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No working number for Alto al Crimen??


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Jim and Judi:

Something has been wrong with the telephone systems this evening.  I am the president of Alto al Crimen.  When I learned of the problem you had, I immediately called both emergency numbers.  The main number did not work.  The secondary number worked, and Franc Lugo answered right away.  I told him about the problem, and he said that he had had the phone on his person all the time and that it had not rung at all until my call.  I gave him your name.  He looked it up in the AAC database, found your number and called it.  He received a message saying that the phone was not in service.  That was either because there was a network problem or because you perhaps changed your phone number and did not report the change to Alto al Crimen. 

When Franc called me back to report about trying to call you, he also reported that he had attempted to call three other people and could not reach any of them.  As someone else reported in this discussion, apparently Mas Movil has had problems this evening.  Apparentlyly MoviStar has also had problems, based on my experience trying to call the AAC Hotline.

You mentioned calling three numbers, but the AAC Hotline only has two numbers, 6477-6662  and  6917-0011.  Do you recall what the third number was?

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9 hours ago, Bob G said:

Jim and Judi:

Something has been wrong with the telephone systems this evening.  I am the president of Alto al Crimen.  When I learned of the problem you had, I immediately called both emergency numbers.  The main number did not work.  The secondary number worked, and Franc Lugo answered right away.  I told him about the problem, and he said that he had had the phone on his person all the time and that it had not rung at all until my call.  I gave him your name.  He looked it up in the AAC database, found your number and called it.  He received a message saying that the phone was not in service.  That was either because there was a network problem or because you perhaps changed your phone number and did not report the change to Alto al Crimen. 

When Franc called me back to report about trying to call you, he also reported that he had attempted to call three other people and could not reach any of them.  As someone else reported in this discussion, apparently Mas Movil has had problems this evening.  Apparentlyly MoviStar has also had problems, based on my experience trying to call the AAC Hotline.

You mentioned calling three numbers, but the AAC Hotline only has two numbers, 6477-6662  and  6917-0011.  Do you recall what the third number was?

There was a network problem on C&W last night.  Nobody had service for a while.

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Bob, I called both numbers receiving the same message. I called the 6662 number first and received a message that was not clear so I could not understand the alternate number. Checked the website, only the 6662 number was listed. Searched on CL and found the alternate 0011 number. Got another message pointing me to call the 6662 number. In my haste, I typed 3 but it was 2. 

My takeaway is the both numbers should be listed on the AaC website. And perhaps there should be a back up number with another provider for just this scenario.

Thanks for the follow up. 

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8 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

Still puzzled by the term 'welfare check'. In Canada it is a payment of financial assistance.

A welfare check is when someone checks on the welfare of another to be sure they are ok. I was worried about someone who I had been unable to reach for quite a while. After not being able to reach AaC, I called the policia directly and they refused to go. I finally got our taxi driver to go over for me. It was an unusual situation since most of our friends are in the US right now, as are we, and apparently many other's phones were out. It was the perfect storm for a panic situation.

Wouldn't it be a welfare cheque in canada ;)

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38 minutes ago, Jim and Judi said:

.Wouldn't it be a welfare cheque in canada ;)

It could be either.

The point is that if there is some kind of urgent requirement to a situation, using a term which might be confusing or has multiple meanings, is probably unwise.

Edited by Keith Woolford
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AAC LOGO WITH NUMBERS.gif

Judi:

We have two numbers on two different cell carriers so that we have redundancy.  The main number is on MoviStar, and the secondary number is on Mas Movil.  I thought both numbers were already on the web site, but I'll be sure to add the secondary number if it's not there.

Unfortunately, cell phone service here is not totally reliable.  When glitches occur, the AAC Hotline can be affected.  Having two different numbers is how we try to minimize problems.  But if, for instance, you have a phone with any of the cell service providers and that service is not working well, you cannot reach the AAC Hotline.  If one of our providers is having a problem, you will not be able to reach us on that line.  Recently there have been simultaneous problems with more than one service at a time.  We have no control over these things.  If all else fails, you can try calling the Boquete police desk at 720-1224 and hope one of the policemen who speak English is on duty.

Health and welfare checks (Yes, that is a rather common term in the US and in the US military) are not a main part of AAC service, but if the checks can be made by phone, we'll be happy to make them.  We are not organized or budgeted for dispatching someone by vehicle for such checks.  However, we'll discuss that and see if one of our volunteers would be willing to work with us to make physical visits.  I don't imagine there would be frequent requirements.  The person being checked on would need to be registered in our database so that we would have a phone number and address.

Likewise, it is not common for people to call the AAC Hotline when they have a car breakdown or accident or are stopped by a police officer, but it does happen.  We offer the service of having our bilingual operator speak with police officers or call for road service or a tow truck.

ANYONE can call, whether registered in our database or not (though registration is much better).  That means the AAC Hotline is available to short-term tourists and visitors, to longer term visitors, to permanent resident expats and also to any Panamanian person who needs to call.  The name of the game is community service.  We do not make charges per se, but we do need and depend on donations so that we can pay the operator to operate the Hotline and handle other expenses.  Our suggested minimum donation of $20 per year is extrremely affordable and one of the best bargains you can find.  We encourage everyone in the community to register at altoalcrimen.info and to make a donation.  It is because of having large numbers of registrants and contributors that Alto al Crimen can operate on small annual donations.  You can leave envelopes marked "AAC" with cash or with checks payable to Fundacion Alto al Crimen at Mailboxes, Etc. 

------------------------------

PS  I have included the Alto al Crimen logo with both phone numbers.  If you wish, you may print it and keep it handy in the house in addition to having both numbers in your cell phone directory under the names "AAC EMERGENCY" and "AAC EMERGENCY SECONDARY" so that they will always be at the very beginning of your contact directory.

                                                                 

 

 

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Using any variation of a 'buddy' system to keep track of friends and family works well. The advent of social media has made that even easier.

" Health and welfare checks (Yes, that is a rather common term in the US and in the US military) are not a main part of AAC service, but if the checks can be made by phone, we'll be happy to make them.  We are not organized or budgeted for dispatching someone by vehicle for such checks."

These checks are apparently not part of AAC's program so whether the person was calling a wrong number or whether a call went unanswered is a moot  point.

The implication that everyone knows or should know U.S. Police or Military jargon still seems presumptive to me.

$.02 Canadian ..no longer circulating

  Image result for canadian penny 2012

Edited by Keith Woolford
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Great to see both AaC numbers posted Bob. The issue of the correct numbers being available is certainly not "moot," despite whether a service is available or not. As you can see below, I dialed both AaC Numbers correctly, but both had the same message saying there was a system error and pointed me to the other number, so it must have been simultaneous issues with both carriers as you said. Hopefully you don't think me "presumptive" for inquiring about this service, often requested of friends and neighbors, in addition to police and possibly military (not sure about that one,) and know that  I would never assume that all would understand any of my "jargon" regardless of the topic.

I appreciate your follow up.

 Capture.JPG

 

 

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