It is the intent of the municipality 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, toll-free or collect call telephone access line which will be available to its subscribers 24 hours a day, seven 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 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 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 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 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) 
Excluding conditions beyond the control of the operator, the cable operator will begin working on service interruptions promptly and in no event later than 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.
[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.
[2] 
In cases of a billing dispute, the cable operator 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 customer'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 cable operator if service is terminated.
(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.
D. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS
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.
NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS
Those service conditions which are within the control of the cable operator. Those conditions which are not within the control of the cable operator 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 cable operator 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.
SERVICE INTERRUPTION
The loss of picture or sound on one or more cable channels.
In furtherance thereof, the compliance officer, 90 days after giving notice to the cable operators of the municipality'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 governing body, including, without limitation:
A. 
Ordering the cable operator to pay credits or refunds to the subscribers to the cable operator's system.
B. 
Filing suit against a cable operator to compel specific performance.
C. 
Conducting performance evaluations at the time of renewal of the cable operator's franchise agreement.
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.