The two largest domestic communications providers have faced an ongoing barrage of criticism recently. Service outages, customer service and frustrations with the artificial intelligence of their online bots. Neither Digicel nor One Communications have been immune from the complaints over mobile phone and internet service.

Digicel spoke of their commitment to customers, having deployed an artificial intelligence customer assistant. Increasingly though, some online critics that Digicel’s AI, “Ruby”, needs to be sent back for more training.

One declared: “I don’t want to speak to Ruby. She brings my temperature up!” Another asked: “Has anyone had any luck with Digicel’s Ruby,” and wondering what “the trick” was for getting to talk to a human.

This week, a One Communications post online stated: “Following the lightning storms over the weekend, a small percentage of One Communications customers experienced damage to their equipment. This was not related to our core network, which remains fully operational.

“Our retail and customer support teams are working directly with affected customers to replace equipment and restore service as quickly as possible. We appreciate the patience of those impacted and of customers who visit our Hamilton store.”

The company had earlier issued a statement online advising of the emergency overnight network repairs that had been under way, which would have affected customers in the eastern parishes from Devonshire to St George’s.

Meanwhile, when asked about the ongoing complaints earlier this month, Digicel spoke of a commitment to delivering the best possible experience across customer care channels.

The statement offered: “We continuously review and refine our customer support experience based on customer needs and feedback, ensuring that we maintain a responsive, reliable and customer-focused approach.

“While many queries can be resolved quickly through our digital support options, customers who require additional assistance can continue to connect with a member of our customer care team by requesting an agent. Our representatives remain on hand to provide support whenever needed.”

Still, recent complaints seem to be mounting.

Residents have complained of lost access to their legacy home landlines. Senior subscribers reported they were unable to get help.

An angry One customer complained on Facebook’s Maj’s List that she had “no service” notices “multiple times a day” on her mobile phone.

She said: “It’s been happening for over a month now.” Others agreed, with a subscriber noting: “I thought it was just me. I live in Sandys and the service is bad. My calls are constantly dropping, if I can even get a call to work.”

Another complained: “I would like to know when the Regulatory Authority is going to investigate?”

Neither company would respond with any specifics, but Digicel said customers are at the heart of everything they do, and they remain committed to delivering the best possible experience across all customer care channels.

The company said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and accessibility, we continue to embrace technologies that make it easier and more convenient for customers to connect with us and access support when they need it. These tools complement our broader customer care offering and are designed to provide customers with additional options for assistance, while helping to deliver 24/7 support.”