Comcast outage affects local, national businesses

Elizabeth Moore has businesses to run, but has not been able to make or receive calls for over 24 hours due to a major Comcast landline outage.

This phone outage is affecting businesses across the nation and throughout Franklin County.

Outages are concentrated throughout the Northeast as well as California, Florida and the Pacific Northwest according to DownDetector.com.

Moore co-owns local furniture and household stores Homespun by Andy’s, Andy’s and The Oak Shoppe.

“Why do we have to use our cell phones (for work) when we have to pay an exorbitant amount of money for Comcast?” she said.

A truck driver tried calling Moore Wednesday multiple times to make a delivery but couldn’t get through; he received a busy signal each time. Moore is unable to process credit cards or send and receive faxes — meaning she can’t place orders for customers. Also, the businesses deal largely with Amish manufacturers who rely on landlines to communicate.

“I’m not able to call customers to let them know their items are here,” Moore said. “I’m not able to receive calls from manufacturers with questions.”

Moore was on hold with Comcast’s customer service for over half an hour Thursday before she hung up. Wednesday she was on hold for over 20 minutes before reaching a representative who said Moore would receive text updates about the outage. She never did.

Comcast’s “Service Status Map” shows 6,648 subscribers affected in Greenfield, 1,226 in Shelburne Falls, 478 in Deerfield, 274 in Millers Falls and 630 in Gill. Around noon on Thursday, Comcast estimated that the services would be restored around 4 p.m. Thursday, but as of around 5:30 p.m. the map showed that each town still had the same amount of outages and the restoration estimate was no longer available. 

“I can’t run a business like this,” Moore said.