(A) The grantee shall comply with the customer service obligations set forth in this chapter and such authority for enforcement is hereby delegated to the Cable Council. The grantee shall comply with the standards and requirements for customer service set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 76.309 and §§ 76.1601 - 761.1604, and shall comply with all applicable regulations relating to customer service obligations, including any amendments to FCC regulations should FCC regulations change during the term of a franchise. Should FCC regulations change, or for other good cause shown, the grantee may petition the village for modification of the requirements of division (C) approval of which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(B) The grantee shall maintain a convenient local customer service and bill payment location, or a substantial equivalent, in the area served by the Cable Council for receiving subscriber payments, handling billing questions, equipment replacement and customer service information.
(C) At a minimum, the grantee shall comply with the following customer service obligations:
(1) The cable system office hours and telephone availability.
(a) The grantee will maintain a local, toll-free or collect call telephone access line, which will be available to its subscribers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
1. Trained grantee representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.
2. 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 grantee representative on the next business day.
(b) Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer representative, including wait time, shall not exceed 30 seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed 30 seconds. These standards shall be met no less than 90% of the time under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis.
(c) The grantee shall not be required to acquire equipment and/or perform surveys to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards above unless an historical record on complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
(d) Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
(e) The customer service center and bill payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located.
(2) Installations, outages and service calls. Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards will be met no less than 95% of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
(a) Standard installations will be performed within 7 business days after an order has been placed. Standard installations are those that are located up to 125 feet from the existing distribution system.
(b) Excluding conditions beyond the control of the grantee, the grantee will begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than 24 hours after the interruption becomes known. The grantee must begin actions to correct other service problems the next business day after notification of the service problem.
(c) The appointment window alternatives for installations, service calls, and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a 4-hour time block during normal business hours. (The grantee may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of normal business hours for the express convenience of the customer.)
(d) The grantee may not cancel an appointment with a customer after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
(e) If the grantee's 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.
(3) Communications between the grantee and subscribers.
(a) Notifications to subscribers.
1. The grantee 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:
a. Products and services offered;
b. Prices and options for programming services and conditions of subscription to programming and other services;
c. Installation and service maintenance policies;
d. Instructions on how to use the cable service;
e. Channel positions of the programming carried on the system; and
f. Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone number of the village.
2. Subscribers will be notified of any changes in rates, programming services or channel positions as soon as possible in writing. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of 30 days in advance of such changes if the changes are within the control of the grantee. In addition, the grantee shall notify the subscribers 30 days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by subsection (C)(3)(a). The grantee shall not be required to provide prior notice of any rate changes as a result of a regulatory fee, franchise fee, or other fees, tax, assessment or charge of any kind imposed by any federal agency, state or village on the transaction between the operator and the subscriber.
3. All programming decisions remain the discretion of the grantee in accordance with the franchise, the grantee shall comply with rules regarding notice to customers in accordance with 47 C.F.R. § 76.1603.
(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.
2. In case of a billing dispute, the grantee must respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within 30 days.
(c) Refunds. Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than either:
1. The subscriber's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever is earlier; or
2. The return of the equipment supplied by the grantee if service is terminated.
(d) Credits. Credits for service will be issued no later than the subscriber's next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(e) Upon request, the grantee shall provide the village with a quarterly compliance report specific to the system in the service area, which report shall describe in detail the grantee's compliance with the provisions of this section and any additional customer service requirements contained in the franchise.
(D) In addition to the customer service standards set forth above, the following customer service obligations are hereby established.
(1) Dispute resolution procedure. The grantee shall establish a procedure for resolving subscriber complaints that includes an opportunity for a meeting in the Village of Kingsley with an employee of the grantee having authority to resolve the dispute. The procedure shall also include an appeal after such meeting to the Cable Council who shall hear all sides of the dispute and may render a non-binding recommendation that includes an opportunity for a meeting in the Village of Kingsley with an employee of the grantee having authority to resolve the dispute. The procedure shall also include an appeal after such meeting to the Cable Council who shall render a non-binding decision.
(2) Advance review notice to Cable Council of brochure and subscriber review. The grantee will endeavor to provide any locally-produced customer-oriented materials or communications, including the bi-annual subscriber review included in § 110.08, to the Cable Council prior to sending material or communications to subscribers for the purpose of review and notice.
(Ord. 1 4-05, passed 4-4-2005)