§ 26-29. Toll-free telephone number.

(a)

The franchisee (or an affiliate), shall maintain a listed, toll-free telephone number under the business name familiar to consumers and employ a sufficient number of telephone lines, personnel, and answering equipment or service to allow reasonable access by subscribers and members of the public to contact the franchisee on a full-time basis, 24 hours per day, seven days per week, including holidays. Knowledgeable, qualified franchisee representatives will be available to respond to customer telephone inquiries during normal business hours.

(b)

Telephone answering time standards. The franchisee shall answer all customer service and repair telephone calls made under normal operating conditions within 30 seconds, including wait time and within an additional 30 seconds to transfer the call. Customers shall receive a busy signal less than three percent of the time. These standards shall be met no less than 90 percent of the time under normal operating conditions, measured on a quarterly basis. If a franchisee fails to meet these standards on a quarterly basis, the county may require the franchisee to track the telephone answer time standards on a daily basis, following the end of the quarter for which the franchisee fails to satisfy these standards. The county may require that a franchisee supply monthly data measuring its compliance with the standards set forth herein for the year preceding the county's request.

(c)

Violation. If a franchisee violates the telephone answering standards contained herein for two consecutive quarters, the county may require the franchisee to provide the county with a plan to correct the problem, including, if necessary, steps to insure that franchisee's communications system is properly trunked and staffed to meet the requirements of this article using generally accepted telephonic engineering standards.

In addition to other remedies contained herein, the county may fine a franchisee for violation of this section $500.00 for each violation with each day of a continuing violation constituting a separate violation.

(Ord. No. 02-18, § 2, 7-30-02)