The Franchisee shall comply with the customer service and reporting requirements in this section, or as amended. These requirements include but are not limited to the requirements set forth in FCC regulations, including 47 C.F.R. § 70.309 and other applicable law. To the extent the provisions of this section differ from applicable FCC regulations or any applicable law, the provision or provisions that impose the highest standard or greatest legal duties or obligations upon the Franchisee shall take precedence, unless a different order of precedence is expressly set herein.

    A.    Office Availability.

    1.    Each Franchisee will maintain offices at a convenient locations in the County that will be open for walk-in traffic at least ten (10) hours per day (except legal holidays) Monday through Friday, with some evening hours, and at least five (5) hours on Saturday to allow Subscribers to pay bills, drop off equipment and to pick up equipment.

    2.    Each Franchisee will perform service calls, installations, and disconnects at least ten (10) hours per day Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, provided that a Franchisee will respond to outages twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.

    B.    Telephones. All Call Response statistics shall be measured on the basis of call response statistics in all call centers that serve Subscribers. If the call centers serve Subscribers located in other communities, the Franchisee shall insure that call center representatives do not give priority or preferential treatment to Subscribers located in other communities.

    1.    Definition of Call Response terms:

    a.    Answer time is the interval between when the Franchisee receives a call and when an interactive voice response (IVR) or agent answers.

    b.    Speed of Answer is the amount of time between when the customer is transferred into the agent queue from either an IVR or an agent and the time an agent answers.

    c.    Calls Abandoned is the percentage of calls in any agent queue that are abandoned.

    d.    Trunks Busy represents the percentage of time customers receive a busy signal when they call customer service during normal business hours.

    2.    Each Franchisee will establish a publicly listed local toll-free telephone number. Customer service representatives must answer the phone at least ten (10) hours per day, Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, for the purpose of receiving requests for service, inquiries, and complaints from Subscribers. After such business hours the phone will be answered so that customers can register complaints and report service problems on a twenty-four (24) hour per day, seven (7) day per week basis, and so that the Franchisee can respond to service outages as required herein.

    3.    Standards for Call Response.

    a.    Answer Time will not exceed thirty (30) seconds or four (4) rings. Under normal operating conditions the Franchisee shall meet this requirement at least ninety (90) percent of the time.

    b.    The average Speed of Answer shall not exceed thirty (30) seconds. Under normal operating conditions the Franchisee shall meet this requirement at least ninety (90) percent of the time.

    c.    The percentage of Calls Abandoned shall not exceed three (3) percent under normal operating conditions.

    d.    Subscribers shall receive a Trunks Busy signal less than three (3) percent of the time under normal operating conditions.

    4.    Call Response Reports.

    a.    Franchisee shall submit reports on Call Response statistics every calendar quarter, except as otherwise provided in this section.

    b.    If any of a Franchisee’ s quarterly Call Response statistics fail to demonstrate compliance with any applicable requirement, the Franchisee must thereafter submit monthly reports on all Call Response times until the Franchisee requests and the City approves resuming quarterly reporting.

    c.    Information in the reports about Call Response times shall be determined on the basis of the simple average of results during business hours under normal operating conditions for the entire reporting period, and any report submitted at the end of a calendar quarter shall report the total number of calls during the proceeding quarter and the average Call Response times during that quarter.

    5.    Other Reports.

    a.    A Franchisee shall submit reports on all customer service standards identified in this Section during each successive calendar quarter for the term of the Franchise except as otherwise might be provided herein. If a Franchisee’ s reports for two (2) quarters within a calendar year fail to demonstrate that the Franchisee has complied with any customer service standard in paragraphs B through (B)(4)(c) of this section, the Franchisee shall thereafter submit monthly reports about performance of each such requirement until it reports three (3) consecutive months with less than five (5) percent deviation from any minimum required standard unless the Franchisee demonstrates to the City’ s satisfaction that the deviation occurred when it was not operating under normal operating conditions as defined in 47 C.F.R. § 76.309 and reports on the nature and duration of such non-normal operating conditions.

    b.    Timing. A Franchisee shall submit reports within thirty (30) days after the close of the applicable reporting period. Each report shall include data from the applicable reporting period.

    c.    Each of the reporting requirements in this Section is self-executing and the Franchisee agrees that the City does not need to provide additional notice or an opportunity to cure in order to establish that the Franchisee has committed a breach of these requirements for the purposes of the Franchisee’ s obligation to pay liquidated damages as described in this Section.

    d.    Compliance. If a monthly or quarterly report indicated that a Franchisee has failed to meet any of the minimum required standards, the Franchisee shall provide a written explanation of the deviation within ten (10) business days of the report, including steps being taken to cure the deviation, and the time expected to implement the cure. A Franchisee must cure within thirty (30) days unless a longer period is agreed to in writing by the City, which agreement shall not be unreasonably withheld.

    C.    Scheduling Work.

    1.    All appointments for service, installation, or disconnection will be specified by date. Each Franchisee will set a specific time at which the work will be done, or offer a choice of time blocks, which will not exceed four (4) hours in length. A Franchisee may also, upon request, schedule service installation calls outside normal business hours, for the express convenience of the customer.

    2.    If at any time an installer or technician is late for an appointment and/or believes a scheduled appointment time will be missed, an attempt to contact the customer will be made before the time of appointment and the appointment rescheduled at a time convenient to the customer, if rescheduling is necessary. It is the Operator’ s burden to prove it met the appointment.

    3.    The Franchisee will offer and fully describe to Subscribers who have experienced a missed appointment (where the missed appointment was not the Subscriber’ s fault) that the Subscriber may choose between the following options;

    a.    Installation or service call free of charge, if the appointment was for an installation or service call for which a fee was to be charged;

    b.    One (1) month of the most widely subscribed to service tier free of charge for other appointments; and

    c.    An opportunity to elect remedies under California Civil Code 1722, if applicable.

    4.    If the Franchisee makes reasonable and no less than three (3) attempts to confirm an appointment during the scheduled appointment time or appointment window and is unsuccessful in obtaining such confirmation, the Franchisee may assume that the customer has cancelled the appointment.

    D.    Service Standards.

    1.    Under normal operating conditions, requests for service, repair, and maintenance must be acknowledged by a trained customer service representative within twenty-four (24) hours, or before the end of the next business day, whichever is earlier.

    2.    A Franchisee will respond to all other inquiries (including billing inquiries) within five (5) business days of the inquiry or complaint.

    3.    Under normal operating conditions, repairs and maintenance for outages or service interruptions must be completed within twenty-four (24) hours after the outage or interruption becomes known to Franchisee where the Franchisee has adequate access to facilities to which it must have access in order to remedy the problem.

    4.    Under normal operating conditions, work to correct all other service problems must be begun by the next business day after notification of the service problem, and must be completed within five (5) business days from the date of the initial request.

    5.    When normal operating conditions do not exist, a Franchisee will complete the work in the shortest time possible.

    6.    A Franchisee will not cancel a service or installation appointment with a customer within 24 hours of the appointment or after the close of business on the business day preceding the scheduled appointment, whichever is earlier.

    7.    Requests for additional outlets, service upgrades or other connections (e.g., DMX, VCR, A/B switch) separate from the initial installation will be performed within seven (7) business days after an order has been placed.

    8.    Under normal operating conditions, the service standards set out in Sections 1--7 will be met at least ninety-five (95) percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis.

    9.    The failure of the Franchisee to hire sufficient staff or to properly train its staff will not justify a Franchisee’ s failure to comply with this provision.

    E.    Disabled Services. With regard to Subscribers with disabilities, upon Subscriber request, each Franchisee will arrange for pickup and/or replacement of converters or other Franchisee equipment at the Subscriber’ s address or by a satisfactory equivalent (such as the provision of a postage-prepaid mailer).

    F.    Notice to Subscribers regarding Service. A Franchisee will provide each Subscriber at the time service is installed, and annually thereafter, clear and accurate written information:

    1.    On placing a service call, filing a complaint, or requesting an adjustment (including when a Subscriber is entitled to refunds for outages and how to obtain them);

    2.    Showing the telephone number of the City office responsible for administering the Cable Television Franchise;

    3.    Detailing current rates and charges (which must include any senior, disabled or other discounts offered and the least expensive tier of service available), channel positions, services provided, delinquent Subscriber disconnect and reconnect procedures; information regarding the availability of parental control devices, the conditions under which they will be provided and the cost (if any) charged;

    4.    Describing conditions that must be met to qualify for discounts;

    5.    Describing any other of the Franchisee’ s policies in connection with its Subscribers; and

    6.    Describing any discounts, services, or specialized equipment available to Subscribers who are seniors or with disabilities; explaining how to obtain them; and explaining how to use any accessibility features.

    G.    Notices to the City. Franchisee will provide the City with copies of all notices provided to its Subscribers pursuant to this article.

    H.    Changes in Noticed Information. Franchisee will provide the City Administrator (or designee) at least sixty (60) days, and all Subscribers at least thirty (30) days, written notice of any material changes in the information required to be provided under this article, except that, if federal law establishes a shorter notice period and preempts this requirement, the federal requirement will apply.

    I.    Truth in Advertising. Each Franchisee will take appropriate steps to ensure that all written Franchisee promotional materials, announcements, and advertising of residential Cable service to Subscribers and the general public, where price information is listed in any manner, clearly and accurately discloses price terms. In the case of telephone orders, a Franchisee will take appropriate steps to ensure that price terms are clearly and accurately disclosed to potential customers in advance of taking the order.

    1.    Each Franchisee will maintain a file open for public inspection containing all notices provided to Subscribers under these customer service standards, as well as all promotional offers made to Subscribers. The notices and offers will be kept in the file for at least one (1) year from the date of such notice or promotional offer.

    J.    Interruptions of Service. A Franchisee shall inform Subscribers and the City, three (3) days prior to any scheduled or planned interruption of service for planned maintenance or construction; provided, however, that planned maintenance that does not require more than one (1) hour interruption of service and/or that occurs between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. will not require such notice to Subscribers, and notice to the City must be given no less than twenty-four (24) hours before the anticipated service interruption.

    K.    Prorated Billing. A Franchisee’ s first billing statement after a new installation or service change will be prorated as appropriate and will reflect any security deposit.

    L.    Billing Statement.

    1.    A Franchisee’ s billing statement must be clear, concise, and understandable; must itemize each category of service and equipment provided to the Subscriber; and must state clearly the charges therefor.

    2.    A Franchisee’ s billing statement must show a specific payment due date not earlier than the later of:

    a. Fifteen (15) days after the date the statement is mailed; or

    b. The tenth (10th) day of the service period for which the bill is rendered.

    3.    A late fee or administrative fee (collectively referred to below as a "late fee") may not be imposed for payments earlier than twenty-seven (27) days after the due date specified in the bill.

    4.    A late fee may not be imposed unless the Subscriber is provided written notice at least ten (10) days prior to the date the fee is imposed that a fee will be imposed, the date the fee will be imposed and the amount of the fee that will be imposed if the delinquency is not paid. A late fee may not be imposed unless the outstanding balance exceeds $10.00 and may not exceed $5.00.

    5.    Subscribers will not be charged a late fee or otherwise penalized for any failure by a Franchisee, including failure to timely or correctly bill the Subscriber, or failure to properly credit the Subscriber for a payment timely made. Payments will be considered timely if postmarked on the due date.

    6.    A Franchisee’ s bill must permit a Subscriber to remit payment by mail or in person at the Franchisee’ s local office.

    M.    Credit for Service Impairment.

    1.    A Subscriber’ s account will be credited a prorated share of the monthly charge for the service upon Subscriber request if a Subscriber is without service or if service is substantially impaired for any reason for a period exceeding four (4) hours during any twenty-four (24) hour period; or automatically if the loss of service or impairment is for twenty-four (24) hours or longer.

    2.    A Franchisee need not credit Subscriber where it establishes that a Subscriber will obtain a refund for a loss of service or impairment caused by the Subscriber or by Subscriber-owned equipment (not including, for purposes of this Section, in-home wiring installed by the Franchisee).

    N.    Billing Complaints. Franchisee will respond to all written billing complaints from Subscribers within thirty (30) days.

    O.    Billing Refunds. Refunds to Subscribers will be issued no later than

    1.    The earlier of the Subscriber’ s next billing cycle following resolution of the refund request, or thirty (30) days; or

    2.    The date of return of all equipment to Franchisee, if Cable service has been terminated.

    P.    Credits for Cable service. Credits for Cable service will be issued no later than the Subscriber’ s next billing cycle after the determination that the credit is warranted.

    Q.    Disconnection/Downgrades.

    1.    A Subscriber may terminate service at any time.

    2.    A Franchisee will promptly disconnect from the Franchisee’ s Cable System or downgrade any Subscriber who so requests. No charges for service may be made after the Subscriber requests disconnection. No period of notice before voluntary termination or downgrade of Cable service may be required of Subscribers by any Franchisee. There will no charge for disconnection, except for the collection fee authorized by state law, and any downgrade charges will conform to applicable law.

    R.    Security Deposit. Any security deposit and/or other funds due a Subscriber that disconnects or downgrades service will be returned to the Subscriber within thirty (30) days or in the next billing cycle, whichever is later, from the date disconnection or downgrade was requested except in cases where the Subscriber does not permit the Franchisee to recover its equipment, in which case the amounts owed will be paid to subscribers within thirty (30) days of the date the equipment was recovered, or in the next billing cycle, whichever is later.

    S.    Disconnection due to Nonpayment.

    1.    A Franchisee may not disconnect a Subscriber’ s Cable service for nonpayment unless:

    a.    The Subscriber is delinquent in payment for Cable service;

    b.    A separate, written notice of impending disconnection, postage prepaid, has been sent to the Subscriber at least twenty (20) days before the date on which service may be disconnected, at the premises where the Subscriber requests billing, which notice must identify the names and address of the Subscriber whose account is delinquent, state the date by which disconnection may occur if payment is not made, and the amount the Subscriber must pay to avoid disconnection, and a telephone number of a representative of the Franchisee who can provide additional information concerning and handle complaints or initiate an investigation concerning the services and charges in question;

    c.    The Subscriber fails to pay the amounts owed to avoid disconnection by the date of disconnection; and

    d.    No pending inquiry exists regarding the bill to which Franchisee has not responded in writing.

    2.    If the Subscriber pays all amounts due, including late charges, before the date scheduled for disconnection, the Franchisee will not disconnect service. Service may only be terminated on days in which the customer can reach a representative of the Franchisee either in person or by telephone.

    3.    After disconnection (except as noted below), upon payment by the Subscriber in full of all proper fees or charges, including the payment of the reconnection charge, if any, the Franchisee will promptly reinstate service.

    T.    Immediate Disconnection. A Franchisee may immediately disconnect a Subscriber if:

    1.    The Subscriber is damaging, destroying, or unlawfully tampering with or has damaged or destroyed or unlawfully tampered with the Franchisee’ s Cable System;

    2.    The subscriber is not authorized to receive a service, and is facilitating, aiding or abetting the unauthorized receipt of service by others; or

    3.    Subscriber-installed or attached equipment is resulting in signal leakage that is in violation of FCC rules.

    4.    After disconnection, the Franchisee will restore service after the Subscriber provides adequate assurance that it has ceased the practices that led to disconnection, and paid all proper fees and charges, including any reconnect fees and all amounts owed the Franchisee for damage to its Cable System or equipment. Provided that, no reconnection fee may be imposed on a Subscriber disconnected pursuant to this article if the leakage was the result of the Franchisee’ s acts or omissions; or in any case unless the Franchisee notifies the Subscriber of the leakage at least three (3) business days in advance of disconnection, and the Subscriber has failed to correct the leakage within that time.

    U.    Franchisee’ s Property. Except as applicable law may otherwise provide, a Franchisee may remove its property from a Subscriber’ s premises within thirty (30) days of the termination of service. If a Franchisee fails to remove its property in that period, the property will be deemed abandoned unless the Franchisee has been denied access to the Subscriber’ s premises, or the Franchisee has a continuing right to occupy the premises under applicable law.

    V.    Deposits. A Franchisee may require a reasonable, non-discriminatory deposit on equipment provided to Subscribers. Deposits will be placed in an interest-bearing account, and the Franchisee will return the deposit, plus interest earned to the date the deposit is returned to the Subscriber, less any amount the Franchisee can demonstrate should be deducted for damage to such equipment.

    W.    Parental Control Option. Without limiting a Franchisee’ s obligations under Federal law, a Franchisee must provide parental control devices at no charge to all Subscribers who request them that enable the Subscriber to block the video and audio portion of any channel or channels of programming.

    X.    Penalties. Pursuant to California Government Code § 63088.2, and any successor statute or regulation, penalties will be assessed against a Franchisee for any breach of Sections 1-23 of these customers service standards.

    Y.    Notwithstanding the requirements of this article, the City Administrator is authorized to relieve a Franchisee of its obligations under this article if

    1.    Franchisee shows that there is an alternative standard that is substantially similar to that established by this article;

    2.    In light of the number of customers served by a Cable System Operator, the requirements of this article are, in the City Administrator’ s sole discretion, unduly burdensome and there is an alternative way to serve the same interest.