The Westview Co-op grocery store in Carstairs, Alberta, a city of 4,000 people about 40 miles north of Calgary, is the local outpost of a network of member-owned food stores, gas stations, pharmacies and convenience stores. Lately, customers are reporting having problems in the parking lot, with key fobs that suddenly don't unlock doors, cars that don't start, batteries mysteriously drained and car alarms that trigger for no reason and can't be shut off.
Shoppers started reporting the problem to the store management early last month. Laura Strate, an employee at a dollar store across the street, tells CBC News that many customers come over to buy a battery for their key fobs, then discover that doesn't solve their problem.
"It's just bizarre," she said. "People are actually scared to go to the co-op now because they don't know if their cars are going to start." The issue has caught fire on social media among people who say they've been affected, she says.
The Westview management says it believes there's some issue with the radio frequencies used by the fobs — but what exactly is interfering with it remains unknown. The co-op tried shutting off all power sources in the store, but testing equipment revealed something was still interfering with key fobs. Stephen Kennedy, Westview's asset protection manager, told the CBC they've asked the federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to investigate.
"We've exhausted all of the things that we have control over, so now it's just waiting for the ministry to come out with the right tools and technology to see if they can pinpoint it," Kennedy told CTV. Local businesses were planning to shut off their own power, one at a time, to see if that had any affect.
Commenters on the co-op's Facebook thread offered up everything from freight trains to arc welders as the possible culprit. One said the incident highlights the importance of reading your owner's manual so you know how to enter the vehicle or start it in case the fob doesn't work.
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Shoppers started reporting the problem to the store management early last month. Laura Strate, an employee at a dollar store across the street, tells CBC News that many customers come over to buy a battery for their key fobs, then discover that doesn't solve their problem.
"It's just bizarre," she said. "People are actually scared to go to the co-op now because they don't know if their cars are going to start." The issue has caught fire on social media among people who say they've been affected, she says.
The Westview management says it believes there's some issue with the radio frequencies used by the fobs — but what exactly is interfering with it remains unknown. The co-op tried shutting off all power sources in the store, but testing equipment revealed something was still interfering with key fobs. Stephen Kennedy, Westview's asset protection manager, told the CBC they've asked the federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development to investigate.
"We've exhausted all of the things that we have control over, so now it's just waiting for the ministry to come out with the right tools and technology to see if they can pinpoint it," Kennedy told CTV. Local businesses were planning to shut off their own power, one at a time, to see if that had any affect.
Commenters on the co-op's Facebook thread offered up everything from freight trains to arc welders as the possible culprit. One said the incident highlights the importance of reading your owner's manual so you know how to enter the vehicle or start it in case the fob doesn't work.
Related Video:
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