Module 1 — The HiON system and the role split

Section 1 · Pre-work (30 minutes)

Required reading

• HiON Voice Playbook, Section 01 (Brand voice in 60 seconds) and Section 02 (The core voice). The trainee is now a custodian of the brand and needs the voice in working memory before Day 1 communications with Site Hosts, lenders, or staff. 15 minutes.
• The trainee’s own executed Franchise Agreement: Recitals, Article 1 (Definitions), Article 2 (Grant of Rights). 15 minutes.

Pre-session knowledge check

Submitted via Partner Portal at least 24 hours before the session. Failing the check (under 4 of 5 correct) gates classroom attendance — same “successful completion” standard the FDD applies to module assessments.

1. Who manufactures the EV Charging Equipment installed at a HiON EV Facility?
2. Through what channel do drivers pay for charging sessions?
3. Which of the three parties owns the obligation to perform preventative and remedial maintenance of the EV Charging Equipment?
4. Which of the three parties funds the construction of a new HiON EV Facility?
5. May the franchisee contact Tesla, Inc. directly to report a stalled equipment fault?

Bring to session

• The trainee’s executed Franchise Agreement
• The trainee’s executed Master Services Agreement
• The trainee’s Designated Business Manager (mandatory attendee per FDD Item 11)

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Section 2 · Learning objectives

By the end of this module, the trainee can:

1. Articulate the three-party role split — HiON, Franchisee, Site Host — including who funds what, who owns which obligation, who appears in the driver experience, and who holds the relationship with Tesla, Inc. In under 90 seconds. Without notes.
2. Identify the correct support role (from the ten roles named in Operations Manual §3.1.1) for any first-line operational scenario, and state the channel that scenario routes to (per §3.1.2).
3. Reject any communication path that bypasses the Partner Portal or the 24/7 NOC Hotline for official support, citing the §3.1.2 MANDATORY standard.
4. Correct a counterparty — a Site Host, a lender, an investor, a prospective employee — who has misrepresented the role split or the funding structure, citing §2.1.2 (the named MANDATORY prohibition on misrepresentation).
5. State the single-point-of-contact-is-HiON principle with the operational reasoning, the categories of matter it covers (EV Charging Equipment, Tesla Supercharger network, charging sessions, driver payments, driver billing, driver accounts, driver support), and what crossing it costs.
6. Apply the 24/7/365 operating standard when evaluating any lease provision, Site Host accommodation request, or local-law constraint that could limit access.

Each objective maps to at least one item in Section 7 (Competency assessment).

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Section 3 · Why this matters

The first thing every counterparty gets wrong is the role split. Site Hosts assume they are paying for the EV Charging Equipment. Lenders assume the franchisee owns the cabinets and can collateralize them. Investors assume the franchisee is reselling Tesla’s electricity at a markup. Employees assume they can call Tesla when a post goes dark. Drivers assume the people in the HiON-branded shirts work for Tesla. Each assumption is wrong, and each assumption — left uncorrected — creates a downstream problem the franchisee inherits.

Misrepresenting the funding structure to a Site Host, an investor, or a lender is a named MANDATORY prohibition in the Operations Manual (§2.1.2): “You must not represent, in any pitch, marketing material, lease negotiation, investor communication, or other statement, that HiON Franchise Group, LLC or any of its affiliates funds the capital investment or operating expenses of your HiON EV Franchise.” Non-compliance with a MANDATORY standard is a default of the Franchise Agreement (§1.1 [MANDATORY]).

The cost of that prohibition is paid most often in lost lease negotiations: the franchisee tells the Site Host “HiON handles everything,” the Site Host’s counsel later reads the Lease Addendum’s Collateral Assignment of Lease in week 13 of negotiation, and the deal collapses two weeks before signing. The franchisee then explains to the FBC why a deal that was in the seven-stage pipeline at Negotiation has dropped to Identified.

The Acknowledged Elephant: yes, the role split looks simple on a single slide. It is. The complexity is not in the model — it is in the assumptions counterparties bring to it. This module’s job is to make the model so internalized that the trainee catches a counterparty’s error in the sentence it appears, not three weeks later in a side-letter request.

Every subsequent module assumes the trainee can answer “who does what” without thinking. If that answer is fuzzy, every escalation, every Site Host conversation, every audit response is fuzzy.

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Section 4 · Core content

4.1 — What you bought (Operations Manual §2.1.1)

A HiON EV Franchise is an ultra-fast electric vehicle charging business operated under the HiON brand, located on property the franchisee leases or licenses from a Site Host, and built around Tesla-manufactured Supercharger equipment integrated into the Tesla Supercharger network. The business sells charging Services to drivers of electric vehicles. Drivers locate the HiON EV Facility in the Tesla mobile application, initiate charging sessions through that application, and pay through that application.

The franchisee owns the business. HiON licenses the franchisee the right to operate under the HiON System and provides the EV Charging Equipment, network integration, and maintenance services that make the business deliverable — all on the terms of the Franchise Agreement and the Master Services Agreement.

That paragraph is the canonical articulation. The trainee should be able to say it the way a CFO says their company’s revenue model.

4.2 — The three parties and what each one owns (Operations Manual §1.1 and §2.1.2)

HiON Franchise Group, LLC (Franchisor — “we”)

• Sets brand and System standards; licenses the Marks and the System
• Provides initial training, continuing support, and the national marketing program
• Under the Master Services Agreement: provides EV Charging Equipment, commissions new HiON EV Facilities, operates the network, performs preventative and remedial maintenance on the System, handles customer payment processing through the Tesla mobile application, provides driver support for charging and billing, and provides the Uptime Guarantee
• Issues and maintains this Operations Manual
• Holds and manages the relationship with Tesla, Inc. The franchisee does not have, and will not be granted, a direct operational relationship with Tesla.

Franchisee (you)

• Independent business owner
• Funds the initial capital investment — equipment cost, construction, permits, utilities, training, launch (FDD Item 7; Franchise Agreement)
• Funds all ongoing operating expenses — rent, utilities, insurance, labor, site-area maintenance, Sinking Fund (Operations Manual §12)
• Pays HiON the Royalty, Marketing, Technology, and other recurring franchise fees set forth in Section 5 of the Franchise Agreement; pays HiON the Services Price and other charges set forth in the Master Services Agreement
• Acquires and leases the site; secures the Site Host relationship; obtains all permits and utility service
• Employs the team; runs the local business
• Performs site-area maintenance and escalates equipment and network faults to HiON through the channels defined in §3.1
• Complies with this Manual, the Franchise Agreement, the Master Services Agreement, and all applicable laws

Site Host

• Owner or operator of the property on which the HiON EV Facility is located
• Provides the land and parking spaces under a lease or site license that meets HiON’s requirements, including the Lease Addendum and Collateral Assignment of Lease required by the Franchise Agreement
• Does not contract with HiON. The Site Host relationship is the franchisee’s responsibility (§1.1).

The HiON brand promise to the Site Host: “we provide and maintain the chargers at zero cost to the host” (§2.1.2). That promise is accurate from the Site Host’s perspective — the Site Host contributes parking space and access and never pays for the equipment or its maintenance. Operationally, the franchisee funds the build and the ongoing Services Price under the MSA to deliver that experience.

4.3 — How the money moves (Operations Manual §2.1.2)

Three directions, no exceptions.

Drivers → Tesla → HiON → Franchisee. A driver initiates a session through the Tesla mobile application. The session payment flows through Tesla’s payment infrastructure. HiON receives the corresponding revenue. HiON pays the franchisee per the Franchise Agreement and the MSA. The franchisee never touches the driver’s payment. [CONFIRM — verify settlement cadence with FA/MSA primary.]

Franchisee → HiON. Initial Franchise Fee on signing; EV Charging Equipment cost paid to HiON’s affiliate or designated distributor at the time of build; Royalty, Marketing, Technology, and other recurring franchise fees per FA Section 5; Services Price and other charges under the MSA; Sinking Fund contributions per FA + Operations Manual §12. The Manual does not restate fee amounts — the rate and base are set forth in the Franchise Agreement (§2.1.2). Payments authorized by ACH; the franchisee may not offset, withhold, deduct, or net any amount from a recurring fee owed to HiON — disputes route through the Section 3.4 escalation ladder, never through withholding.

Franchisee → Site Host. Rent under the commercial structure the lease specifies — fixed monthly rent, revenue share, hybrid, or easement/license (M05). The structure is a business decision between the franchisee and the Site Host. Any structure involving capital contribution from the Site Host, revenue guarantees, or joint ventures requires HiON written approval before the lease is signed.

There is no card reader at the facility. No kiosk. No cash drawer. No mobile-wallet acceptance. No invoicing of drivers. No on-site collection of any payment for any charging service, ever (§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]). The facility looks staffed. In payment terms, it is a node in Tesla’s processing infrastructure.

4.4 — The support cast and the authorized channels (Operations Manual §3.1)

Ten support roles, by purpose (§3.1.1):

• Franchise Business Consultant (FBC). Primary relationship manager. Performance coaching, operational reviews, business planning. Default escalation path for anything not owned by a more specific role. Used for: strategic questions, performance concerns, personnel changes, major business events.
• Site Acquisition Support. Site Host identification, pipeline review, lease and site-license review, Lease Addendum execution. Mandatory for every lease or site license before execution.
• Engineering and Design Review. Site layouts, civil/electrical design, utility coordination, interconnection planning, accessibility design, design-phase exceptions.
• Construction and Commissioning Support. Construction milestone coordination, equipment delivery, commissioning acceptance. From ground-break through commissioning sign-off.
• Network Operations Center (NOC). 24-hour monitoring of every HiON EV Facility. Receives fault escalations, dispatches preventative maintenance and remedial services, coordinates with the Tesla network for driver-side issues. Used for: equipment or network faults, charging-session failures driver-reported to the franchisee, outages, safety or security events.
• Driver Experience and Payments Liaison. Driver accounts, billing disputes, refund requests, driver-side complaints. Used whenever a driver contacts the franchisee about a session, charge, or account matter. The franchisee escalates; HiON resolves.
• Marketing Support. Brand Asset Library access, marketing-material review, launch toolkit, co-branding approvals.
• Vendor Relations. Designated vendor lists, new-vendor approvals, vendor disputes, vendor-SLA escalations.
• Compliance and Risk. Insurance, data privacy, accessibility, regulatory inquiries, incident reviews.
• Senior Management Referral. Escalation path for matters that cannot be resolved within the standard channels. Used per §3.4 and consistent with the Franchise Agreement’s dispute-resolution provisions.

Six authorized channels (§3.1.2):

• HiON Partner Portal — Support Ticket. All operational matters. Every support matter generates a ticket with a tracking number.
• HiON Partner Portal — NOC Fault Escalation. Dedicated path for SEV 1 and SEV 2 events. Triggers the applicable response clock.
• 24/7 NOC Hotline (voice). SEV 1 events only, when ticket entry would cause unacceptable delay. Still requires a follow-up ticket.
• Scheduled FBC Touchpoints. Routine business conversations on the cadence established at onboarding.
• Marketing-Review Queue. Upload of marketing materials for pre-approval (full detail in M08).
• Formal Written Notice. Notices the FA, MUDA, or MSA require to be in writing — delivered in the manner specified in the applicable agreement. The Partner Portal is not a substitute for formal written notice.

The MANDATORY rule (§3.1.2): “You must route every operational matter through the Partner Portal or the NOC Hotline, as applicable. Off-channel communications (personal email, text, phone, social media) do not open support matters and do not start the response clock.”

The rule is not a recommendation. It is a [MANDATORY] standard, and a violation is a default of the Franchise Agreement (§1.1 [MANDATORY]). Personal emails, text messages, SMS, LinkedIn messages, Slack DMs, conference-hallway conversations, and references made through a mutual contact do not open support matters and do not start the response clock. If a support matter has not been opened in the Partner Portal or initiated on the NOC Hotline, it has not been escalated.

4.5 — The single-point-of-contact-is-HiON principle (Operations Manual §3.1)

The Manual states the principle verbatim in the §3.1 callout box:

“For everything involving the EV Charging Equipment, the Tesla Supercharger network, charging sessions, driver payments, driver billing, driver accounts, or driver support questions, your single point of contact is HiON, through the channels described in this Section. You do not contact Tesla, Inc. directly about these matters; we manage the Tesla relationship on your behalf.”

The discipline that flows from the principle:

Do not contact Tesla, Inc. directly about any of the seven covered categories. Not to ask a question. Not to escalate a stalled ticket. Not to confirm a serial number. Not to clarify a firmware change. Not at a conference. Not by LinkedIn. Not by any path. HiON manages the Tesla relationship on the franchisee’s behalf — that management is part of what HiON is being paid for under the FA and MSA.

Do not resolve driver payment matters on-site. Not a refund. Not a session adjustment. Not a partial credit. Not a courtesy refill. The franchisee escalates by opening a SEV 3 ticket within one Business Day and routes the driver to the Tesla application’s support flow (operationalized in §10.3 and M11). The franchisee does not collect, store, or process any driver payment-card or bank-account data (§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]) — not even to verify a complaint. The franchisee does not advertise independent pricing, impose surcharges, or offer unapproved discounts.

Do not represent the franchise as a Tesla partner, joint venture, or affiliate. The accurate sentence: “We operate ultra-fast charging Services at a HiON EV Facility under the HiON brand, using Tesla-manufactured Supercharger equipment integrated into the Tesla Supercharger network.” Anything stronger requires HiON written approval and is generally denied. Marks usage is fully detailed in §2.3 and M03.

Internalize the principle, and the channel decision becomes automatic. Memorize the seven categories — equipment, network, sessions, payments, billing, accounts, support — and the rule still holds when the wording of the question changes.

4.6 — Network integration and the NACS standard (Operations Manual §2.1.3)

Every HiON EV Facility operates as a node in the Tesla Supercharger network. Five [MANDATORY] standards from §2.1.3 define the operating envelope of that integration:

1. All EV Charging Equipment must be manufactured by Tesla, supplied through HiON’s designated or authorized distribution, and integrated into the Tesla Supercharger network. No other equipment may be installed, connected, or operated.
2. All charging connectors must conform to the North American Charging Standard (NACS / SAE J3400) in the configuration HiON specifies. No CCS1, J1772, CHAdeMO, or other connector standards — unless HiON authorizes a supplemental offering in writing.
3. The HiON EV Facility may not be enrolled in any other charging network, CSMS, roaming, or routing platform. No third party may list, resell, or integrate the HiON EV Facility into any interface other than the Tesla Supercharger network.
4. All driver payments must flow through the Tesla mobile application and the payment-processing infrastructure HiON provides under the MSA. No card readers, no kiosks, no mobile payment systems, no RFID cards, no POS terminals, no other payment hardware at the HiON EV Facility — ever.
5. No driver payment card data, payment credential, or Personal Information of a driver may be collected, stored, transmitted, or handled at the HiON EV Facility. All such data is handled by Tesla’s payment infrastructure and is outside the franchisee’s operational scope.

These five constraints define HiON’s interoperability moat. They are operationalized in M12 (Vendors, Technology, Network Boundaries). They are introduced here because every operating decision — every grant program considered, every Site Host accommodation requested, every staff proposal to “add a backup payment option” — needs to be evaluated against these constraints in the moment, not researched later.

The recommended driver-facing explanation when asked how the site works: “Find this site and start charging in the Tesla app” (§2.1.3 [RECOMMENDED] — approved short-form signage line).

4.7 — 24/7/365 operation as a foundational requirement (Operations Manual §2.1.4)

A HiON EV Facility is a public charging site. The Tesla Supercharger network is designed on the assumption that drivers can charge any hour of any day. Four standards from §2.1.4 define what 24/7/365 actually obligates:

• [MANDATORY] The HiON EV Facility must be open and available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year — including federal and state holidays — consistent with the Franchise Agreement.
• [MANDATORY] The franchisee must not accept, sign, or rely on a lease or site license that restricts site access to less than 24/7/365. If a Site Host gates, locks, or closes the parking lot containing the HiON EV Facility at any hour, the franchisee must either negotiate unrestricted access (including after-hours arrangements for drivers and for HiON’s service technicians) or disqualify the site. Site Host access restrictions are the most common reason an otherwise-qualified site gets disqualified in evaluation (M04).
• [MANDATORY] The franchisee must provide HiON and its authorized service providers with physical and remote access 24/7/365 as further set forth in the MSA. Access failures that prevent HiON from performing services may trigger False Call-Out liquidated damages under the MSA. The False Call-Out construct is operationalized in M10.
• [LOCAL-LAW DEPENDENT] Local ordinances occasionally restrict non-residential lighting or outdoor operations at certain hours. Lighting reductions that do not restrict charging access may be acceptable; restrictions on charging access are not. File an exception request under §1.2.6 (M02) if a local ordinance or permit condition appears to prevent 24/7/365 access.

The audit consequence (§2.1.4 Metrics): every executed lease on file must include the 24/7/365 language; no closure longer than 30 minutes outside scheduled HiON maintenance without Partner Portal reporting within one Business Day; no installation of non-Tesla equipment or independent payment hardware found on audit.

24/7/365 is not aspirational. It is the operating standard the franchisee is contractually agreeing to deliver, and the lease either supports it or the site cannot be authorized.

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Section 5 · Decision drills

Each drill is realistic. Each forces a decision under pressure. Model answers live in Section 9 (facilitator notes), not in this section.

Drill 5.1 — The Site Host’s attorney

A prospective Site Host’s attorney emails the franchisee on a Friday afternoon: “Before our clients sign, we need a side letter from you confirming that, in the event of any equipment-related injury to a driver, all liability rests with HiON Franchise Group and not with the Site Host or the franchisee. We’ve drafted a clean two-paragraph version attached.” The Site Host is otherwise the strongest prospect in the franchisee’s pipeline.

State the next two actions in order, with the cited Manual or Agreement basis for each.

Drill 5.2 — The Tesla engineer at the conference

The DBM has been on a panel at FranTech and exchanges cards afterward with someone identifying as a Tesla Supercharger Network engineer based in Fremont. Over coffee, the engineer offers to “look into” a stalled SEV 2 ticket at the franchisee’s Parker site that has been open for 11 days. The engineer asks for the site ID and the ticket number. The DBM texts the franchisee from the lobby asking permission.

State the decision and the cited basis. State the next two actions the franchisee takes.

Drill 5.3 — The driver during a daily inspection

A driver walks up to the DBM at 9:14 am during a Monday daily inspection. “I was double-charged $87 here last Tuesday. I disputed it in the app and it keeps closing my case. I want a refund or I’m going to leave a one-star review and I have 14,000 LinkedIn followers.” The driver’s tone is calm. The DBM has discretionary cash in the operating account.

State the exact response language the DBM uses. State the next two actions. Cite the basis.

Drill 5.4 — The lender’s collateral schedule

The franchisee’s SBA lender calls. “We’re updating the collateral schedule on our UCC filing. We need a list of the Supercharger equipment at the Parker site — manufacturer, model, serial numbers, in-service date, and current depreciation values. Standard quarterly review.”

State the franchisee’s response and the escalation, if any, with cited basis.

Drill 5.5 — The late-night text

The franchisee receives an iMessage at 11:47 pm from a number labeled “Joe Lewis (HiON COO)” in their contacts. The message reads: “Hey — heard the Parker site is dark. Can you confirm? I’ll loop the NOC in if so.” The franchisee has not opened any ticket. They are not aware of any outage. The phone number does appear under “Joe Lewis” in their contacts from a meet-and-greet two months earlier.

State the franchisee’s next two actions and the cited basis.

Drill 5.6 — The Site Host’s after-hours gate

Mid-lease-negotiation, the prospective Site Host’s general counsel sends a revised draft. The new draft includes a 10pm–6am gate closure clause that allows HiON service providers access “by prior appointment with not less than 24 hours’ notice” but excludes regular driver access during those hours. Counsel positions this as a security concession the Site Host needs to get the deal signed. The site is otherwise excellent.

State the franchisee’s response and the cited basis. State the next action.

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Section 6 · Common operator errors

6.1 — Misrepresenting the funding structure to a Site Host

The franchisee tells the Site Host “HiON pays for everything” because that is how the brand-facing promise sounds. The Site Host’s counsel later reads the Lease Addendum’s Collateral Assignment and concludes the deal was misrepresented. The lease falls through in week 13.

• Consequence: lost deal + material-breach exposure under §2.1.2 [MANDATORY] (named prohibition on misrepresenting the funding structure in any pitch, marketing material, lease negotiation, or investor communication).
• Discipline: use only the approved HiON brand messaging in the Partner Portal (§2.1.2 [MANDATORY]). Walk the Site Host through the funding flow using HiON’s own words first, then summarize.

6.2 — Contacting Tesla, Inc. directly to resolve a stalled equipment or network issue

Most common during a long SEV 2 outage. The DBM has a personal Tesla contact from a prior job or a conference and decides to “just ask quickly.”

• Consequence: violation of the §3.1 single-point-of-contact principle + violation of §3.1.2 [MANDATORY] (off-channel communications are not permitted). Material breach exposure + risk to HiON’s standing with the Tesla network integration the franchisee’s revenue depends on.
• Discipline: every Tesla-involving matter routes through HiON. Period. Including questions that look small. There is no quick question to Tesla.

6.3 — Resolving a driver billing complaint on-site

A friendly driver insists. The DBM wants to be helpful. The operations lead offers a partial refund from petty cash. The driver leaves happy.

• Consequence: violation of the escalate-never-resolve principle (§10.3.1 — full detail in M11) + violation of §2.1.3 [MANDATORY] (the franchisee may not handle driver payment data) + the refund is unrecorded in any system that matters. Material breach.
• Discipline: escalate-never-resolve. SEV 3 ticket within one Business Day per §3.2.2.C. Refer the driver to the Tesla application’s support flow. No exception for “it was clearly our fault.”

6.4 — Treating off-channel communications as official support

Convenient in the moment, untraceable, no SLA clock. A SEV 2 emailed to an FBC’s personal account is not in the system that determines whether the response was on time.

• Consequence: §3.1.2 [MANDATORY] violation. The off-channel message does not open a support matter and does not start the response clock. Under audit, no defensible record that support was opened. The Metrics target in §3.2.5: zero off-channel escalations.
• Discipline: if it is not in the Partner Portal or on the NOC Hotline, it has not been escalated.

6.5 — Describing the franchise as a “Tesla partner” or “in business with Tesla”

Common in social media, LinkedIn bios, prospect emails, and casual investor language.

• Consequence: Marks-usage violation (§2.3, fully detailed in M03), brand confusion, and — under audit — a Corrective Action Required finding under §3.3.
• Discipline: the accurate sentence is “We operate ultra-fast charging Services at a HiON EV Facility under the HiON brand, using Tesla-manufactured Supercharger equipment integrated into the Tesla Supercharger network.” Anything stronger needs HiON written approval and is generally denied.

6.6 — Accepting a Site Host accommodation that compromises 24/7/365 access

The Site Host wants gate closure overnight for security. The franchisee, eager to close the lease, accepts language allowing service providers to access “by appointment” but not drivers.

• Consequence: §2.1.4 [MANDATORY] violation — the franchisee must not accept or sign a lease that restricts site access to less than 24/7/365. The site cannot be authorized in this configuration (§6.3 Site Authorization; M04). The franchisee discovers in the authorization review what should have been caught in negotiation.
• Discipline: evaluate every lease clause against the 24/7/365 standard before signing. If the Site Host will not accept unrestricted access, disqualify the site. Document the disqualification in the pipeline tracker — it strengthens the franchisee’s discipline pattern under audit.

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Section 7 · Competency assessment

Knowledge check (10 questions; 80% pass; one retake permitted; second failure triggers FBC review)

1. The payment processing infrastructure at a HiON EV Facility is provided by: (a) the franchisee’s chosen payment processor (b) the Tesla mobile application and Tesla’s payment infrastructure (c) HiON’s centralized billing system (d) the Site Host’s point-of-sale system

2. The Site Host’s financial contribution to the cost of the EV Charging Equipment is: (a) a percentage based on the revenue share clause of the lease (b) capped at $50,000 per site (c) zero (d) determined by the Lease Addendum on a per-site basis

3. The franchisee’s authorized direct contact at Tesla, Inc. is: (a) the regional Supercharger network manager (b) the Tesla Business Programs liaison assigned at commissioning (c) none — all Tesla-related matters route through HiON (d) the Driver Experience and Payments Liaison

4. A driver presents the DBM with a billing-dispute claim. The correct franchisee response is: (a) open a SEV 3 ticket within one Business Day and direct the driver to the Tesla application’s support flow (b) issue an on-site refund from petty cash and document the resolution (c) email the Driver Experience and Payments Liaison directly (d) wait for the driver to formally complain in writing before escalating

5. The 24/7 NOC Hotline is the appropriate first contact for: (a) any operational issue (b) only SEV 1 events when ticket entry would cause unacceptable delay (c) routine preventative maintenance scheduling (d) FBC strategic questions

6. Off-channel communications (text messages, personal emails, LinkedIn messages, Slack DMs) for operational support matters: (a) are permitted during business hours (b) start the response clock if sent to the correct named HiON contact (c) do not open support matters and do not start the response clock (d) are automatically logged through HiON’s monitoring tools

7. The franchisee’s primary HiON relationship manager is the: (a) Network Operations Center (b) Franchise Business Consultant (c) Driver Experience and Payments Liaison (d) Engineering and Design Review team

8. Under the Master Services Agreement, preventative and remedial maintenance of the EV Charging Equipment is performed by: (a) the franchisee using HiON-trained technicians (b) HiON or its authorized service providers (c) Tesla’s field service team contacted directly by the franchisee (d) a maintenance vendor selected by the franchisee

9. A HiON EV Facility must be open and available to the public: (a) during the operator’s normal business hours (b) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year (c) during hours specified in the lease (d) at minimum from 6am to midnight, 365 days a year

10. Describing the franchise publicly as “in partnership with Tesla” is: (a) accurate (b) permitted with FBC approval (c) prohibited; may constitute a Marks violation under §2.3 (d) permitted on LinkedIn but not on the franchisee’s own website

Application demonstration

A 5-minute live role-play. The trainer plays a Site Host’s attorney on a conference call with the trainee. The attorney asks three loaded questions in sequence:

1. “Can you put in writing that HiON, and not my client or you, holds all liability for any driver injury caused by the equipment?”
2. “We need an after-hours gate closure for security reasons. Drivers can come back when we open at 6 am. Sign off and we can have a lease signed by Tuesday.”
3. “My client is willing to share the cost of the equipment installation 50/50 if it accelerates the close. Can you confirm that’s workable?”

Scored rubric:

• Trainee correctly identifies each question as one the franchisee cannot answer or accept unilaterally
• Trainee escalates each question to the correct HiON role (FBC + Site Acquisition Support) without conceding terms on HiON’s behalf
• Trainee maintains the role split accurately across all three questions (no implication that HiON is liable; no acceptance of less than 24/7/365 access; no acceptance of Site Host capital contribution without HiON written approval)
• Trainee cites the specific Manual section for at least two of the three responses (target citations: §1.1 / §2.1.2 / §2.1.4 / §5.5)

Pass criteria: all three questions handled without role-split error and without overreach. Citation of section numbers is preferred but not required if the substantive answers are correct.

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Section 8 · Job aids

Job Aid 8.1 — The role-split one-pager

Front side: three-column table — HiON / Franchisee / Site Host — with rows for funds capex, funds opex, owns equipment maintenance, appears in driver experience, holds Tesla relationship, receives recurring fees, signs the FA, signs the MSA, signs the Lease Addendum. Back side: the 10 support roles from §3.1.1 with the channel each routes to and the SEV tier each handles.

File: modules/M01-jobaids/M01-role-split-onepager.md

Job Aid 8.2 — The “single point of contact is HiON” reference card

A pocket-sized card listing the seven categories the principle covers (equipment, network, sessions, payments, billing, accounts, support) and the channel each routes to. Includes the verbatim §3.1 callout text on the back so the franchisee can produce the Manual citation on demand. Includes 15 of the most common operational situations and the correct channel for each.

File: modules/M01-jobaids/M01-channel-reference-card.md

Job Aid 8.3 — Counterparty correction templates

Three short pre-drafted communications:

• Email reply to a Site Host who has said “you guys pay for everything” (cites §2.1.2)
• Email reply to a lender asking about collateralizing the EV Charging Equipment (cites §2.1.1 and the MSA)
• Social/LinkedIn correction for an investor or contact who has called the operation a “Tesla franchise” (cites §2.3)

Each template carries the accurate framing, the cited basis, and a one-line offer to loop the appropriate HiON role into the conversation.

File: modules/M01-jobaids/M01-counterparty-correction-templates.md

Job Aid 8.4 — The 24/7/365 lease-clause checklist

A one-page checklist for the trainee to use against any draft lease before signing. Checks: 24/7/365 driver access language present; 24/7/365 service-provider access language present; no after-hours gate restrictions; lighting compliance with §2.1.4 carve-out for local ordinances; False Call-Out exposure understood by the Site Host. Tied to M04 (Site Acquisition) and M05 (Lease).

File: modules/M01-jobaids/M01-24-7-365-lease-checklist.md

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Section 9 · Facilitator notes

Pacing — 90 minutes (revised from v0.1’s 75 minutes to accommodate §2.1.3 and §2.1.4 content)

Time	Section	Notes
0:00–0:05	Opening diagnostic	Ask the room one sentence: “Who pays for the chargers?” Capture answers on a whiteboard before delivering 4.1. The variance in answers from a room of sophisticated operators is the most persuasive justification for the module.
0:05–0:20	Sections 4.1 + 4.2	Deliver the three-party role split with the funding flow visualization (Job Aid 8.1 on screen). Walk through who signs which Agreement. Use the verbatim §2.1.2 prohibition language.
0:20–0:30	Section 4.3	Walk through one example transaction end-to-end. Do not cite specific fee amounts — reference FA Section 5 and let the trainee verify against their own executed FA.
0:30–0:45	Section 4.4	Walk through the 10 support roles and the 6 channels. If facilitating live in Kansas City, pull up the actual Partner Portal during this segment and walk a ticket lifecycle.
0:45–1:00	Section 4.5	Heaviest emphasis in the module. The single-point-of-contact principle is the rule the trainee will be tempted to break most often. Close this segment with Drill 5.2 (Tesla engineer at the conference).
1:00–1:10	Section 4.6	Walk the five §2.1.3 [MANDATORY] standards. Frame as the interoperability moat — every operating decision is evaluated against these.
1:10–1:20	Section 4.7	Walk the four §2.1.4 standards. Use Drill 5.6 (Site Host’s after-hours gate) to close this segment.
1:20–1:30	Drills + close	Work through Drills 5.1, 5.4 live (5.2 and 5.6 already covered in-line above). Drills 5.3 and 5.5 are pre-work for M11 and M02 respectively. Hand out Job Aids 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 physically. Confirm the trainee has the Section 7 knowledge check on the Partner Portal.

SME handoffs

• Section 4.3 (funding flow): Best delivered by Jim Frank (CEO) when in the room. When Jim is not in the room, Will Frank delivers using these notes and defers any question about historical commercial decisions to a follow-up with Jim.
• Section 4.6 (network integration / NACS): Joe Frank (Ops) or Tony Cuomo (CX) is the right SME on connector standards and Tesla network technical specifics.
• Section 4.7 (24/7/365 + False Call-Out economics): Joe Frank (Ops) — he holds the MSA mechanics most accurately.
• The application demonstration role-play: Best run by Jim Frank or Joe Lewis (COO). Both have FA contract experience and can play the Site Host’s attorney with the cross-examination patterns the trainee will encounter.

Common misunderstandings — and the corrective framings

• “HiON owns the site.” No. The franchisee owns the business. HiON licenses the right to operate under the HiON System and provides the EV Charging Equipment, network integration, and maintenance under the MSA. The Site Host owns the land. Three different things, three different parties. (§1.1 + §2.1.1)
• “This is like a QSR franchise — I buy product, I resell it.” No. The franchisee does not buy electricity and resell it. The franchisee operates the HiON EV Facility. Tesla processes payment. HiON pays the franchisee per the FA and MSA. The asset transferring at each step is different from a QSR model.
• “I can use Tesla’s marketing assets if I credit them.” No. Marks usage is governed in §2.3 and M03. The short answer in this module: no.
• “The FBC can answer anything quickly via text.” No. The FBC has a defined response cadence on Scheduled FBC Touchpoints (§3.1.2). Off-channel communications do not start the response clock (§3.1.2 [MANDATORY]).
• “Local lighting ordinances mean I can’t really do 24/7/365.” Lighting reductions that do not restrict charging access may be acceptable (§2.1.4 [LOCAL-LAW DEPENDENT]). Restrictions on access are not. File an exception under §1.2.6 (M02) if a local condition appears to prevent access.

Decision drill — model answers

Drill 5.1 — Site Host’s attorney. Two actions, in order:

1. Decline to sign or commit to any side letter in this conversation. Acknowledge the request will be routed to HiON. Cite §5.5 (Lease Addendum and Collateral Assignment) — the franchisee may not concede or waive terms on HiON’s behalf. The mandatory Lease Addendum already addresses liability allocation; any side letter modifying that framework requires HiON involvement.
2. Open a Partner Portal Support Ticket under Site Acquisition Support and notify the FBC. HiON, working with the Site Host’s counsel directly, addresses the side-letter request. The franchisee does not concede or waive terms on HiON’s behalf (§5.5).

Drill 5.2 — Tesla engineer at the conference. Decision: decline the offer. Cited basis: §3.1 single-point-of-contact callout + §3.1.2 channels [MANDATORY] (off-channel comms do not start the response clock). Next two actions:

1. Thank the engineer; do not provide the site ID or the ticket number; do not commit to follow-up.
2. The franchisee escalates the existing 11-day SEV 2 through the §3.4.1 escalation ladder — FBC Escalation triggers if Stage 1 has stalled for 5 Business Days; the 11-day delay justifies moving to FBC Escalation if not already there. Document the conference encounter in the same ticket so the audit trail reflects the discipline.

Drill 5.3 — Driver during inspection. Response language (verbatim): “Billing is handled through the Tesla app — that’s the fastest path to a resolution on a charge like this. I’m going to log this interaction and open a ticket with our network team so they have a record on our end too.” Next two actions:

1. Log the interaction in the customer-interaction log with date, time, driver-provided contact, claimed amount, and the description verbatim (§10.3 + §15 retention).
2. Open a SEV 3 ticket in the Partner Portal within 1 Business Day per §3.2.2.C. Do not offer or imply a refund. Do not collect a card or bank account number. Do not commit to a timeline. Cited basis: §10.3.1 escalate-never-resolve principle + §2.1.3 [MANDATORY] (no driver payment data collection).

Drill 5.4 — Lender’s collateral schedule. Response: the franchisee does not own the EV Charging Equipment in the sense the lender’s request assumes (§2.1.1). HiON provides the equipment under the MSA; the franchisee pays for it on the build but the operational and maintenance responsibility for it sits with HiON. Provide the lender with a description of the MSA structure and the relevant FA / MSA references. The equipment is not the franchisee’s asset to collateralize in the manner the lender is requesting. Escalation: open a Partner Portal ticket under Compliance and Risk if the lender disputes; loop the FBC. Cited basis: §2.1.1 + §2.1.2.

Drill 5.5 — Late-night text. Next two actions:

1. Do not respond to the text. Do not call back. Do not confirm or deny.
2. Open a ticket in the Partner Portal with the screenshot of the message under Compliance and Risk. Notify the FBC. If the Parker site is actually dark, the NOC is already aware via continuous monitoring (§9.3) and the franchisee will see it on the Partner Portal site-status dashboard. If the text was a social-engineering attempt, the Partner Portal entry is the audit trail. Cited basis: §3.1.2 [MANDATORY] (off-channel comms are not permitted for official support) + §13.5 (data privacy / social engineering discipline — full detail in M14).

Drill 5.6 — Site Host’s after-hours gate. Response: decline the revised draft as written. Cited basis: §2.1.4 [MANDATORY] (the franchisee must not accept or sign a lease that restricts site access to less than 24/7/365). The “by appointment” carve-out for service providers does not satisfy the standard because driver access is excluded. Next action: counter-propose with §2.1.4-compliant 24/7/365 language using the approved lease template; if the Site Host will not accept, disqualify the site and document the disqualification in the pipeline tracker. The site is otherwise excellent — that does not change the standard. Bring the FBC and Site Acquisition Support into the conversation if the Site Host’s counsel pushes back.

Recommended visual aids

• Three-party role split diagram (Job Aid 8.1) projected during 4.2
• Real Partner Portal ticket queue during 4.4 (if facilitating in Kansas City)
• The trainee’s own Franchise Agreement open during 4.5 — verify the off-channel and Tesla-bypass prohibitions in their own copy
• The verbatim §2.1.4 [MANDATORY] standards displayed during 4.7

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Section 10 · Cross-references

Modules

• M02 (Governance, Manual, Support, Escalation) — operationalizes the support cast and channels introduced here into Manual labels (§1.2), conflict priority (§1.2.5), exception process (§1.2.6), the full SEV 1–5 model (§3.2), the audit posture (§3.3), and the corrective-action/dispute-escalation ladder (§3.4). Drill 5.5’s correct response (open a Partner Portal ticket with the screenshot) is the §3.1.2 ticket discipline applied to the M01 principle.
• M03 (Brand Promise and Brand Execution — §2.2, §2.3, §2.4) — the customer-facing dimension of the role split and the Marks-usage rules referenced in Section 4.5 and Error 6.5.
• M04 (Site Acquisition and Feasibility — §4, §5.1, §5.2, §6) — the 24/7/365 constraint from Section 4.7 disqualifies sites at pipeline stages 3–4.
• M05 (Lease, Site Host Relationship, Lease Addendum — §5) — the Site Host relationship boundaries introduced here, with full detail on prohibited commitments (§5.3), the Lease Addendum + Collateral Assignment + SBA Addendum (§5.5), and side-letter prohibition.
• M10 (Maintenance, Monitoring, Fault Escalation — §9) — the False Call-Out construct introduced in Section 4.7 is operationalized here in §9.4.
• M11 (Customer Experience, Payments, Driver Support — §10) — the escalate-never-resolve principle (§10.3.1) stated in Section 4.5 and Error 6.3, applied to the full driver-interaction surface.
• M12 (Vendors, Technology, Network Boundaries — §14) — the §2.1.3 interoperability constraints introduced in Section 4.6, with full detail on vendor categories and the no-third-party-integration rule.
• M14 (Compliance, Safety, Insurance, Risk — §13) — the social-engineering discipline referenced in Drill 5.5 (§13.5).

External documents

• Franchise Agreement, Articles 1–2 (definitions, grant of rights); Section 5 (fees)
• Franchise Agreement, Lease Addendum + Collateral Assignment of Lease (Attachment per FA) [CONFIRM specific Attachment letter]
• Master Services Agreement (equipment supply, commissioning, network operation, preventative and remedial maintenance, payment processing via Tesla app, driver support, Uptime Guarantee, False Call-Out construct) [CONFIRM — MSA primary]
• Operations Manual §1.1 (Roles in the HiON System)
• Operations Manual §2.1 (Business Model — all four subsections)
• Operations Manual §3.1 (Support Roles and Channels)
• Operations Manual §3.2 (Severity levels — full detail in M02)
• Operations Manual §13.5 (Data Privacy — referenced; full detail in M14)
• FDD Item 1 (franchise offering description)
• FDD Item 7 (initial investment categories)
• FDD Item 11 (training program — M01 is part of the Franchisee Training Program)
• HiON Voice Playbook v1.0 (pre-work reading)

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Section 11 · Source verification log

Claim	Manual / FA reference	Status
HiON EV Franchise = ultra-fast EV charging business operated under HiON brand using Tesla-manufactured Supercharger equipment integrated into Tesla Supercharger network	§2.1.1	verified
Funding structure: franchisee funds capex + opex; Site Host pays nothing for equipment or maintenance	§2.1.2 (table)	verified
Misrepresenting funding structure is named MANDATORY prohibition	§2.1.2 [MANDATORY]	verified (verbatim quote in Section 3)
HiON role under MSA: equipment + commissioning + network ops + maintenance + payments + driver support + uptime guarantee	§1.1 (Roles table) + §2.1.2	verified
NACS / SAE J3400 connector standard requirement	§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]	verified
No third-party charging networks / CSMS / roaming / routing	§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]	verified
No on-site payment hardware ever	§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]	verified
No driver payment data collection ever	§2.1.3 [MANDATORY]	verified
24/7/365 operation MANDATORY	§2.1.4 [MANDATORY]	verified
Lease must not restrict access below 24/7/365	§2.1.4 [MANDATORY]	verified
False Call-Out construct under MSA for access failures	§2.1.4 reference; full mechanics in §9 + MSA	partially verified — referenced in Manual, full mechanics in MSA [CONFIRM MSA primary]
10 support roles per §3.1.1 (FBC, Site Acquisition Support, Engineering & Design Review, Construction & Commissioning Support, NOC, Driver Experience and Payments Liaison, Marketing Support, Vendor Relations, Compliance and Risk, Senior Management Referral)	§3.1.1	verified
6 authorized channels per §3.1.2	§3.1.2	verified
Off-channel comms do not open support matters and do not start the response clock	§3.1.2 [MANDATORY]	verified (verbatim quote in Section 4.4)
Single-point-of-contact-is-HiON principle for 7 categories	§3.1 callout box	verified (verbatim quote in Section 4.5)
SEV 3 ticket within 1 Business Day for driver payment matters	§3.2.2.C	verified
SEV 1 voice notification + Partner Portal ticket within 30 minutes	§3.2.2.A	verified
Escalate-never-resolve principle for driver matters	§10.3.1 reference (full detail in M11)	verified (reference confirmed; deep content in M11)
Side-letter prohibition under Lease Addendum framework	§5.5 reference (full detail in M05)	referenced — full content in M05
Royalty/fee rate ($0.05/kWh from Voice Playbook sample)	Manual does not restate fee amounts (§2.1.2) — FA Section 5 controls	removed from this module — module now references FA Section 5 without quoting a rate
FBC cadence (quarterly with monthly informal touches)	Not specified in Manual — referenced as “Scheduled FBC Touchpoints, per the cadence established at your onboarding and on the Partner Portal” (§3.1.2)	revised — module now uses Manual language rather than presuming a cadence

Outstanding unverified items

• Settlement cadence (when HiON pays the franchisee) — not in Manual; requires FA + MSA primary sources
• FA Attachment letter for Lease Addendum + Collateral Assignment — referenced in Manual as “Lease Addendum and Collateral Assignment of Lease required by your Franchise Agreement” without naming the attachment letter
• Specific MSA articles for equipment + maintenance + uptime guarantee mechanics — Manual references the MSA but does not duplicate its terms

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Section 12 · Change log

Version	Date	Author	Changes
v0.1	2026-05-19	Claude (draft)	Initial draft. First module produced under the rebuild.
v0.2	2026-05-19	Claude (revision)	Source verification pass against Operations Manual v1.0 (Working Draft) now available. Terminology corrected throughout: “HiON Supercharger Franchise” → “HiON EV Franchise”; “HiON Supercharger Facility” → “HiON EV Facility”; “Supercharger Charging Equipment” → “EV Charging Equipment.” All citations updated from [CONFIRM] tags to actual Manual section numbers (verified). Royalty rate ($0.05/kWh from Voice Playbook sample) removed — Manual does not restate fee amounts; module now references FA Section 5. Added Section 4.6 (Network integration and NACS standard, per §2.1.3). Added Section 4.7 (24/7/365 operation as foundational requirement, per §2.1.4). Added Drill 5.6 (Site Host’s after-hours gate) and Error 6.6 (accepting access compromise). Updated Knowledge Check Q9 from royalty-rate question to 24/7/365 operation question. Duration extended from 75 to 90 classroom minutes to accommodate the additional §2.1.3 and §2.1.4 content.