it has due cause for doing so. This shall be the case, for example, if

• necessary permission is not granted or is revoked for circumstances attributable to the Customer;
• the Customer fails to make the advance payment agreed in the contract on time;
• bankruptcy proceedings are instituted in connection with the Customer’s assets;
• the rooms provided by the Customer are not in a contractually acceptable condition and this renders it significantly more difficult to duly provide the catering service;
• after the conclusion of the contract, the event commissioned by the Customer proves a threat to the Caterer’s smooth business operations, security or reputation. In particular, this is the case if, when it engages the Caterer, the Customer does not provide the Caterer with sufficient or truthful information about the true purpose of the event.

If the Caterer exercises one of these rights of withdrawal, the Customer shall be obligated to pay the Caterer compensation for all losses and damage resulting from its withdrawal.

Withdrawal must be declared in writing.

9. Infrastructure, cleaning and disposal

9.1 Catering in the Customer’s function rooms

Unless agreed otherwise, the Customer will provide the Caterer with the following infrastructure free of charge, and undertakes to hand it over punctually in a condition suitable for its intended use and take it back in the same condition:

• the necessary rooms;
• furniture, fixtures and equipment (tables, chairs, cloakroom, etc.);
• heating, water and electricity.

The Caterer is responsible for cleaning the catering equipment. Furthermore, unless agreed otherwise, the Customer is responsible for cleaning and waste disposal.

If a defect occurs in the rooms or inventory items when the rooms or inventory items are made available, or during the performance of the service by the Caterer, the Customer will be obligated to remedy the defect without undue delay and at its own expense. If the situation demands that the Caterer remedy the defect, the Customer will be obligated to reimburse the Caterer for the costs incurred based on proof of expenses provided by the Caterer.

The Customer must ensure that the rooms comply with the fire safety regulations.

The technical equipment and decorations supplied by the Customer or a third party must comply with the fire safety regulations and be set up or installed in such a way that they do not pose a risk to third parties or impede the Caterer in the performance of its service.

9.2 Catering in SV’s function rooms

If the Caterer and the Customer have agreed that the Caterer will provide the function rooms, the following will apply:

1. The Caterer is obligated to make the function rooms – including the necessary inventory items for the event to run smoothly – available in the agreed condition prior to the start of the event, and keep them available until the agreed end of the event. The function rooms and inventory items may not be used after the end of the agreed period without the prior consent of the on-site contact.
2. Unless they have been expressly promised in writing, the Customer is not entitled to use specific function rooms. If, for any reason, agreed function rooms should be unavailable, the Caterer undertakes to provide a replacement of equal value.
3. Any further services provided by the Caterer with regard to decorations and other technical equipment (such as lighting and sound systems, etc.) require an express written agreement between the Caterer and the Customer.
4. Where the Customer supplies its own technical equipment and decorations or has them supplied by a contracted third party, it is responsible for ensuring that they are set up and removed properly and punctually, so that the event can take place as scheduled. The Customer must bear any resulting costs. The Caterer expressly rejects all liability if the event, and especially the services provided by the Caterer, are impaired by delays in setup and/or removal.
5. The technical equipment and decorations supplied by the Customer or a third party must comply with the fire safety regulations and be set up, installed and removed in such a way that they do not pose a risk to third parties or impede the Caterer in the performance of its service. No adhesives, paints or pins may be used on the walls, floors or ceilings. The Caterer is entitled to have any such stickers/posters, paintings and pinned/hung material removed at the Customer’s expense.
6. The Caterer is responsible for cleaning the rooms and catering equipment, including waste disposal, within the usual limits. The Customer will be invoiced separately for the costs of any extraordinary cleaning work.

9.3 Catering in a third party’s function rooms

If the function rooms are provided by a third party due to the local circumstances, the following will apply:

The Customer is obligated to enter into the necessary contractual agreements to use the function rooms with the third party.

The Customer is obligated to ensure that the contractual agreements made with the third party are structured in such a way that the Customer is able to comply with the obligations arising from (9.1).

10. Loss of and damage to material belonging to the Caterer

If the Caterer provides material that is to be returned after the end of the event (such as glasses, crockery, cutlery and linen), the Customer is obligated to return the material to the Caterer both complete and intact. The Caterer is responsible for cleaning the returned material. The Caterer is entitled to invoice the Customer for losses and damage caused by guests.

11. Merchandise purchase and logistics

The Caterer is responsible for the purchase of the merchandise for the catering. It is responsible for the selection and quality of suppliers and assures appropriate logistics.

The Customer will ensure that goods can be delivered without hindrance at any time. Goods are accepted by the Caterer’s employees.

Purchases are made on the Caterer’s account. Therefore the Caterer is responsible for the determination of the appropriate quantity, the price determination and the payment modalities with the suppliers. In order to optimize costs the Caterer centralizes and coordinates the merchandise purchase. The Caterer will optimise its spending on logistics and provide appropriate ordering systems for this purpose. In doing so, the Caterer achieves price discounts that will be passed on to the Customer. The Caterer will be compensated by the suppliers for its coordination efforts with such benefits as are usual in the line of business; these compensations remain with the Caterer. Consequently, the Customer has no obligations or entitlements of any kind arising from agreements concluded by and between the Caterer and its suppliers.

12. Rights to ideas, etc.

All rights to presented ideas, proposals, drafts, sketches, images, texts and the utilised management systems are the Caterer’s intellectual property.

13. The Caterer’s employees

The Caterer will provide personnel in line with the agreement. The applicable hourly rates are set out in the offer.

All personnel deployed by the Caterer are obligated to follow the instructions of the Caterer alone.

14. Insurance and permits

Unless agreed otherwise, the Customer is responsible for taking out the necessary insurance cover for personal injury and damage to property, and for obtaining all legal permits required in connection with an event.

The Customer is liable for losses and damage it causes, as well as for losses and damage caused by employees, guests, other assistants, event participants or subcontractors, parties employed in performing an obligation and vicarious agents of the Customer.

15. Invoicing and payment in cash

After the event ends, the Caterer will provide the Customer with an invoice that must be paid in full within 30 days of the invoice date. If the Customer fails to meet this deadline, the Caterer reserves the right to charge the Customer default interest at a rate of 5% p.a. plus dunning fees of CHF 50.

16. Data protection

The Caterer undertakes to comply with the general provisions concerning data protection and data security. The Caterer will store personal data belonging to the Customer and use the data to fulfil its obligations under the contractual relationship that has been entered into. The Customer’s data will be treated as confidential.

The data can be shared with third parties who will process the data on behalf of the Caterer as vicarious agents and providers of certain services; data can also be transferred abroad (to Germany and Austria). The Caterer will ensure that the transferred data is afforded a sufficient level of protection.

The data subjects whose data is processed have wide-ranging rights to access information about the stored data and to have the data rectified, erased and restricted.

17. Guarantee, transfer of risk and liability

The Caterer guarantees that deliverables will be of impeccable quality. The Customer is obligated to voice any objections to or report any defects in the services during or directly after the event. After this time, all services will be considered approved.

The Caterer’s liability is excluded insofar as is legally admissible.

The Customer assumes the risk of accidental destruction of the goods while in transit.

18. Force majeure

If the Caterer is fully or partially unable to fulfil its contractual obligations due to force majeure, it cannot be held liable for any infringement of or failure to perform the Contract, and it will be released from those obligations as long as and to the extent that the case of force majeure prevents it from performing its service. The Parties define ‘force majeure’ as one or more unforeseeable and unavoidable external events that cannot be averted, including the negative consequences of that event. For example, the following are considered force majeure: natural disasters such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, flooding, extraordinary weather, storms, lightning and avalanches, as well as plagues, epidemics, pandemics and other outbreaks of disease, including the resulting official measures such as bans and quarantines, as well as major social unrest, civil war and war.

19. Amendments to the GTCs

The GTCs apply as amended.

The Caterer reserves the right to adapt and amend the GTCs at any time. The Customer will be notified of amendments to the GTCs in an appropriate fashion, especially by means of publication on the website. As such, please consult the website on a regular basis.

20. Partial invalidity

If any provision set out in the contract conflicts with a mandatory statutory provision, a legally admissible provision that reflects the Parties’ original intention will apply in lieu of that provision. This does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions set out in the contract.

21. Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

The contract is subject to Swiss law.

The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising in connection with the contract and the Caterer’s activities is District 1 of Zurich, Switzerland. If both the district court and the commercial court are competent, the commercial court takes precedence.