The Friday morning hustle and bustle in Uptown Saint John was interrupted by widespread technical issues, leaving some without internet and most without the ability to afford much-needed morning coffee.
At Catapult Coffee & Studio on Princess Street, manager Micah Hiltz says about a third of his customer base typically pays by debit, with Friday mornings being one of his busiest times.
Interac services were implicated in a nationwide Rogers outage, meaning the popular payment option was not possible, not only at Catapult but at parking meters, garages and tills everywhere.
Read more:
Rogers Users Report Massive Blackout Affecting Phones, Internet and Interac
“We’ve had a few, they’ll look for cash or put it on a credit card,” says Hiltz.
“You need coffee to get through a day like this.”
Hiltz says staff alerted him to the outage as soon as he arrived at the cafeteria for the day, and a customer tipped them off to the broader problem at play.
He says they still wouldn’t let a customer go without their caffeine fix.
“We say, ‘Well, you can get us next time you’re inside.’ We’re pretty relaxed like this,” says Hiltz.
Regular customers passing through the Catapult did not have to be without WiFi, as the Internet in the store was not a Rogers connection.
The cafe’s manager, Micah Hiltz, says a third of the store’s customers typically pay by debit.
Travis Fortnum / Global News
Hiltz says that’s good news for people working remotely from one of his tables, and perhaps even a draw for customers at other stores where Rogers WiFi is relied on.
Disruption is a big disruption in the age of remote work.
A few blocks from the Catapult, Saint John resident Katelin Dean spent Friday morning struggling to log into her office, with no option to physically register.
“I tested positive for COVID Tuesday morning,” she says.
“I tried to work from home for a couple of days, but I was pretty sick. Today was going to be my make-up day.”
With Rogers’ internet at home, Dean says he did what he could by relying entirely on his mobile data.
Many with a Rogers cell plan were left without that option.
Dean says he appreciates having an understanding employer and low stakes around his project deadlines.
The New Brunswick Emergency Management Organization says 911 services across the province have not been affected by the outage.
However, individual police stations have shared that their receiving lines are down.
In a social media post, Bathurst Police said residents in need of urgent help should dial 911, even if they have a Rogers phone.
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