How one Saskatchewan company survived the effects of the Rogers outage

Key Takeaways:

• Following a Friday outage at Rogers Communications that affected the Interac payment network, internet, and cellphone service.
• The Brewed Awakening staff was put through challenging situations and learned important lessons.

After Rogers Communications experienced an outage that disrupted the wireless service, internet, and the Interac payment network on Friday, one could say that business operations in Saskatchewan and across Canada were a little bit of a grind.

Customers trying to pay for products and services on Friday were informed that the outage prevented them from tapping or swiping their debit cards to make purchases.

Many businesses were forced to scramble to devise alternative payment methods after being urged to go cashless during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some businesses had to make the tough choice to close up shop until debit was available, others continued to accept cash or credit.

Also read: After a “unacceptable” outage, Canada’s industry minister will meet with Rogers’ CEO

Brewed Awakening, a local coffee shop with four locations in Regina, felt the effects that day.

Isla Grier, a staff member at Brewed Awakening who was there when Interac stopped working, remarked that “generally speaking, it had a significant impact.”

It wasn’t simple, it wasn’t ideal, and quite tricky, but our management and staff were very understanding, flexible, and supportive of us throughout.

Grier described how they learned about the network outage’s possible effects before opening their doors at 7 a.m. on Friday.

Their initial debit purchase did not completed at 7:30 in the morning.

Grier said, “I was going to the line of folks out the door all day to let them know we are only accepting cash and card today.”

Not everyone had the choice to pay with cash, bills, or a credit card on that particular day. Owners Lisa and Ken MacMurchy went above and beyond to serve their clients best.

“Our two owners are a local family, as well as because they have been a name in Regina for over ten years and are well-known, such clients who didn’t have a credit card or cash were able to insert their order, we held their tab, and they were able to come and pay for it the next day or on Monday,” she said.

“It was incredibly wonderful and demonstrated the advantages of doing business locally. It brightened many people’s days.

She said that when people choose to use the tab option provided to them, staff members record their contact information.

The vast majority of those clients have subsequently returned and have already made their debts, which made the staff members glad to see.

The employees at Brewed Awakening were put through trying circumstances, but they also learned some valuable lessons.

Grier claimed that the previous two years had prepared them to become adaptable and face unforeseen circumstances with composure. According to Grier, neither of their locations experienced a decline in business, notably the one in the city center.

She continued, however, that despite the outage, they were astonished by the sense of camaraderie they saw among the consumers.

Grier remarked that “people were even volunteering to pay for other people’s goods, which was lovely.”

“It took what would have been a bad situation—losing business or having to close—and made it good.”

Source: Global News