Chapter 31.12
OFFICE AND TELEPHONE ACCESS AND COMPLAINTS
Sections:
31.12.010 Local business office.
31.12.020 Telephone access.
31.12.030 Complaints.
31.12.010 Local business office.
(a) A cable operator shall maintain at least one customer service center or a bill payment location on the Eastside. Service shall be available at least nine consecutive hours Monday through Friday, and at least four consecutive hours on Saturdays, ending no earlier than one p.m. The cable operator shall provide customers the ability to remit payment by mail or in person at the service center or bill payment location.
(b) The customer service center or bill payment location must be accessible to all persons, including the elderly and persons with disabilities. Parking must be provided in a manner consistent with the Kirkland Municipal Code.
(c) The following services shall be available at the customer service center: the opportunity to pick up, exchange and return certain types of equipment, depending upon the size of the equipment; bill payment; and response to other customer inquiries and requests. Customers may pay cable bills at the bill payment location.
(d) The cable operator shall post a sign at the service center/bill payment location advising customers of its hours of operation. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)
31.12.020 Telephone access.
(a) A cable operator shall maintain a local, toll-free or collect call telephone access line which will be available to its subscribers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for service/repair requests. The cable operator shall have dispatchers and technicians on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, including legal holidays.
(b) Qualified and trained customer service representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone and e-mail inquiries during normal business hours.
(c) After normal business hours, the access line may be answered by an answering service, an automated response unit (“ARU”) or a voice response unit (“VRU”). Inquiries received after normal business hours shall be responded to by a trained company representative on the next business day.
(d) Under normal operating conditions, telephone answer time by a customer 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.
(1) Measurement of the standard stated in subsection (d) of this section shall include all calls received by the cable operator at all call centers receiving calls from subscribers, whether they are answered by a live representative, answered by an ARU or VRU, or abandoned, and shall include all periods during which live representatives are available to answer calls, whether or not such periods occur during normal business hours.
(2) If a call is answered by an ARU or VRU, the standard stated in subsection (d) of this section shall be satisfied for a given call if the standard system includes an option to speak to a service representative, that option is presented to the caller within the first thirty seconds from the time the call is answered by the ARU, and, if that option is exercised, the caller is not required to wait more than thirty seconds to be connected to a service representative.
(e) Under normal operating conditions, a subscriber will receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)
31.12.030 Complaints.
(a) The cable operator shall establish written procedures for receiving, acting upon, and resolving complaints without intervention by the city (except where necessary). Said written procedures shall describe a simple process by which any customer may submit a complaint by telephone, via the Internet, or in writing to the cable operator regarding a disputed matter, or an alleged violation of:
(1) Any provision of these standards;
(2) Any terms or conditions of the customer’s contract with the cable operator; or
(3) Reasonable business practices.
(b) The cable operator’s complaint procedures shall be filed with the city.
(c) Complaints by any subscriber may be filed with the cable operator in writing or delivered to the cable operator orally in person or by telephone.
(d) Any complaints regarding service interruption received from subscribers by the cable operator or referred to the cable operator by the city shall be investigated by the cable operator and service restored within seventy-two hours of their receipt. In the event service is not restored within seventy-two hours, the subscriber shall receive a credit pursuant to Section 31.24.030(b). Any complaints not regarding service interruption received from subscribers by the cable operator or referred to the cable operator by city shall be investigated and responded to by the cable operator within two business days of their receipt.
(e) For complaints other than service interruptions, if a complaint is sent to the cable operator by city, the cable operator shall respond to city and report on the status of that complaint within twenty-four hours of the time the city delivers the complaint to the cable operator.
(f) For complaints other than service interruptions, within fifteen days after receiving a complaint from a subscriber, the cable operator shall notify the subscriber of the results of its investigation and its proposed action or credit. The cable operator shall also notify the subscriber of the subscriber’s right to file a complaint with the city in the event the subscriber is dissatisfied with the cable operator’s decision, and shall explain the necessary procedures for filing such complaint with the city.
(g) A cable operator shall keep a maintenance service log that will indicate the nature of each complaint, the name of the employee of the cable operator receiving the complaint, the date and time it was received, the disposition of the complaint and the time and date thereof. In said log the cable operator shall state the specific steps taken by the cable operator to remedy the complaint. This log shall be made available by the cable operator for periodic inspection by the city.
(h) The procedure for reporting and resolving complaints shall be stated in writing by the cable operator to each subscriber at the time of initial installation of cable service to the cable system, at least annually thereafter, and at any time upon request. It shall also be publicized clearly on the cable operator’s website. (Ord. 4207 § 1 (part), 2009)