Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Operator Offices
1) Operator offices shall be staffed so that the
average answer time, calculated on a monthly basis, shall not exceed 10 seconds for
the following types of calls:
A) toll and
assistance; and
B)
information.
2) Whenever the
average answer time for either toll and assistance calls and/or information calls,
calculated on a monthly basis, exceeds 10 seconds, the local exchange carrier shall
take corrective action and report the action to the Commission within 15 business
days after the end of the month in which the violation occurred.
b) Business and Repair Offices
1) Business offices (during normal business hours)
and repair offices shall be staffed so that the average answer time, calculated on a
monthly basis, shall not exceed 60 seconds. When a menu driven, automated, or
interactive system is utilized to answer any such call, the system shall provide,
either through voice option or within the first menu of options, the option of
transferring to a live attendant. This requirement shall apply separately to
business offices and repair offices, if they are maintained separately.
2) Whenever the average answer time for either
business offices or repair offices (if maintained separately), calculated on a
monthly basis, exceeds 60 seconds, the local exchange carrier shall take corrective
action and report the action to the Commission within 15 business days after the end
of the month in which the violation occurred.
3) Local exchange carriers shall maintain records
of answer time performance at their business offices and repair offices. At a
minimum, these records shall contain the following information collected on a
monthly basis:
A) Total number of calls
received;
B) Total number of calls
answered; and
C) Average answer
time.
c) On or
before March 1 of each year, each local exchange carrier shall file, with the Chief
Clerk of the Commission, an annual report containing the information required by
subsection (b) for its business and repair offices (separately when it maintains
separate business and repair offices) for each month of the preceding calendar year.
This information shall also be made available to the Commission when
requested.
d) For purposes of this
Section, average answer time shall be calculated by dividing the total number of
call waiting seconds by the total number of reported monthly calls
answered.
