If you have a bylaw concern after hours in Cobourg don’t be surprised if the person on the other end of the phone has a southern accent.
Today’s Northumberland has confirmed that one of the areas that takes calls from Cobourg is based out of North Carolina.
Recently a person who called into bylaw in Cobourg after hours asked the person where they were located, and to her surprise the call centre was located in North Carolina.
Today’s Northumberland reached out to the Town of Cobourg to try and confirm the information.
Unfortunately Town staff didn’t confirm the information, but after reaching out to Extend Communications in Brantford, it was determined the answering service did confirm one of the call centres is based out of North Carolina.
The town’s original contract was with TAS Communications located in Belleville which then subsequently merged with Extend Communications in 2023.
“Regarding the staffing policies, the Town of Cobourg does not have authority in terms of who they can or cannot staff regarding this specific contract,” said Jenny Neutel, Communications Coordinator with the Town of Cobourg.
In a follow-up e-mail asking for confirmation, Neutel added, “The company’s operations are their own based on how they receive calls. The Town of Cobourg is focused on excellent customer service and getting a response to the resident quickly is our priority, at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.”
Neutel said the Town inquired and was told, “the company uses a Canada-first approach.”
Today’s Northumberland reached out to Extend Communications and, even though it was during business hours, to no surprise it went to an answer service who then transferred the call to Client Services representative named John.
“We have call centres across the whole Country. Part of the reason for that – if we’re all in one building in New York city (for example) and there was a power outage in New York city – we couldn’t handle any calls, anywhere.”
“We have buildings across the entire Country. The whole point is we want to be able to handle our clients no matter what the situation and at any time of day.”
For people calling by-law after hours in Cobourg, John said they could get any answering service across the US or Canada.
John who was answering the call from North Carolina said one of the reasons the calls are dispersed across both counties is due to weather.
With North Carolina prone to hurricanes it could effect the answering service.
“What would happen if there was a really bad storm it would knock the power out for awhile. And if we had all the calls going to one place, we’d be in a lot of trouble.”
John stated although a power outage rarely happens, having the call centres in different areas of the US and Canada helps in emergencies.
Neutel added, “given the recent developments in the trade war with the United States, Canadian status (and where additional operations are located) is definitely a consideration in future contracts that are awarded.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
