BUSINESS OPERATIONS in The City were interrupted on two occasions today due to power failures.
Just after 8 a.m. when some people were still making their way into Bridgetown, the electricity went out for slightly over an hour. It went off again soon after.
Cashier Shakera Hackett told NATIONNEWS.COM they had to improvise to serve customers.
“It was very horrible for our customers because inside was very dark. We had to meet them at the door and ask them if they wanted help. We had to use searchlights looking for what they wanted,” she said.
The cash registers did not work and Hackett said she had to write each transaction. To try to make the process smoother, they asked customers if they had correct change, but it was still an inconvenience.
Dionne Foster, who works at another City store, said security was a concern so customers couldn’t come into the story. She said the shutters don’t work without electricity unless they put them down manually and the cash registers were also offline.
Store manager Kanisha Scott (left) said it was a dual problem trying to reassure both customers and staff.
“There was no prior notification to businesses so that we could have prepared for it. There was a lot of scurrying trying to find out. There was no information as to when we would have the power restored. That was a big issue becaue we were up in the air.
“Customers were waiting outside because we had no information to tell them as to when we would be able to open and help them.
“Of course you are looking at loss of revenue during that time because we weren’t able to service customers in the dark,” she added.
The Barbados Light and Power said there was a fault on an overhead transmission line in The City and a second underground line was also not working.
After power was restored the first time, it had to be interrupted to maintain stability in the system. Full power was restored to all customers by 11 a.m. (SAT)
