City Council Minutes 1993 09 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Davidson called on Mr. Griffin. Griffin answered some of the concerns: RATES - The Federal government had addressed cable rates in the Cable Act of 1992. He stated that he would provide Council with the before and after of Scripps Howard's rates, as they compared to the neighboring cable systems here. He felt that they would find Scripps Howard's rates to be lower or consistent with rates in the entire metro area. He explained that the bills are to be itemized as part of the new legislation, which will begin in October. CUSTOMER SERVICE - They are striving to improve on their customer service. They service 54 channels, 24 hours/day, 7 day/week to 31,000 people, with over 1,000 miles of cable, of which 50 miles is the new fiber optic cable. They have removed scrambling from the limited basic cable. He stated that the new legislation is almost forcing cable operators to re- scramble~ their signals, because of the mandatory buy-through provision of the legislation. STUDIO - At the last public hearing Griffin went on record making a commitment to purchase almost $30,000 of equipment for the local group and 75% of that has been received. They didn't want to put it in until they have all of it, the training, and certification of the people. BILLING - Griffin stated that they have a very liberal credit policy on their bill. If people do not have service, their technicians and customer service representatives are empowered to make instant credit decisions. FACILITY - They are concerned about the facility and know it has deteriorated. They are embarrassed by it and hope to take care of it immediately. He stated that it is no indication of Scripps Howard and its commitment to quality service. The building once served as a local office