Two families from Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, who have been without internet, telephone and television since the December 23 storm 12 days ago, are denouncing the Bell service which has twice let them down, moving them from one employee to another have worn, they complain.
• Also read: Last Hydro customer to finally lose power again, 13 days after the storm
The homes on Redmond Road are isolated from the rest of the world due to works by Hydro-Québec that damaged masts on the Bell network on December 28.
Owners Marie-Christine Jobin and her neighbor Mario Tremblay have made multiple attempts to make inquiries to the telecom company, but to no avail.
“Our calls are in vain […] Every time we call them, it’s like they’re hearing our story for the first time. I don’t understand their approach,” explains Mr Tremblay.
But on December 31, the citizens, who were also suffering from the consequences of the ongoing power blackout, believed that their ordeal was over.
A Bell technician who had taken the trouble to record all the information about the service outage had to be on site with a team to do the main work. The staffer also asked families to stay home to make them feel welcome.
missed appointments
After all, no Bell team showed up on New Year’s Eve, support the families interviewed by Le Journal.
A circumstance that caused consternation in Marie-Christine Jobin, who saw her stay in the metropolis broken off because of a missed appointment.
“We had a family dinner in Montreal on December 30th and then came back at 2am to be at the gathering. [de Bell]. We could have stayed with the children and grandchildren for a few more days, but no, we had to come back for nothing,” the grandmother said indignantly.
According to Ms. Jobin, however, a similar situation happened again on January 4. Bell employees lined up the two families and they waited all day.
“I canceled a doctor’s appointment to wait for her. There was no one there and at 4pm we called back and they said yes the technician is out for 6pm but we never saw him,” she says.
Finally, on Saturday, January 7th, a technician showed up, but with no indication of the work to be done. He could only see the damage as he didn’t have the equipment to carry out the work, revealing the Tremblay and Jobin clans.
impact and losses
The two affected families recognize that damage can occur, but denounce the management of the crisis.
A management that has had an impact on her personal and professional life.
“All of our public holidays have been cancelled. All of the time we saved to start our business is put off,” says Ms. Jobin.
His neighbor, who is an engineer, has also seen his activities suspended or even suspended. “I was supposed to be working from home last Thursday. Financial losses are certain,” affirms Mario Tremblay.
He wants Bell to realize his mistakes and reimburse his two customers for the days without service.
Le Journal tried to reach the Bell team yesterday but received no reply.
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