New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Chapter 3 - ALL UTILITIES › Subchapter 6 - RECORDS AND REPORTING › Section 14:3-6.8 - Customer service telephone system report

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) On January 1
				and July 1 of each year, each public utility shall provide the Board with the
				following information concerning the operation of the utility's telephone
				system for accepting customer complaints and inquiries:
1. The location of each office from which
				telephone calls from customers and the general public are normally received and
				the number of customers served by that office;
2. The days of the week and the hours in
				which the office is open to conduct business with the public and receive
				telephone calls;
3. The telephone
				number(s) by which customers may call the utility;
4. The method by which customers are informed
				of the telephone number(s) to be used to contact the utility;
5. Whether or not the customers are requested
				to dial a single telephone number or a separate number depending on the nature
				of their inquiry;
6. Whether or not
				inward telephone traffic is grouped to individual departments, such as service
				or billing, along with the total number of such departments and the
				identification of each department;
7. The total number of inward telephone trunk
				lines assigned to each telephone number used by the utility;
8. A brief description of the type of
				telephone system used in the office and the manufacturer and model number of
				the equipment used;
9. Whether or
				not the office has on-premises private branch exchange (PBX) or other private
				switching device and whether or not the device handles all telephone traffic
				for the office;
10. The total
				number of functional lines on the line aide (telephone extension/customer
				service representative side) of the PBX or other private switching device and,
				if segregated by department, the number of functional lines assigned to each
				department;
11. The total number of
				customer service representatives (CSRs) normally available to answer calls. If
				CSRs are segregated by department, the total of CSRs available for each
				department;
12. If the assignments
				of CSRs varies by hour, day or other time period, the utility shall describe
				the variation in the assignment;
13. A brief description of the initial and
				ongoing training provided to the CSRs;
14. A brief description of the billing cycle
				including dates on which bills are mailed;
15. Whether or not the CSRs have access to
				computer terminals for billing or service information and, if so, a brief
				description of the information available to the CSRs;
16. Whether or not the telephone system
				serving the office has automated call distribution capability for the entire
				office or for specific departments. If so, the utility shall supply a brief
				description of the method of call distribution;
17. Whether or not the telephone system
				places incoming calls in queue, and, if so, the maximum number of callers that
				can be placed in queue;
18. Whether
				or not the telephone system has an automated response unit (ARU) and, if so, a
				brief description of the routing options available to callers through the
				ARU;
19. Whether or not the
				telephone system provides recorded messages to callers and a description of the
				message provided;
20. Whether or
				not telephone answering machines or devices are used and, if so, the hours in
				which they are used and the departments in which they are used; and
21. If a telephone answering service is used:
i. The name and address of the answering
				service and the hours during which said service is used. In addition, the
				utility shall indicate whether or not the answering service receives all
				incoming calls or for specific departments; and
ii. The information required pursuant to (i)
				above shall be provided to the Board within 90 days of the effective date of
				this rule and annually thereafter.