New York City Proposes Right to Reach a Real Person for Customer Service

New York City wants to make it easier to reach a real person when a company's automated phone or chat system leaves you stuck. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection proposed new rules on Wednesday. They would require businesses to say when you are dealing with an automated system and to offer a way to reach a human. The rules are not final.

What the rules would require

The proposal targets customer service systems that repeatedly send people through irrelevant menus or fail to adequately address a problem. If a business uses automated service without offering a way to reach a human representative, the city would presume it is engaging in a deceptive practice.

• A business could comply with a clearly identified, single-step option, such as pressing zero or saying "agent."
• If you enter a waiting queue, the business must give an estimated wait time.
• If no one is available or the wait is unreasonably long, the business must offer another way to get human help.
• Other ways could include a phone number, live chat, email address or contact form.

A business could also offer a callback or a written response, as long as it explains when you can expect a reply.

Fines and record keeping

Fines would be $525 for a first violation, $1,050 for a second and $3,500 for a third or later one. The department said its enforcement authority could also let it seek restitution, meaning money back, for customers who were harmed.

Businesses would also have to keep records for at least three years. Those would include logs of customer interactions, details on transfers to human representatives, the disclosures given to customers, and data on how often automated systems resolve questions without a person. Records would need to be in a machine-readable format and handed to the department on request.

Why it matters

For customers, the aim is faster help from a person. Commissioner Sam Levine said bad service is sometimes merely exasperating, but other times it decides whether someone can refill a critical prescription, rehabilitate a student loan or recover a large refund. For business owners, the rules would mean building a human option into automated systems and keeping three years of records.

What happens next

The department will hold a public hearing at 11 a.m. on Nov. 19, by phone and video conference. Speakers get up to three minutes. Written comments can be sent through the New York City rules website or to Rulecomments@dcwp.nyc.gov. The comment deadline is also Nov. 19.

People who need a disability accommodation or a sign language interpreter should email the department by Nov. 12. The department will consider the comments before deciding whether to finalize and adopt the rules.