Owner Don Doolan and patrons have struggled to dial out or send a text message in the hotel for the past three years. 

His son Tom Doolan agreed, claiming the hotel was a dead spot. 

“You’re lucky if you can receive or send a text message,” he said. 

The EFTPOS machine is also temperamental and often results in losing a sale. 

“Phone reception and the internet connection is pretty ordinary. It drops in and out,” Mr Doolan said. 

“We definitely can’t provide the (EFTPOS) service that customers experience in Ballarat and Melbourne.”

Mr Doolan said the pub had had issues with its EFTPOS machines for at least a year. 

“We have to wait three to four minutes for the sale to go through,” he said. 

“If people are in a hurry, we lose the sale.”

Mr Doolan said it was unfair that smaller regional towns outside of Ballarat did not have full mobile phone coverage. 

“What you get in Ballarat you should be able to get here,” he said. 

“If you live 10 to 15 minutes out of town, you have to have a landline phone.” 

Although he supported the efforts by the Pyrenees Shire Council to secure government funding, Mr Doolan said more needed to be done.

“It’s a good start by the council but they have to do a lot more,” he said. 

“Every regional council should be banding together to push the issue.

“It is the 21st century. We should have something better,” he said.

kara.irving@fairfaxmedia.com.au