A Castlegar business, owned and staffed by women, has been the victim of hundreds of harassing phone calls in the last few months.
For years, when the phone rang at Castlegar’s Undercover Secrets, it was met with anticipation as the customer-service focused staff looked forward to helping another customer find what they were looking for.
Now, the ring is met with caution as the calls from a man using a hushed voice and asking strange questions has raised concern at the lingerie store.
According to the store’s owner, Carol Hiebert, the calls started in March.
The caller with an anonymous number knew the names of staff and would ask for them by name.
“It was almost eerie, it gave you a very uncomfortable feeling,” said Hiebert.
He began by asking about items they sold, but the longer the call went on, the more suggestive the questions became and eventually the caller starting making overt sexual comments.
Staff told him not to call back and hung up.
But the phone would immediately ring again, and again, and again. The repeat calls could go on for an hour.
“It was relentless,” said Hiebert.
Staff would ignore the repeat calls, but eventually had to start answering the phone again.
“I have to answer the phone, because it might be a customer,” said store manager Elisha Del Col.
The caller began to repeatedly ask for her.
“I want Elisha, she’s very pretty … I want the pretty one … Where’s Elisha … Can we go on a date?” he would say.
“I finally snapped,” said Del Col. “But it didn’t work, he kept calling.”
After daily calls for three weeks, the calls slowed down for a while to just a few a week. But now, two months later, the calls continue almost daily again.
The creepy and obscene calls have been reported to the local police, who have opened a file on the matter.
Hiebert decided to bring her story to the media in hopes that bringing the story to light might provoke other victims to come forward and help to catch the perpetrator.
An almost identical scenario has been playing out at women-owned businesses in Oak Bay and the surrounding area near Victoria.
After hearing recordings of those Oak Bay calls on the news, Hiebert thinks Undercover Secrets’ caller is the same person. The description of what was said in those calls is also the same.
The calls have left a disturbing sense of unease among the store’s all-female staff.
“It could be someone sitting in the parking lot,” said Del Col.
“Is the guy watching?” said Hiebert.
The staff say they carry that concern home into their personal lives.
“It affects you when you go home,” said one staff member. “I know I pay attention when I go home now.”
“I hope they catch this person, because it has to stop it,” said Hiebert. “This is wrong.”
But Hiebert has no intention of letting the calls change how she operates her business or moves on with her life.
“I’m not going to let this fear me from doing what we need to do.”
If your business has been affected by similar calls, please contact the Castlegar RCMP non-emergency number at 250-365-7721.