Service Contracts

["Sam (Walter) Gailey" <gaileywg () MANSFIELDCT ORG>]

Hi all,

Hopefully this is not too off-topic; I'm looking for guidance in penalty
clauses in service contract agreements. I run a small WAN for a town. We
have an internet T-1, an internal frame T-1, five point-to-point T-1's and a
small smattering of PVC's and low-bandwidth frame lines. I know we're small
change, but I've had lines down for as long as four days and gotten little
more than an apology from our current provider. Our contract expires soon
and I'd like the next one to have a few more teeth, as in "if you're down
for X hours you owe the customer a credit of X dollars."

Is this common practice?  What are typical penalty clauses like? Any
guidance would be welcome, off-list is fine, I will summarize if people are
interested.


---Walter