Harris Teeter officials gave free groceries on Sunday after a computer crash snarled lines at the Morrocroft Village location.
The store experienced a “minor glitch” in its system for about an hour and a half Sunday morning, Harris Teeter spokeswoman Danna Jones said. The glitch prevented store employees from processing transactions.
SouthPark resident David Coburn arrived around 11 a.m. at the grocery store for his weekly shopping. Nearly an hour later, Coburn headed to the checkout lane to discover a large line had built up.
For the next 40 minutes, he stood in line with other customers as Harris Teeter workers served them samples of turkey and ham subs, pimento cheese crackers and sushi rolls.
“I think Harris Teeter handled it really well. They showed how much they cared about their customers and even the customers were – for the most part – taking it in stride,” Coburn said.
Ultimately, store officials told customers that their groceries would be free because of the long wait, Coburn said.
“Rather than inconveniencing our customers, we did allow complimentary groceries to approximately 60 (to) 70 customers who were in the store trying to check out,” said Jones in an email.
Coburn estimated the value of his groceries was about $110. Once the glitch was repaired, the store re-opened.
