From: rxv9839@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Subject: Re: Customer service
Reply-To: rxv9839@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 05:43:28 GMT

In article <1992Oct13.122512.43814@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, bryan@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>I'm curious about the language of Section 10(d)(1) of the bill as
>passed by the Senate in January. It has to do with FCC standards for
>customer service.
>
>I'm interested in just exactly how the FCC is going to set up the
>required standards and how customers might influence those standards.
>
>My specific concern is this: service from our local company is the
>pits. Some channels don't come in clearly in some parts of town,
>service calls take over a month to schedule, and so on. I get the
>impression from some of the other postings I've read here that these
>aren't necessarily uncommon problems.
>
>I'm particularly concerned with maintenance scheduling. Our local
>operator frequently does maintenance during early prime and prime
>times, frequently disrupting service on all channels in the middle of
>news broadcasts. If cable operators are to be made effectively
>answerable to public interest, convenience or necessity, this can't be
>permitted.
>
>Who might I contact to suggest that 'safe harbor' standards be set for
>disruptive testing?
>
>-Bryan


Some cable companies do not operate as you describe.  Our cable company
does service calls usually the same day, but certainly within 24 hours.
No cable operator worth paying your bill to deliberately schedules 
maintenance work during early prime and prime times (assuming you are 
referring to 5-8PM early, and 8-11pm late.)

Most maintenance work of a routine nature can be done on a non-interferring
basis.  When amplifier moduels have to be replaced there may be a brief
interruption (5-20 seconds).  If a piece of physcial equipment must be
replaced (especially common after lightning storms or power hitting the
cable lines, any company has but little choice to fix it when it happens
prime time or not.  Routine maintenance should not be done in prime time.

There are several things you shuld do.  Talk to your system general manager.
Find out if there are really any reasosn for the interruptions in prime
time and the areas of town with poor picture.  (If you have pricise details
of what areas of town and what channels it will help you  better 
answer.)  Unless you are totally satisfied with his explanation, if any,
I would write a letter summarizing your problems-critical areas are
length of time to scheduel a trouble call, aras of town with poor picture,
and prime time interruptions.  Send this letter to the regional and national
managers for your system.   Send a copy to the owner (if a smaller private
system) and to your state cable association and the NCTA.

The FCC typically creates rules by issuing a "Proposed NOtice of Rulemaking"
regarding a particular topic.  You should write to them and request a copy
of such notices related to cable tv rules.  (You can track such things in
the Federal Register if your' so inclined and its convienent.)  When they
take up customer service standards send them your thoughts in a letter as
comments to the rulemaking.  Anyone is entitled to do this and if you have
cable TV you're certainly an interested party.  Half of the problem with
FCC, PUC and other "rule" making bodies is that they have too much comment
or ONLY comment from affected industries and they sometimes *NEVER* hear
from regular consumers.  Rules about prime time interruptions for
routine maintenance seem perfectly reasonable to me.  I don't think the
average cable operator would care because most don't do that anyway.  Bkut
its not something the FCC is likely to think of on thei_ 	\r2;{