N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 16 § 890.90

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 43, October 23, 2024

Section 890.90 - Telephone availability and answer standards; customer service center

(a) Every cable television company shall 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, provided that after normal business hours, the access line may be answered by an answering 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. Trained company representatives must be available to respond to callers during normal business hours.

(b) Every cable television system, except a small cable television system, under normal operating conditions, shall meet the following telephone answer standards no less than 90 percent of the time, measured on a quarterly basis:

(1) telephone answer time by trained company representatives, including wait-time, shall not exceed 30 seconds from when the connection is made;

(2) if a call needs to be transferred, transfer time shall not exceed 30 seconds; and

(3) callers will receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time.

(c) Information to demonstrate compliance with telephone answer standards in subdivision (b) of this section shall be reported to the commission for normal business hours on an annual basis and shall include:

(1) the total number of days trained company representatives were available to receive incoming calls;

(2) the total number of calls received on such days;

(3) average length of time a caller waits on hold before reaching a trained company representative;

(4) total number of calls abandoned by incoming callers;

(5) percentage of time callers received a busy signal; or

(6) such other information that will document compliance with such standards.

(d) Every cable television company required to file the information specified in subdivision (c) of this section must maintain for a period of one year, a summary of records sufficient to measure and verify compliance with telephone answer standards on a quarterly basis.

(e) Annual reports on telephone answer standards shall be filed with the commission on or before January 31st of each year for the previous calendar year. Any cable television system that routinely meets or exceeds the standard in subdivisions (a) and (c) of this section may petition the commission for a waiver of the reporting requirements of this section. This waiver does not excuse a cable company from maintaining service records, subject to review by the commission, on a quarterly basis.

(f) A cable television system will not be required to acquire equipment or perform surveys to measure compliance with telephone answer and service standards unless an historical record of complaints indicates a clear failure to comply.

(g) Customer service centers and bill payment sites shall be conveniently located and open at least during normal business hours.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 16 § 890.90