BARDSTOWN, Ky. — After a network disruption Friday left thousands of people in Bardstown without internet services, the city says some are still struggling with connections.
The city posted an update on its official Facebook page Saturday around 7 p.m., confirming Bardstown Connect customers are still facing “service interruptions and connectivity issues,” after it announced services had been reconnected Friday at 8 p.m.
“The City is taking this situation very seriously and is using all resources available to address the issue and restore our information systems,” the post stated.
Bardstown officials have launched an investigation into the root cause of the issue, according to the post: “Our IT department is working closely with these experts – and will continue working around the clock and throughout the weekend – to fully investigate and remediate this incident and to restore our systems as quickly as possible.”
One Bardstown Connect employee told WHAS11 IT crews still don’t know how many people are still impacted by service outages or how much longer they may last.
When asked if crews had an idea of what caused this, he said no and that “our crews are looking into that right now.”
The downed systems haven’t just impacted homes but businesses too, during a bustling Labor Day weekend.
“You wouldn't believe how many people come outside of the U.S.” Lilly Boone, an employee at the Bardstown shop At Mary’s, said. “We have people from Canada. I want to say we had people from England yesterday too.”
Some downtown businesses were left without WiFi, meaning they’re payment processors and registers couldn’t work.
We have had some internet blurb,” Tommy McIntyre, owner of McIntyre’s Winery, said. “I mean, it’s those kinds of things [that] are out of everybody's control.”
While McIntyre said his payment systems weren’t impacted Friday, he understands how detrimental holiday weekend sales can be to a small business’s bottom line.
“You have to increase your inventory, work staff, seating and that kind of thing,” he said. “But it's expected and you can plan for it."
The Blind Boar Shanty, another downtown business, wasn't able to prepare to lose its card readers. The high-end men’s clothing store is owned by David Erickson and Stephen Vittitow, who also own a bourbon store, the Blind Pig, just a few doors down.
One staff member at the Blind Pig said between the two, sales only reached about $100 Friday, when projections forecasted several thousand dollars in sales.
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