Grantee shall maintain an office reasonably accessible to customers
to provide the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to comply
with the following customer service standards under normal operating
conditions:
(1) Knowledgeable,
qualified customer service representatives shall be available to respond
to customer telephone inquiries a minimum of sixty hours weekly, from
eight a.m. to eight p.m., Monday through Friday, and ten a.m. to seven
p.m. on Saturdays. A service or automated response system, such as
an answering machine will be available to record nonemergency, after-hours
messages, and customer service representatives will promptly answer
phone messages the next business day.
(2) An
emergency toll-free or collect call access telephone line shall be
available on a twenty-four-hour basis, including weekends and holidays.
(3) A
business and service office located within the city shall be open
Monday through Friday from eight a.m. to five p.m., and on Saturdays
from ten a.m. to three p.m. Grantee shall adequately staff the office
to accept subscriber payments and respond to service requests and
complaints.
(4) An
emergency system maintenance and repair staff, capable of responding
to and repairing major system malfunctions on a twenty-four-hour basis
shall be provided.
(5) Grantee
shall schedule service and installation appointments within a specified
four-hour time period in compliance with California
Civil Code Section
1722.
(6) Telephone
answer time by a customer service 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.
(7) Under
normal operating conditions, the customer will receive a busy signal
less than three percent of the time.
(8) Grantee
shall provide written information in each of the following areas at
the time of installation, at least once every year and 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 programming carried on the system; and
(F) Billing and complaint procedures, including the address and telephone
number of the city's cable office.
(9) Bills
will be clear, concise and understandable. Bills must be fully itemized,
with itemization 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.
(10) Refund checks will be issued promptly, but no later than either:
(A) The customer's next billing cycle following resolution of the request
or thirty days, whichever is earlier; or
(B) The return of the equipment supplied by the cable operator if service
is terminated.
(11) Customers and the city will 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 customers a minimum of thirty days in advance of such changes if the change is within the control of the cable television provider. In addition, the cable television provider shall notify customers thirty days in advance of any significant changes in the other information required by subsection
(8) of this section.
(12) Grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and
interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible.
Scheduled interruption, insofar as possible, shall be preceded by
notice and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system,
preferably between midnight and six a.m.
(13) Grantee shall maintain a repair force of technicians capable of responding
to customer requests for service within the following time frames
ninety-five percent of the time measured on a quarterly basis:
(A) System outage: within two hours, including weekends, of receiving
customer calls which by number identify a system outage of sound or
picture of one or more channels, affecting all the customers of the
system or a considerable number thereof.
(B) Service interruptions: within twenty-four hours, including weekends,
after the interruption becomes known.
(C) Inferior reception quality: within forty-eight hours, including weekends,
after receiving a request for service identifying a problem concerning
picture or sound quality.
(14) Grantee shall be deemed to have responded to a request for service under the provisions of subsection
(13) of this section when a technician arrives at the service location, if necessary, or otherwise begins work on the problem. In the case of a customer not being home when the technician arrives, response shall be deemed to have taken place if the technician leaves written notification of arrival.
(15) Not less than ninety-five percent of the time measured, on an annual
basis, standard installations will be performed within seven business
days after an order has been placed. "Standard" installations are
up to one hundred twenty-five feet from the existing distribution
system.
(16) Pursuant to Section 76.309 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
these customer service standards shall not become effective until
ninety days after the grantee has been notified of their adoption.
(Ord. 1598 § 1, 1992; Ord. 1622 § 2, 1994)
(a) Upon reasonable notice, grantee shall demonstrate compliance with any or all of the standards required in Section
5.24.602. Grantee shall provide sufficient detail to permit the city to verify the extent of compliance.
(b) A
written log or an equivalent stored in computer memory and capable
of access and reproduction, shall be maintained for three years. The
log shall indicate the time and date of all service interruptions,
requests for cable service or repairs, and responses to requests for
cable service or repairs.
(c) A repeated, documented and verifiable pattern of actual noncompliance with the customer service standards of Section
5.24.602, after the city has given the grantee due notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, may be termed a breach of the grantee's franchise, subject to any and all remedies as prescribed in this chapter and the franchise ordinance.
(Ord. 1598 § 1, 1992; Ord. 1622 § 2, 1994)
The grantee shall at all times comply with the "protection of
subscriber privacy" provisions of the Cable Communications Policy
Act of 1984, and all subsequent state and federal regulations concerning
subscriber privacy.
(Ord. 1598 § 1, 1992)
Each grantee shall provide its employees, contractors and subcontractors
with identification for all individuals who may make personal contact
with residents of the city. The grantee shall provide a list of current
employees, contractors and subcontractors to the city upon request.
(Ord. 1598 § 1, 1992)