Re Whitehorse businesses with power outage:
I have observed the complaints of Whitehorse businesses for 10 years. “Oh, the power is out à we’re losing money and business is down.”
Hello, did they never fill out an MC or Visa slip by hand and use an imprinter? It worked for me 15 years ago at Banff National Park, or anywhere else.
People come to my lodge, stressed out, and say, “Sorry, but we don’t have any cash à just our credit cards à can we please get something to eat?”
My reply is, “Don’t worry, you won’t go away hungry.” We’re 380 kilometres from Whitehorse.
“How can you do that?” they ask. And I tell them.
“I’m old fashioned,” I say. “This happened last summer when the phones weren’t working. I phoned in my MC/Visa card info by radio phone, and the money was in my bank account the next day!”
Thanks to Yukon Energy Corp., I’m now on the grid. No more noisy generator or nuisance filter changes.
I made sure I had some fuel, and know I don’t pollute the atmosphere.
Have Whitehorse businesses forgotten Dawson City was on a diesel generator until 2004, when the Mayo-Dawson line was built?
I’m very satisfied with the services of Northwestel.
My alternate radio phone uses a wireless connection, and is not a regular telephone, but works like one to an antenna, to a tower, to a station and then on to whatever line is available. It’s not a satellite system.
It’s a very good thing Northwestel didn’t shut down the radio phone connections they have. It is often the only way I can reach some of my friends, and it still works in emergencies.
What will Whitehorse businesses do when there is a bad ice storm, like there was in Nova Scotia 12 years ago, when power and phone lines were all down?
There wouldn’t be any secure system for the electronic devices they have now. Perhaps, if such an event occurred, people would realize what they had, and would start using some common sense again.
I don’t really expect it, but we in the outposts live in eternal hope.
Maja Nafzger
Moose Creek Lodge