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A group of seniors were left wondering what happened to their landline service in Kitchener for days.
Marcia Smellie is one of the residents at the Trio on Belmont, an apartment building complex on Belmont Avenue.
She became a sort of 'spokesperson' for her neighbours after service was out for Rogers customers as long as four days.
"This is ridiculous for them not -- in maybe four days now -- not to communicate with us in any way, shape, or form," said Smellie. "We've got some people in here who use walkers, who have various physical complaints, and their phone is their lifeline."
Smellie says a landline phone is a lifeline for seniors not only in an emergency, but also a lifeline in keeping in touch with family. She has a cellphone, unlike many seniors who may opt to not own one due to cost or difficulty of use.
"If something happens to them, they're going to pick up that phone, and it's not going to be working."
A technician (who Smellie described as a very nice young man) attended the building to try to fix the issue, but was unable to.
"I noticed when he left me, he went downstairs and he contacted one of his colleagues, one of his colleagues came to the building, and the two of them were here for some time trying to resolve things, and they still for whatever reason could not resolve it. Maybe the level of technology, I don't know."
Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo heard that Personal Support Worker visits were impacted, and medication deliveries were not getting to residents.
Rogers told Lindo that it was a faulty transmitter to blame.
They tell 570 News service was restored in the 1 o'clock hour Thursday. Smellie confirmed service was restored around 1:45 p.m., but they're still upset that they heard nothing from the company for days. She said she felt as though the company would not have responded if they hadn't spoken up.
"This kind of stuff, we really have to do more as a society to assist seniors. These huge corporations, it seems, they're really only interested in receiving their money, and not really concerned about taking care of people like my neighbour."
Rogers did not offer a comment on the situation, other than to tell 570 News when the situation was resolved.
Rogers is the parent company of 570 News.
My team has spoken to Rogers and have some updates:
— Laura Mae Lindo (@LauraMaeLindo) July 29, 2021
Rogers confirmed that there is a faulty transmitter that is being repaired remotely. Rogers coult not provide a definitive timeline for completion. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/hir7fKVyOB
