A. Enforcement Of Other Laws: Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prohibit the enforcement of any Federal, State or local law or regulation concerning customer service or consumer protection that imposes customer service standards or consumer protection requirements that exceed the customer service standards set out in this Chapter or that address matters not addressed in this Chapter.
B. Telephone Access: The grantee shall maintain a local or toll-free telephone access line which is available to its subscribers and shall have knowledgeable, qualified representatives available to respond to customer telephone inquiries twenty four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week.
C. Telephone Answer Time: Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time, including wait time and the time required to transfer the call, shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds. This standard shall be met no less than ninety percent (90%) of the time as measured on a quarterly basis.
D. Busy Signal Percentage: Under normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal less than three percent (3%) of the total time that the office is open for business.
E. Central Location: The grantee shall maintain a central office for the purpose of receiving and resolving all complaints regarding the quality of service, equipment malfunctions, and similar matters. The office must be reachable by a local and/or toll-free telephone call to receive complaints regarding quality of service, equipment functions and similar matters. The grantee will make good faith efforts to arrange for one or more payment locations in a central location where customers can pay bills or conduct other business activities.
F. Walk-In Location: Customer service centers and bill payment locations will be open for walk-in customer transactions a minimum of eight (8) hours per day Monday through Friday, unless there is a need to modify those hours because of the location or customers served. The grantee and Village by mutual consent shall establish supplemental hours on weekdays and weekends as fits the needs of the community.
G. Service Standards: Under normal operating conditions, each of the following standards will be met no less than ninety five percent (95%) of the time, as measured on an annual basis:
1. Standard installations will be performed within seven (7) business days after an order has been placed. A standard installation is one that is within one hundred twenty five feet (125') of the existing system.
2. Excluding those situations that are beyond its control, the grantee will respond to any service interruption promptly and in no event later than twenty four (24) hours from the time of initial notification. All other regular service requests will be responded to within thirty six (36) hours during the normal work week for that system. The appointment window alternatives for installations, service calls and other installation activities will be: "morning" or "afternoon"; not to exceed a four (4) hour "window" during normal business hours for the system, or at a time that is mutually acceptable. The grantee shall schedule supplemental hours during which appointments can be scheduled based on the needs of the community. If at any time an installer or technician is running late, an attempt to contact the customer will be made and the appointment rescheduled as necessary at a time that is convenient to the customer.
H. Subscriber Credit For Outages: Upon service interruption of a subscriber's cable service, the following shall apply:
1. For service interruptions of more than four (4) hours and up to four (4) days, the grantee shall provide, at the subscriber's request, a credit of one-thirtieth (1/30) of one month's fees for affected services for each twenty four (24) hour period service is interrupted for an accumulated four (4) or more hours for any subscriber, with the exception of subscribers disconnected because of nonpayment or excessive signal leakage.
2. For interruptions of four (4) days or more in one month, the grantee shall provide, at the subscriber's request, a full month's credit for affected services for all affected subscribers.
I. Written Information: The grantee shall provide written information for each of the following areas at the time of installation and at any future time upon the request of the customer:
1. Product and services offered.
2. Prices and service options.
3. Installation and service policies.
4. How to use the cable television services.
5. Customer service standards and credit for service outage policy as contained herein.
J. Bills: Bills will be clear, concise and understandable, with all charges for cable services itemized.
K. Imposition Of Fees: A grantee may not impose a late, administrative or other fee on a customer for nonpayment of a bill until thirty (30) days have elapsed after the end of the billing cycle which is the subject of the unpaid bill.
L. Disputed Bills: A grantee may not disconnect a customer for nonpayment of disputed bills until such a time as the dispute has been resolved in accordance with the grantee's customer service policies.
M. Credits: Credits will be issued promptly, but no later than the customer's next billing cycle following the resolution of the request and the return of the equipment by the grantee if service has been terminated.
N. Rate Or Channel Change: The grantee shall notify the Village and customers a minimum of thirty (30) days in advance of any rate or channel change.
O. Compliance To Rules And Regulations: The grantee shall maintain and operate its network in accordance with the rules and regulations incorporated herein or as may be promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, the United States Congress, or applicable laws of the State.
P. Failure To Maintain Standards: The grantee shall continue, through the term of the franchise, to maintain the technical standards and quality of service set forth in this Chapter. Should the Village find, by resolution, that the grantee has failed to maintain these technical standards and quality of service, and should it, by resolution, specifically enumerate improvements to be made, the grantee shall make such improvements. Failure to make such improvements within three (3) months of such resolution will constitute a breach of a condition for which penalties contained in Section 11-1-45 of this Chapter are applicable.
Q. Monthly Service Log: The grantee shall keep a monthly service log which indicates the nature of each service complaint received in the last twenty four (24) months, the date and time each complaint was received, the disposition of each complaint, and the time and date thereof. This log shall be made available for periodic inspection by the Village.
R. Copy Of Customer Service Standards: The grantee shall provide a copy of the customer service standards included in this Section to every subscriber via a bill insert at least once every calendar year. The grantee shall also provide a copy of these customer service standards to every new customer within thirty (30) days of connection. (Ord. 98-2054, 9-28-1998)