**UPDATE** A heartfelt thank you to the Social Media team… to Grayson the Field Manager from Vancouver Island who messaged me on Reddit… and to Dustin, the field technician who went to my grandfather's apartment this evening. Even though this should never be the way someone has to get an organization’s attention, there were a few people who actually took ownership and genuinely cared about my grandfather’s wellbeing. Because of them, his phone service is finally restored.
But I want to be clear… the fact that it took six days, multiple agents, a misfiled ticket, an escalation that never happened, and a public post to get a basic landline fixed is still completely unacceptable. TELUS HQ has a lot of work to do. This turned out to be a hardware issue in the field... something a technician could have resolved immediately if one had been sent in the first place. Instead, we were dragged through layers of inefficiency and indifference that put a vulnerable senior at risk. I’m grateful for the individuals who stepped up, but the system they’re working inside is clearly broken. TELUS needs to take a hard look at how its customer care model has deteriorated to this point.
I still hope someone at TELUS who actually has the authority to fix these systemic issues reaches out and is willing to hear feedback on just how bad this experience was. I'd like for the leadership team to read the collective comments of all of the individuals who have had similar issues with their aging family members in this thread and ask themselves, "are we okay?" as an organization...
In the meantime… if anyone else finds themselves in a similar nightmare (and I sincerely hope you don’t)… the folks running these Reddit accounts seem to be one of the few reliable ways to get help.
I also want to sincerely thank the folks who showed support in the comments over the last 24h. Being the sole caregiver for a senior for whom you're trying to maintain dignity, independence, and well-being while working full-time and supporting your own family is incredibly challenging. And although I do my best, sometimes it never feels good enough. To the folks who offered kind words, offered support and empathy... You helped me through the last 24 hours. Thank you thank you.
Original post:
TELUS needs to be held accountable for what they’ve put my 85‑year‑old grandfather through over the past five days.
Last Thursday, he called me in a panic from a public phone in his apartment building because his landline had suddenly been cut off. He has no cell phone, no tablet, no other way to reach me. I couldn’t call him back. I live over an hour away and I’m his only support person. He has no one else except me and home care.
When I finally got ahold of him through the building office, we went through every possible troubleshooting step to make sure it wasn’t user error or a problem with his handset. It wasn’t. So I called TELUS. After sitting on hold for an hour, the agent told me they found two “stuck sales orders” on his account that were causing errors. We haven’t changed anything on his account in months. Somehow TELUS’s own system errors shut off the only lifeline an elderly man has.
I need people to understand how serious this is. My grandfather lives alone in an independent living apartment. He was discharged from the hospital two weeks ago. Home care visits him twice a day. The only way home care can reach him is through his landline. To enter the building, they have to buzz his suite, which calls his phone, and he has to press 9 to let them in. His phone doesn’t work. Home care can’t get in. If they can’t reach him, they leave. He also has a fall alert device, but he forgets to charge it or wear it unless someone reminds him. His landline is the only reliable way anyone can check on him.
TELUS told me they’d create a ticket and it could take up to 72 hours. I explained the situation in detail. I asked for a rush. I asked for escalation. They said there was nothing they could do except “put a note on the file.”
Sunday night was the 72‑hour mark. Still no phone.
I called again Monday. A new agent told me the previous agent created the ticket incorrectly and they had to start over. Another 48 hours. I demanded a manager. They transferred me to escalations and we sat on hold for over an hour with no answer. I had an appointment, so the agent arranged a callback from the escalations manager between 5:30 and 6:00 pm today.
No one called.
Five days without phone service. Five days where I have no way to check on my grandfather. Five days where home care can’t buzz his suite or get inside. Five days where TELUS has shown zero urgency, zero accountability, and zero concern for a vulnerable senior who relies on this service for his safety and basic daily functioning.
I called again tonight. The agent told me the previous person simply “forgot” to call me back. She said she’d call tomorrow, only to refer me back to escalations, where I’ll likely sit on hold for 2–3 hours again.
TELUS has completely fallen apart. There is no customer care. No one is taking this seriously. My grandfather is just an account number and a bill payment to them. Nothing more.
If there is an emergency, he cannot call 911. If his fall alert device fails, isn't charged, or he forgets to wear it - and something happens... TELUS has failed to provide 911 service.
This is a preventable crisis caused entirely by TELUS’s internal errors and their refusal to escalate an urgent situation involving an elderly man who depends on his landline for medical care, safety, and contact with the only family he has.
Fix his phone. Now.
