By: Korie Marshall
The Village of Valemount has lodged a complaint with the company handling emergency after-hours calls for Public Works issues.
When Valemount resident Donna Duerkson called the emergency number for Public Works after she found sewage in her basement on Aug. 29th, the person who answered the phone said her company didn’t handle Valemount.
When someone calls the after-hours number, which is given on the Village’s recorded phone message, it should go through to a line that is specific to Valemount, says Anne Yanciw, Chief Administrative Officer. The company should respond with a greeting specific to Valemount, and based on the nature of the emergency, place a call to the appropriate emergency response number from a list provided to the company by the Village.
Yanciw says Duerkson’s call that Friday evening was incorrectly routed through to the company’s main line, and the person who answered the call incorrectly told her they do not have a contract with Valemount. Yanciw says that person realized the error and did place the emergency after-hours call, as they were supposed to, and even tried to call Duerkson back, but Duerkson was away from her phone at that time.
Yanciw says that is the only complaint the Village knows of with the service, but as a client of the company, the Village has lodged a complaint with them. She says they are conducting a formal investigation including a review of the calls, the process and the system.
