(A) Cable system customer service/call center hours and telephone availability.
(1) For purposes of this chapter, the term
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS shall mean those hours during which most similar businesses in the community are open to serve customers. In all cases, NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS must include some evening hours at least one night per week and/or some weekend hours.
(2) A grantee shall establish and maintain such business offices and customer service/call centers and provide personnel, telephone service and other equipment, as needed, to ensure timely, efficient and effective service to customers. Such personnel shall include one person designated by the grantee to act as a liaison between the grantee and the City regarding customer service issues. All customer service/call centers of the grantee shall have a locally listed, toll-free or collect telephone number with an access line available to subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trained company representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
(3) The grantee’s customer service/call center and bill payment locations will be open at least during normal business hours and will be located within the city. The grantee’s business offices shall be open, at a minimum, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for six days a week. Upon a showing of changed circumstances or for other good cause shown, the Cable Commission may permit a reduction in the grantee’s business office hours, and such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld. Additionally, at various times during the day, the grantee shall cablecast the address, telephone number and office hours of its business offices, customer service/call centers and bill payment locations on a local origination channel received by all subscribers.
(B) Telephone answer time.
(1) Normal operating conditions. For purposes of this section, the term
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS shall mean those service conditions which are within the control of the grantee. Those conditions which are not within the control of the grantee include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, civil disturbances, power outages, telephone network outages, and severe or unusual weather conditions. Those conditions which are ordinarily within the control of the grantee include, but are not limited to, special promotions, pay-per-view events, rate increases, regular peak or seasonal demand periods, and maintenance or upgrade of the cable system.
(2) 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.
(3) The grantee will not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with the telephone answering standards above unless the Cable Administrator determines that a sufficient record of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.
(4) Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal less than 3% of the time.
(C) Installations, outages and service calls. Under normal operating conditions, each of the following four standards will be met no less than 95% of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
(1) Standard installations will be performed within seven business days after an order has been placed. “Standard” installations are those that are located up to 125 feet from the existing distribution system.
(2) The “appointment window” alternatives for installations, service calls, and other installation activities will be either a specific time or, at maximum, a three-hour time block between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. six days a week. The grantee may schedule service calls and other installation activities outside of the above days and hours for the express convenience of the customer.
(3) The grantee may not cancel an appointment with a customer after the close of business on the business day prior to the scheduled appointment.
(4) If a grantee 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, for the specific day and time requested by the customer. The customer may request that the appointment take place anytime between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday.
(D) Communications between grantees and cable subscribers.
(1) Refunds. Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than either:
(a) The customer’s next billing cycle following resolution of the request or 30 days, whichever is earlier; or
(b) The return of the equipment supplied by the grantee if service is terminated.
(2) Credits. Credits for service will be issued no later than the customer’s next billing cycle following the determination that a credit is warranted.