It is the intent of the city to enforce the following minimum customer
service standards as established by the federal law:
A.
Cable system office hours and telephone availability.
(1)
The cable operator will maintain a local, tollfree or
collect-call telephone access line, which will be available to its subscribers
twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.
(a)
Trained company representatives will be available to
respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
(b)
After normal business hours, the access line may be answered
by a service or an automated-response system, including an answering machine.
Inquiries received after normal business hours must be responded to by a trained
company representative on the next business day.
(2)
Under normal operating conditions, telephone-answer time
by a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed thirty
(30) seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred,
transfer time shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds. These standards shall
be met no less than ninety percent (90%) of the time under normal operating
conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
(3)
The operator will not be required to acquire equipment
or perform surveys to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards
above unless an historical record of complaints indicates a clear failure
to comply.
(4)
Under normal operating conditions, the customer will
receive a busy signal less than three percent (3%) of the time.
(5)
Customer service center and bill payment locations will
be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located.
B.
Installations, outages and service calls. Under normal
operating conditions, each of the following four (4) standards will be met
no less than ninety-five percent (95%) of the time measured on a quarterly
basis:
(1)
Standard installations will be performed within seven
(7) business days after an order has been placed. "Standard installations"
are those that are located up to one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from the
existing distribution system.
(2)
Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator,
the cable operator will begin working on service interruptions promptly and
in no event later than twenty-four (24) hours after the interruption becomes
known. The cable operator must begin actions to correct other service problems
the next business day after notification of the service problem.
(3)
The appointment-window alternatives for installations,
service calls and other installation activities will be either a specific
time or, at maximum, a four-hour time block during normal business hours.
(The operator may schedule service calls and other installation activities
outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer.)
(4)
An operator may not cancel an appointment with a customer
after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
(5)
If a cable operator representative is running late for
an appointment with a customer and will not be able to keep the appointment
as scheduled, the customer will be contacted. The appointment will be rescheduled,
as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer.
C.
Communications between cable operators and cable subscribers.
(1)
Notifications to subscribers:
(a)
The cable operator shall provide written information
on each of the following areas at the time of installation of service, at
least annually to all subscribers and at any time upon request:
[1]
Products and services offered;
[2]
Prices and options for programming services and conditions
of subscription to programming and other services;
[3]
Installation and service maintenance policies;
[4]
Instructions on how to use the cable service;
[5]
Channel positions of programming carried on the system;
and
[6]
Billing and complaint procedures, including the address
and telephone number of the local franchise authority's cable office.
(b)
Billing.
[1]
Bills will be clear, concise and understandable. Bills
must be fully itemized, with itemizations including, but not limited to, basic
and premium service charges and equipment charges. Bills will also clearly
delineate all activity during the billing period, including optional charges,
rebates and credits.
[Amended 9-9-1996 by Ord.
No. 1033-96]
[2]
In case of a billing dispute, the cable operator must
respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within thirty (30) days.
(d)
Credits. Credits for service will be issued no later
than the customer's next billing cycle following the determination that a
credit is warranted.
In furtherance thereof, the compliance officer, ninety (90) days after
giving notice to the cable operators of the city's intent to enforce these
standards, shall have the authority and responsibility to enforce these standards
to the fullest extent permitted by the federal law and in accordance with
all substantive and procedural requirements of the federal law. In furtherance
thereof, the compliance officer may make any and all such orders and assess
any and all such penalties for violations of these standards as are permitted
by the federal law, subject to the oversight and control of the Council, including
without limitation:
All other customer service standards, whether established by franchise
agreement, state law or regulation or local ordinance and whether now or hereafter
enacted, shall remain in full force and effect to the extent that such other
customer service standards are not preempted by the federal law.
