Phone outage costs Toenges
A Fort Wayne orthopedic shoestore lost telephone service for 2 1/2 days this week, costing the store thousands of dollars in sales, according to a member of the family that owns the business.
Fred Toenges Shoes & Pedorthics, 2415 Hobson Road, at the corner of State Boulevard, had its main phone line mistakenly disconnected Monday, Ross Toenges said. The phone line started working again Wednesday afternoon.
The problem started after the business asked Vonage to disconnect one of its secondary phone numbers, Toenges said. That number was disconnected last week, but the main number also was taken out of service Monday.
The store's main number is a Verizon telephone line. Verizon spokeswoman Jane Howard said the company received a request to disconnect the store's main number on April 23 from U.S. Exchange, another telephone company.
Spokesmen for Vonage and Choice One Communications, which owns U.S. Exchange, could not explain how the problem happened Wednesday.
Vonage is temporarily providing the store service on its main telephone line, but the rest of the store's seven phone lines aren't working, Toenges said.
Federal regulations protecting consumers who switch telephone companies prevent Verizon from taking back the phone number immediately, Howard said.
As a result of the confusion, the store sold 50 fewer pairs of shoes Monday and Tuesday than it did on the same days a year earlier, Toenges said. A pair of shoes from the store costs about $85 on average, he said.
Copyright 2005 Fort Fayne Journal Gazette and wire service sources.
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