AMHERST, N.Y. — Over the last four months, there’s been an understanding among business owners in Amherst.
“You don't make a lot of phone calls on Transit [Road],” said Bruce Wisbaum with BMW Management.
That’s because since August, a stretch on Transit Road has been the site of spotty coverage for Verizon customers.
Wisbaum and Ken Ulrich with Progressive Planning Services are two business owners that have been victims of these problems.
They said, as of late, their work day has turned into a constant battle over phone service.
“It’s frustrating to me, it’s very frustrating to our staff, and it’s frustrating to the people we’re talking to,” Wisbaum said.
Both business owners said they struggle making and receiving calls. The area has had poor cell service for a while but it has gotten progressively worse since August.
Ulrich, who rush a financial planning company, says it’s especially difficult for his clients when they need to use their phones to verify their identity and access accounts.
Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa said he is aware of the issue but that there is nothing he can really do from the town level to resolve it. However, it is a concern, and he understands the importance of working cell service.
“Cellular coverage, broadband connectivity, now, it's as important as almost any of our other utilities,” Kulpa said. “The last thing we want is to go into an emergency scenario like we had a year ago and have a lack of cellular connectivity up here.”
He’s been in contact with Verizon, and 2 On Your Side reached out to the provider as well Wednesday. A spokesperson for the company said they are aware of the issue and are working to address it.
“We know Western New York relies on Verizon. We're aware of capacity issues in the area of Transit Road, near Roll Road and Kline Road, where we're actively working on upgrading our network to give Buffalo and Amherst customers the experience they deserve. Our network team is evaluating performance metrics and optimizing our network to continue to improve service for our customers in the area.”
But until that happens, Ulrich and Wisbaum are stuck just hoping they don’t lose any business.
“Waste of tremendous amount of time, missed calls, missed opportunities,” Wisbaum said.