I took a little wander, but everywhere I went was the same. Shutters down. Vendors closed. So I asked one of the staff what was going on? He said “The internet is down. We’re a cashless stadium so none of the vendors have any way to take payment” This was bad news. 35,000 football fans. No beer. No food. And no option to leave the stadium and return later. The perfect conditions for unrest. 

Luckily, despite a fairly fractious feeling in the air, everyone focused on the game and no riots broke out. But it was a risky situation – you only have to watch the Woodstock 99 documentary to see what can happen when people in large crowds don’t have access to food, water and good sanitation. 

This got me thinking… Surely they have a backup plan? How can a huge organisation like the King Power Stadium have no contingency plan for an internet blackout? Then I thought a little more… I bet they’re not the only ones. I bet there’s a million small businesses out there with no “internet blackout” backup plan. 

At Millennium, like most freight forwarding companies, we’ve moved with the times. We use real-time systems to get the best rates, to track your cargo and keep things smooth sailing. Communications are heavily internet based too, with email being a key way of keeping in touch with our customers and suppliers. But because we’ve been around for so long, we’re also a little old-school too. We still pick up the phone. You can still call us. We’re not afraid of going analogue or paper-based when needs must – and we know how to tether a mobile hotspot when we need to! 

King Power Stadium made a big mistake – and it will have cost them thousands in lost revenue. In their haste to move with the times and go cashless, they failed to put a contingency plan in place that would have saved the day. I mean, how hard would it be to give every vendor a cash box and a calculator? 

So how about you? Have you got a plan should the internet go down or should technology fail you? Do you have computer backups, mobile hotspots and a wired phone line in case of an internet blackout? It’d be smart to make a plan… You might never need it but if you do you’ll be sure glad that you thought ahead…