04 NCAC 11 R09-08. UTILITIES COMMISSION

R09-08  SERVICE OBJECTIVES FOR REGULATED LOCAL EXCHANGE TELEPHONE COMPANIES AND COMPETING LOCAL PROVIDERS (CLPs)

(a)  Service Objectives.  Each regulated local exchange telephone company and CLP shall perform and provide service in accordance with the following uniform service objectives:

Measure No.	Description	Objective
1	Intraoffice completion rate	99% or more
2	Interoffice completion rate	98% or more
3	EAS transmission loss	95% or more between 2 and 10 dB
4	EAS trunk noise	95% or more 30 dBrnc or less
5	Operator "0" answertime	90% or more of calls answered within 10 seconds or ASA of 6 seconds
6	Directory assistance answertime	85% or more of calls answered within 10 seconds or ASA of 6 seconds
7	Business office answertime	ASA of 30 seconds
8	Repair service answertime	ASA of 30 seconds
9	Initial customer trouble reports	4.75 or less per 100 total access lines
10	Repeat reports	1.0 report or less per 100 total access lines
11	Out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 Hours	95% or more
12	Regular service orders completed within 5 working days	90% or more
13	New service installation appointments not met for Company reasons	5% or less
14	New service held orders not completed within 30 days	0.1% or less of total access lines

(b)  This rule shall not preclude flexibility in considering future circumstances that may justify changes in or exceptions to these service objectives.

(c)  Force Majeure.  A company may seek a waiver of part or all of Rule R9-8 due to force majeure.  To request a waiver, a company should file adjusted data and unadjusted data along with its waiver request.  In order to secure Commission approval, the waiver request should clearly demonstrate that (1) the force majeure event was sufficiently serious and unusual to warrant adjustment of the monthly service quality statistics, including a detailed description of the adverse consequences of the event on the ratepayers' service and the company's facilities; (2) to the extent reasonably foreseeable, the company prudently planned and prepared in advance for such emergencies; (3) despite these plans and preparations, and the best efforts of the company personnel before, during, and after the event, failures to satisfy the service objectives could not reasonably have been avoided; and (4) the extent and nature of the adjustments requested are appropriate for the circumstances.  The Commission shall grant waiver requests if the Commission finds that all four criteria have been met.

(d)  Reporting Requirement.  Each regulated local exchange telephone company and CLP actually providing basic local residential and/or business exchange service to customers in North Carolina shall file a report each calendar quarter with the Chief Clerk of the Commission detailing the monthly results of its compliance with Measures 5 – 14 as set forth in this Rule. The report may be filed by either (1) submitting an original, three (3) hard copies, and two electronic copies in Excel to the Chief Clerk, or (2) submitting the report electronically with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Commission Rule R1-28, the Chief Clerk's Office shall forward one hard copy and one electronic copy to the Public Staff – Communications Division.  Companies should reflect the company name as certified by the Commission. Additionally, the hard copies and electronic copies on diskette should be clearly marked with the company name, the docket number, and the reporting period.  The Commission will specify the format of the report.  Companies not providing service in North Carolina or not providing basic local residential and/or business exchange service to customers in North Carolina shall file a letter, in lieu of a report, each quarter specifying why a report does not have to be filed.

Each regulated local exchange company and CLP shall report its performance results for the following six objectives on an exchange level:

·         Initial Customer Trouble Reports (Measure 9);

·         Repeat Reports (Measure 10);

·         Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11);

·         Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12);

·         New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons (Measure 13); and

·         New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14).

[COMMISSION NOTE:  After one year, companies may petition the Commission for exemption from the requirement to report these results on an exchange level.]

Each regulated local exchange company and CLP that uses separate call or service centers or service representatives to provide service to their business and residential customers shall file performance results for the following measures for the following categories of customers:  (1) all North Carolina business¹ customers; (2) all North Carolina residential customers; and (3) all North Carolina customers:

·         Business Office Answertime (Measure 7);

·         Repair Service Answertime (Measure 8);

·         Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11);

·         Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12);

·         New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons (Measure 13); and

·         New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14).

If a company's residential call or service centers handle the calls or service for small businesses of five lines or less, the company may include the statistics for these small businesses in the residential customer category, but must notate this inclusion and verify that there is no preferential treatment given to either class of customers in its quarterly report.

Companies are not required to report statistics for customer groups that are not served by call or service centers, but on an individual account basis.  In the first report following the effective date of the amendments to this rule, each company should note which customer groups are excluded from the report and notify the Commission if customer groups that are excluded should change.

[COMMISSION NOTE:  After one year, companies may petition the Commission for exemption from the requirement to separately report residential, business, and combined residential and business results for these six objectives.]

The quarterly report shall be filed no later than twenty (20) days after the last day of the quarter covered by the report and the person submitting the report shall verify its accuracy under oath.  Such verification shall be in the following form:

 

VERIFICATION UNDER OATH

REGARDING ACCURACY OF SERVICE OBJECTIVES REPORT

 

                I ,____________________________, state and attest that the attached Service Objectives Report is filed on behalf of _____________________________________ (Name of Public Utility as certificated) as required by North Carolina Utilities Commission Rule R9-8; that I have reviewed said Report and, in the exercise of due diligence, have made reasonable inquiry into the accuracy of the information provided therein; and that, to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, all of the information contained therein is accurate and true, no material information or fact has been knowingly omitted or misstated therein, and all of the information contained in said Report has been prepared and presented in accordance with all applicable North Carolina General Statutes, Commission Rules, and Commission Orders.

 

¹ Companies are not required to report statistics for business customer groups that are not served by service or repair centers, but on an individual account basis.  In the first report under the new rule, the company should note what business customer groups are excluded.  If the company should thereafter change what business groups are excluded, it should notate the change on the first subsequent report.

 

 

__________________________________

Signature of Person Making Verification

 

__________________________________

                                Job Title

 

__________________________________

                                   Date

 

Subscribed and sworn before me this the ___________ day of _________________ , 20___.

 

__________________________________

                           Notary Public

 

My Commission Expires:  ____________

 

COMMISSION NOTE:  A website reporting section will be added by the Commission at a later date after the Parties have negotiated all of the specific details.

(e)  Data Retention.  Each local exchange company and CLP is required to retain complete records of the data collected and procedures used to calculate each service quality performance result for a minimum of one year from the date a report is filed with the Commission.   Within this one-year period, local exchange companies and CLPs will provide, upon reasonable request by the Public Staff or Commission, breakdowns by wire center of their monthly service quality results for Measures 9 -14.  If a company can show that it is unable to provide wire center level data, it may provide data at the most granular level possible, such as at the switch level.

(f)  Uniform Measurement Procedures.  Each company shall adhere to the following uniform measurement procedures when calculating its service objectives:

 

Answertimes - General Considerations

 

Companies are expected to engineer the switching and interoffice facilities they use to provide operator "O", directory assistance, business office services, and repair services to customers in order to minimize the possibility of lost, misdirected, or abandoned calls and to keep customer delays to a minimum, consistent with Commission requirements and industry standards.  All facilities, including network, ports, and trunks, used for provision of these services shall be engineered to provide a maximum blocking probability of one percent (1%) or less.  No call that has been directed to a live operator or service representative queue should be blocked from entering the queue or deflected (abandoned by company action without consent of the calling party) after it has entered a queue.

Callers to operator "O", directory assistance, business office, and repair service must be explicitly advised that they may press a "O" at any time during the call and have the call transferred to a live attendant if the respective menus exceed 45 seconds.  All menu options, including any sub-menus, must be used in the calculation of the 45 seconds.

Where an opt-out message is required, the option must be offered within the first 45 seconds of the initial menu. There is no requirement for offering the opt-out message when a menu, including sub-menus, is 45 seconds or less. Calls initially directed to a menu shall be transferred to a live attendant or a live attendant queue immediately if the customer presses a key to request the transfer or within 10 seconds if the customer fails to interact with the menu system following any prompt by pressing a key of a Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) telephone keypad or providing a voice response.

Any company that obtains its operator "O" service, directory assistance, business office service, or repair service from another source shall identify the company that actually provides the service in its monthly report.  The company that provides service to the customer is responsible for selecting a service provider that furnishes answertime service that satisfies Commission requirements.

Companies must ensure that the monthly service quality statistics they report to the Commission reflect the performance they provide to North Carolina customers.  Companies that submit performance results to the Commission reflecting regionwide or nationwide performance must be prepared to demonstrate to the Commission that the performance they provide to their North Carolina customers is equivalent to the performance they report on a regionwide or nationwide basis.

Companies without automatic answertime testing may evaluate their answertime performance by manually placing test calls as long as they place a sufficient number of calls at appropriate times to ensure that a statistically valid and representative sample is obtained each month.  These companies should notate on their reports that their answertimes are calculated through random sampling and should describe the methodology used, including the number of test calls completed per month and the times such calls were made.

 

Operator "O" Answertime (Measure 5):

 

Measured quantity:  (a) The percentage of operator "O" calls from North Carolina each month that reach a live operator within 10 seconds; or (b) the average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to operator "O" telephone numbers to be answered each month.

Measurement procedures:

(1)           For calls routed directly to live operators (no initial menu):  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the operator service positions and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.  Companies may utilize a recorded branding announcement, not over 10 seconds in length, after the call has reached the switch. The timing for a branded call will begin at the end of the recorded announcement and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu:  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live operator and continue until a live operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live operator:  The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission may be calculated as a % in x seconds or as an average speed of answer.

(a)  % in x seconds format:  Operator "O" answertime=

 

100 x Total Operator "O" calls with answertimes of 10.0 seconds or less

Total calls routed to live "O" operators

 

Companies shall exclude from the numerator and denominator of this calculation data for all calls in which the caller abandons the call within 10 seconds after it (1) arrives at the switch serving the operator service positions (for calls routed directly to a live operator) or (2) enters the queue leading to a live "O" operator (for calls initially routed to a menu).  The operator "O" answertime calculation shall reflect all other "O" calls that are routed to live operators, including calls abandoned after 10 seconds.

(b)  Average speed of answer format:  Operator "O" answertime =

 

Sum of queue holding times for all Operator "O" calls

Total Operator "O" calls

 

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall report either the percentage of Operator "O" calls from North Carolina answered within 10 seconds by a live "O" Operator or their Operator "O" average speed of answer using the appropriate formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent.

 

Directory Assistance (DA) Answertime (Measure 6):

 

Measured quantity:  (a) The percentage of calls from North Carolina to all publicly available local DA telephone numbers each month that access a live DA operator within 10 seconds; or (b) the average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available local DA telephone numbers to be answered each month.

Measurement procedures:

(1)           For calls routed directly to live DA operators (no initial menu):  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the DA operator positions and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.  Companies may utilize a recorded branding announcement, not over 10 seconds in length, after the call has reached the switch. The timing for a branded call will begin at the end of the recorded announcement and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu:  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live DA operator and continue until a live DA operator prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live DA operator:  The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission may be calculated as a % in x seconds or as an average speed of answer.

(a)  % in x seconds format:  DA answertime=

 

100 x Total number of DA calls with answertimes of 10.0 seconds or less

Total calls made to DA and routed to live operators

 

Companies shall exclude from the numerator and denominator of this calculation data for all calls in which the caller abandons the call within 10 seconds after it (1) arrives at the switch serving the live DA operator positions (for calls routed directly to a live DA operator) or (2) enters the queue leading to a live DA operator (for calls initially routed to a menu).  The DA answertime calculation shall reflect all other DA calls that are routed to live DA operators, including calls abandoned after 10 seconds.

(b)  Average speed of answer format:  DA answertime =

 

Sum of queue holding times for all DA calls

Total DA calls

 

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall report either the percentage of DA calls from North Carolina answered within 10 seconds by a live DA operator or their DA average speed of answer using the appropriate formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent.

 

Business Office Answertime (Measure 7):

 

Measured quantity:  The average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available company business office telephone numbers to be answered each month.

Measurement procedures:

(1)           For calls routed directly to live business office representatives (no initial menu):  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the business office representative positions and continue until a live business office representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and then routed to a live business office representative:  Answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live business office representative and continue until a live business office representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live business office representative:  The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission shall be calculated as follows:

 

Business office answertime =

 

Sum of queue holding times for all business office calls

Total business office calls

 

Live business office representatives are expected to be available to handle incoming calls from North Carolina for a minimum of nine hours per day Monday through Friday, excluding company holidays.

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall report their business office average speed of answer using the formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent.

 

Repair Service Answertime (Measure 8):

 

Measured quantity:  The average length of time it takes for calls from North Carolina to all publicly available company repair service telephone numbers to be answered each month.

Measurement procedures:

(1)           For calls routed directly to live repair service representatives (no initial menu):  Each answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call arrives at the switch serving the repair service representative positions and continue until a live repair service representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(2)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and then routed to a live repair service representative:  Answertime measurement shall begin at the instant the call enters the queue leading to a live repair service representative and continue until a live repair service representative prepared to offer immediate assistance answers the call.  The answertime for the call is the interval between these two time measurements.

(3)           For calls initially routed to an automated menu and handled without the intervention of a live repair service representative:  The answertime for these calls should be counted as one second.

The monthly performance figure reported to the Commission shall be calculated as follows:

 

Repair service answertime =

 

Sum of queue holding times for all repair service calls

Total repair service calls

 

For carriers with 10,000 access lines or more, live repair service representatives are expected to be available to handle incoming calls from North Carolina customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall report their repair service average speed of answer using the formula set forth above to the nearest tenth of a percent.

 

Trouble Reports, Service Orders, and Customer

Appointments – General Considerations

 

A trouble report is defined as "any report from a subscriber or end user of telephone service to the telephone company indicating improper functioning or defective conditions with respect to the operation of telephone facilities over which the telephone company has control."  Such reports shall be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and date and time stamped again immediately after the troubles have been cleared by company personnel.  Note:  Whenever Rule R9-8 requires a date and/or time stamp, the date and/or time stamp may be recorded electronically or otherwise so long as the date and/or time is saved for future reference.

Service orders and new service installation appointment requests shall also be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and again after the service order has been completed or the new service installation appointment has been met.

Reported troubles that involve different access lines shall be regarded as separate troubles, even if the access lines terminate at the same premises, and/or the troubles result from a common cause, such as damaged cable or defective common equipment at a central office.

Each company shall file with its initial quarterly report a detailed list of the specific categories of troubles, service orders, and appointments it considers excludable for purposes of reporting trouble reports, service ordering, or appointment statistics.  This list should reflect exclusion of such categories as inside wiring, terminal equipment, voice mail, and long distance services.  Each company shall notify the Commission promptly in writing of any changes to this list.

Subsequent reports and duplicate reports of previously reported troubles that have not been cleared by the company shall not be included in either initial or repeat trouble report totals.

 

Initial Customer Trouble Reports (Measure 9):

 

Measured quantity:  The number of initial troubles reported by telephone company subscribers in proportion to the number of total company access lines.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies should continuously track the initial trouble reports that are received by their trouble reporting center(s).  The statistic reported to the Commission shall be computed by taking the count of initial troubles reported in a given area between 12:00 midnight at the beginning of the first day of the calendar month and 12:00 midnight at the end of the last day of the same month, dividing this figure by the total access lines in service in that same area at the end of the last day of the month, and multiplying the quotient by 100.

 

Initial customer trouble reports =

 

100 x initial trouble reports received during month

Total access lines in service at the end of month

 

Troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services, and subsequent reports of the same trouble that are made after the initial report has been received but before the company has cleared the trouble condition should be excluded from the numerator of this formula.  Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for initial trouble reporting purposes.  Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown.

In the event a company systematically excludes the initial troubles reported by a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the troubles counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator.  The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of initial troubles per 100 access lines and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report.

Reporting requirement:  All companies shall file statistics on initial customer trouble reports per 100 total access lines. Figures shall be reported to the nearest hundredth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 7.125 per 100 access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

 

Repeat Reports (Measure 10):

 

Measured quantity:  The number of repeat troubles reported by telephone company subscribers in proportion to the number of company access lines.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies should continuously track the repeat trouble reports that are reported to their trouble reporting center(s).  A repeat trouble is a trouble reported on an access line for which another trouble or troubles has been reported within the preceding 30 days and subsequently cleared.  The statistic reported to the Commission shall be computed by taking the count of repeat troubles reported in a given area between 12:00 midnight at the beginning of the first day of the calendar month and 12:00 midnight at the end of the last day of the same month, dividing this figure by the total access lines in service in that same area at the end of the last day of the month, and multiplying the quotient by 100.

 

Repeat customer trouble reports =

 

100 x repeat trouble reports received during month

Total access lines in service at end of month

 

Repeat troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the count appearing in the numerator of this formula.  Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for repeat trouble reporting purposes.  Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown.

In the event that a company systematically excludes the repeat troubles reported by a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the troubles counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator.  The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of repeat troubles per 100 access lines and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report.

Monthly reporting requirement: All companies shall file statistics on repeat customer trouble reports per 100 access lines.  Figures shall be reported to the nearest hundredth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 1.5 per 100 access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

 

Out-of-Service Troubles Cleared Within 24 Hours (Measure 11):

 

Measured quantity:  The percentage of total out-of-service troubles that are cleared within 24 hours during the reporting month.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies should continuously track the out-of-service troubles (troubles involving inability to make outgoing calls or receive incoming calls, or line impairments so severe that they render voice communication impossible) that are reported by company subscribers and end users.  Each out-of-service trouble report should be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt and date and time stamped immediately after the trouble condition is cleared.  The time taken to clear the trouble is the difference between these two times.  To obtain the reported statistic, the company shall count the number of out-of-service troubles that was cleared during the calendar month and within 24 hours of their receipt, divide this figure by the total number of out-of-service trouble reports cleared during the calendar month, and then multiply by 100 to obtain the percentage cleared within 24 hours:

 

Out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours =

 

100 x total out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours during month

Total out-of-service troubles cleared during month

 

Troubles associated with nonregulated equipment, products, or services and troubles that do not involve out-of-service conditions shall be excluded from the troubles counted in the numerator and denominator of this formula. Companies shall identify in their monthly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for out-of-service trouble reporting purposes. Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown. Troubles in which the customer specifically requested an appointment beyond 24 hours shall be excluded from the troubles counted in the numerator and denominator of this formula.

Monthly reporting requirement:  All companies shall file statistics on out-of-service troubles cleared within 24 hours of receipt, reported to the nearest tenth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange is below 80%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

 

Regular Service Orders Completed Within 5 Working Days (Measure 12):

 

Measured quantity:  The percentage of regular service orders that are completed during any calendar month within five working days of receipt by the company.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies should continuously track the receipt and completion dates and times of all regular service orders (service orders placed by residential customers and by business customers with five or fewer access lines).  Each regular service order should be date and time stamped immediately upon receipt by the company and date and time stamped immediately after the order has been completed.  The reported statistic shall be calculated as follows:

 

Regular service orders completed within 5 working days =

 

100 x regular service orders completed during month within 5 working days of receipt

Total regular service orders completed during month

 

For purposes of this calculation, "working days" shall be considered to be all days except Saturdays, Sundays, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day, provided these are observed as paid company holidays.

Orders for nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from both the numerator and denominator of this formula.  Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for regular service order reporting purposes.  Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown.  Orders wherein a customer specifically requests an appointment beyond 5 days and/or the delay was specifically and solely caused by the customer should be excluded from both the numerator and denominator of this formula.

Monthly reporting requirement:  All companies shall report the percentage of regular service orders completed during the calendar month within five working days of receipt by the company.  Figures shall be reported to the nearest tenth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange is below 80%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

 

New Service Installation Appointments Not Met for Company Reasons (Measure 13):

 

Measured quantity:  The percentage of new service installation appointments that are scheduled to be completed during the calendar month but are missed due to company reasons.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies shall maintain a record of the new service installation appointments that are scheduled to be completed during each calendar month.  The company shall track the scheduled dates and times for these appointments and the actual completion dates and times and, for those appointments that are not kept, shall maintain a detailed record of the reason(s) for failure to keep them.  The percentage of new service installation appointments missed during the calendar month due to company reasons shall be calculated as follows:

 

New service installation appointments not met for company reasons =

 

100 x new service installation appointments not met because of company reasons

New service installation appointments scheduled to be met

 

Any new service installation appointment missed due to customer actions shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula.

Appointments associated with installation or moving of, or changes or repairs to, nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the numerator and denominator of this formula.  Companies shall identify in their quarterly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for customer appointments reporting purposes.  Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown.

Companies, at a minimum, shall offer customers scheduling premises appointments the opportunity to select from a set of two or more four-hour appointment "windows" that will be made available for each day that appointments are being scheduled.  An appointment will be considered "missed" if the company representative responsible for performing the premises work fails to arrive at the premises and begin work within the appointment window, or if the representative fails to complete the requested work by 12:00 midnight at the end of the appointment date.

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall file the percentage of total new service installation appointments not met during the month for company reasons to the nearest tenth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange exceeds 7.5%, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

 

New Service Held Orders Not Completed Within 30 Days (Measure 14):

 

Measured quantity:  The number of new access line orders that, at any time during the calendar month, have been held for over 30 calendar days following receipt, in proportion to the total company access lines in service.

Company measurement procedures:  Companies shall date and time stamp each new service order immediately upon receipt and shall identify and count all orders during the calendar month that have not been completed within 30 days from the date and time they were received.  Each such order shall be counted as a new service held order not completed within 30 days.  The total number of new service held orders not completed within 30 days shall be reported to the Commission as a percentage of total company access lines as of midnight at the end of the last day of the month:

 

New service held orders not completed within 30 days =

 

100 x new service orders not completed within 30 days at any time during month

Total access lines in service at the end of month

 

Delays caused by the customer that prevent the company from completing an order within 30 days of receipt shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula.  Further, orders with customer-requested appointments beyond 30 days shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula.

New service orders for nonregulated equipment, products, or services shall be excluded from the numerator of this formula.  Companies shall identify in their monthly reports the specific categories of equipment, products, or services that they consider nonregulated and exempt from Commission jurisdiction for new service held order reporting purposes.  Carriers may request a waiver of this requirement, and the Commission may grant such a waiver for good cause shown.

In the event a company systematically excludes the new service held orders for a class or classes of customers (for example, large business customers) from the held orders counted in the numerator of this calculation, the company shall also exclude the access lines for the same class(es) of customers from the total access lines figure appearing in the denominator.  The company shall explain in its quarterly service quality report any deviation between the access line count used for monthly reporting of held orders and the total access line count which it furnishes each month in its access line report.

Monthly reporting requirement:  Companies shall report the percentage of new service held orders not completed within 30 days, to the nearest hundredth of a percent.  Each company shall report a separate figure for its entire North Carolina service area and for each exchange.  If the monthly figure for any exchange is above 0.15% of total access lines, a brief explanation should be provided for the failure to meet this objective.

(g)  Directory Assistance Listing Updates.  Carriers must update their DA customer listings in any directory database the company maintains and/or controls within 48 hours of a service order resulting in a new or changed listing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays or within 48 hours excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays of either notification of such a new or changed listing or receipt of a completed service order from another carrier or DA provider.  Carriers that provide DA to their customers from a third party should select a provider that updates new or changed listings within 48 hours of notification; these carriers must provide updated information to the third party provider within 24 hours of receipt.

(h)  Directory Assistance Refunds.  Carriers are required to provide DA refunds, upon request, for an incorrect listing provided to a DA customer.  Carriers are further required to provide annual notification to customers either by bill message, direct mail, or email (when email is affirmatively selected by the customer) informing them of the uniform DA refund policy and to publish the uniform DA policy permanently in the directory assistance section of the local telephone directory.

 

(NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 12/20/88; 09/20/00; 11/29/00; 03/22/01; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 128, 11/30/01; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 09/11/02; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99 and P-100, Sub 99a, 06/04/04; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99 and P-100, Sub 99a, 06/11/04; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 09/13/05; NCUC Docket No. P-100, Sub 99, 07/06/09; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 139 & P-100, Sub 99, 05/13/14.)