Rant: Took me 4 hours to get a simple business license in Edmonton

I needed to update my home business license for a new service I'm offering. Called the city, got transferred 3 times, nobody could give me a straight answer on the form I needed. Ended up spending 4 hours on hold and digging through the Edmonton website. Has anyone else had this much trouble just dealing with city permits?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wyatt1mo ago

I finally got mine sorted by just showing up at the city hall office on 3rd street with my old license and a printed list of questions. The lady at the counter was actually helpful once I got past the front desk guy. Took maybe 20 minutes total after I was sitting in front of a real person. Their phone system is a total nightmare, but sometimes going in person saves you a whole lot of headache.

jesse_green551mo ago

Oh my goodness, that sounds exhausting but I'm glad you got it sorted out. I had a similar runaround trying to renew my car registration last year. Ended up going to the same building on 3rd street actually, and you're right, once you get past the front desk it's a whole different experience. @morgan_bailey93 had the right idea about just going there in person. I spent about an hour total, but that was mostly waiting for a printer to be fixed. It's funny how much smoother things go when you can look someone in the eye.

morgan_bailey931mo ago

Ugh same here, that phone maze is painful but showing up fixes everything.