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The outage created chaos for many Stampede vendors and customers
Article author:
Josh Aldrich
Tara Deschamps
It’s a busy day at Stampede Park on the first day of the Calgary Stampede on Friday, July 8, 2022. Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia
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The nationwide network outage by Rogers Communications Inc. couldn’t come at a worse time for business in Calgary.
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Friday is the first official day of the Calgary Stampede, a time when local restaurants and businesses should take a much-needed injection of customers without being thwarted by a massive telecommunications outage.
“It’s a nightmare,” said Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about what and how you can pay for things you need to consume. And from a Stampede perspective, this is the worst time imaginable.
She was aware of the outage before she went to the Stampede today and stopped at a bank machine for the first time in six months.
She said many others were not so lucky and were left unable to park or even pay tickets by using credit and debit cards, a method relied on during the pandemic.
An announcement on the Toronto-based telecommunications company’s website Friday afternoon said the outage affects both wireless and home service customers and also affects phone and chat support.
The company said it was “making progress” in restoring service, but did not provide an explanation for the outage, its expected duration or how many customers were affected.
“We know how much you rely on our networks. We disappointed you today. We are working to fix this as quickly as possible,” Rogers posted around 2 p.m
Many vendors at the Stampede rely on the ability to wirelessly connect to the Rogers network to process payments, and it took me a while to figure out exactly what was going on.
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Due to the Rogers network outage in Canada, some payment methods may be affected.
For the best Stampede experience, please come prepared with cash or credit.
— Calgary Stampede (@calgarystampede) July 8, 2022
Rachel Austin, who co-owns Barbecue Steak on a Bun with her husband, said everything was taken down when they arrived in the morning. At one point they switched to cash only, but then discovered their debit service wasn’t working. However, customers took it in stride.
“If they didn’t hear it from us, they probably heard it from other vendors or from the news.” So they’ve been pretty good,” she said.
The challenges spilled beyond the Stampede grounds.
Ernie Tsu, president of the Alberta Hospitality Association and co-owner of the Trolley 5 restaurant, said they were full of customers and struggling to move people through the checkout process and set it back about 25 years.
“We take manual credit card slips,” he said. “We have an emergency kit, not sure if other restaurants do.”
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Patty Nowlin, co-owner of Sunnyside Market in Kensington, said they had been managing the chaos all day.
Although they have been able to process credit card charges, many of their customers are debit only. The problem is exacerbated when some of the local ATMs are down as they cannot connect to the network. They finally found one nearby that worked, but it still caused problems as customers filled their cold storage as they ran to the machine.
She said it also provided moments of encouragement as some customers who had cash paid for those who had been caught off guard by the cash register issue.
“People were really panicked because few people carry cash now,” she said.
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This further affected Sunnyside Market as they had to run to the bank to top up their cash to be able to make change due to the hoarding of cash.
Nowlin said many clients commented that this should give regulators pause about the Rogers and Shaw merger, noting the importance of competition in the marketplace.
Yedlin wouldn’t go that far, but said it underscored the need for “reliability in our networks.”
The Calgary Police Service, Alberta RCMP and Alberta Health Services said Rogers’ customers were able to access 911 for emergency services even though the network was down. In a statement, AHS said it has instructed staff to use alternative methods of contacting staff and physicians if affected by the outage, including landlines, email, alternate phone numbers and paging.
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Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a statement that the government was closely monitoring the situation and was in contact with Rogers.
“We have expressed the importance that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and that the company provide prompt and clear communication directly to those affected.”
He said the government will use all the tools at its disposal to ensure Canadians stay connected and the company meets the high standards Canadians deserve, but did not specify what those tools might be.
Calgary MP Michelle Remple Garner called on the federal government for a stronger response because telecommunications is heavily regulated by the federal government through the CRTC.
“Today’s outage highlights the potential additional risks of Canada’s current approach to regulations,” she said in an emailed statement.
— With files from Brodie Thomas of Postmedia and The Canadian Press.
jaldrich@postmedia.com
Jaldrich@postmedia.com
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