A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the CRTC will be launching a proceeding to consider types of exclusions for failure to meet Quality of Service standards.
Public Notice 2007-9 was released last week to look at the appropriateness of a force majeure type of escape clause for carriers in their retail and wholesale rebate plans.
The CRTC has proposed language like:
No penalty shall apply in a month where failure to meet the retail or competitor Q of S standard is caused, in that month, by fire, acts of God, labour difficulties (such as work stoppages, strikes, lock-outs, slow-downs and similar labour disrupting events), default or failure of other carrier, epidemics, war, civil commotions including acts of terrorism, acts of public authorities or other events beyond the reasonable control of the Company.
Should labour difficulties be included? The phone companies will argue that they shouldn’t be accountable for failure to meet their service level commitments during a labour dispute.
Who then should be called to account?
Should customers (retail or wholesale) pay full freight if quality is substandard? If you purchase a product and it is defective, would you allow the manufacturer to escape with an excuse like “sorry, it was raining that day” or “the electricians were on strike”? If your lawn care company provides less than committed service levels, what excuses would you accept and still pay full price?
Should phone service be any different?