Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Wha Ti (July 30/01) - NorthwesTel has bad phone manners, according to some Wha Ti residents.

Dan Moore, manager of Wha Ti Community Store, said customer service reps at NorthwesTel were downright rude when he called to complain about ongoing service problems.

"Basically, they told me they were tired of Wha Ti residents whining," he said. "They told me they would get to it when they get to it."

Anne Grainger, NorthweTel's public affairs director, said the company started testing Wha Ti's lines immediately after receiving complaints. She said more tests will be conducted this week and the problem should be fixed soon.

As for complaints of poor customer service, she said, "If that's the impression they got, I'll take it up with the manager of the repair centre."

For almost a month, Wha Ti residents have been unable to fax long-distance or connect to the Internet without being bounced off after several minutes.

Moore said customers have been unable to use debit cards in the store for weeks, his faxes are garbled and he can't even stay online long enough to check e-mail.

"Up until last week, I could call the repair centre and give them my number and they would tell me they had no record of my complaint."