(a) Nothing in this chapter is intended to prevent or prohibit:
(1) The City and a grantee from agreeing to customer service requirements that exceed the standards set forth in this chapter;
(2) The City from enforcing through the end of the franchise term pre-existing customer service requirements that exceed the standards set forth in this chapter and are contained in current franchise agreements;
(3) The City from enacting or enforcing any consumer protection law; or
(4) The establishment or enforcement of any ordinance or regulation concerning customer service that imposes customer service requirements that exceed, or address matters not addressed by, the standards set forth in this chapter.
(b) A grantee is subject to the following customer service standards:
(1) The grantee will maintain a local, toll-free or collect call telephone access line which will be available to subscribers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Trained company representatives shall be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours. 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 company representative, including wait time, shall not exceed thirty seconds when the connection is made. If the call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed thirty seconds. These standards shall be met no less than ninety percent of the time under normal operating conditions measured on a quarterly basis. The grantee may be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with these telephone answering standards, if complaints indicate a failure to comply.
(3) Under normal operating conditions, customers may not receive a busy signal three percent or more of the time.
(4) Bill payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be conveniently located in the downriver area of Wayne County, Michigan.
(5) Under normal operating conditions, each of the following five standards will be met no less than ninety-five percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis:
A. Standard installations will be performed seven business days after an order has been placed. Standard installations are those that are located not more than 125 feet from the existing distribution system.
B. Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator, a grantee shall begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than twenty-four 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. As used in this paragraph, "service interruption" means the loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels affecting all subscribers.
C. The appointment window for installations, service calls and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a four-hour 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. A 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 a grantee representative is running late for an appointment and will not be able to keep the appointment as scheduled, the customer will be contacted and the appointment rescheduled, as necessary, at a time which is convenient for the customer.
(6) 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 programming carried on the system; and
F. Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone number of the grantee and the City.
(7) Bills shall 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 shall clearly delineate all activity during the billing period, including operational charges, rebates and credits. In case of a billing dispute, a grantee must respond to a written complaint from a subscriber within thirty days.
(8) Refund checks shall be issued promptly, but not later than:
A. The customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request or sixty days, whichever is earlier; or
B. The return of the equipment supplied by the grantee if service is terminated.
(9) Credits will be issued no later than the two billing cycles following the determination that a credit is warranted.
(10) A cable television system shall be designed for operation twenty-four hours per day and shall endure service interruptions only for good cause and for a reasonable time. Intentional interruptions of service shall be for the shortest possible time.
(11) A written log shall be maintained by a grantee listing all service calls, their disposition and all service interruptions affecting five or more subscribers. Said log shall be available for inspection by the City upon reasonable notice, subject to Section 631 of the Cable Act regarding subscriber privacy.
(12) Upon failure of a grantee to remedy a loss of service within twenty-four hours of receipt of notification of such loss, the grantee shall rebate one-thirtieth of the regular monthly charge to each subscriber so affected, for each twenty-four hours or fraction thereof, until service is restored, unless restoration is prevented by cause beyond the control of the grantee upon written notice to the grantee identifying the loss by channel, date and time.
(13) A grantee shall not deny, delay or otherwise burden cable television service or use of access facilities or otherwise discriminate against subscribers or users on the basis of age, race, creed, color, sex, national origin or marital status.
(14) Customers shall be notified of any changes in rates, programming services or channel positions as soon as possible through announcements on the cable system and in writing. Notice must be given to subscribers a minimum of thirty days in advance of such changes if the changes are within the control of the cable operator.
(c) A grantee shall file, upon request with the City Clerk, a notarized statement signed by an officer or employee certifying compliance with the customer service standards. A grantee in noncompliance shall file, on a quarterly basis, a statement specifying areas of noncompliance along with a remedial plan.
(Ord. 581. Passed 12-13-95.)