Register Glitch Leads to Christmas Cheer for Shoppers at Texas H-E-B Store

Video of the incident was captured by numerous patrons, who recorded a store employee addressing the crowd lined up at check-out.
Register Glitch Leads to Christmas Cheer for Shoppers at Texas H-E-B Store
People shop at a grocery store on August 14, 2024. Frederic J. Brown/AFP
Elma Aksalic
Elma Aksalic
Freelance Reporter
|Updated:
0:00

Just days before Christmas, shoppers at an H-E-B store in North Texas received an unexpected gift of free groceries, a surprise that left many basking in the holiday spirit.

On Dec. 22, customers at the store in Burleson were left stunned when a system-wide computer glitch caused all cash registers to fail, bringing check-out lines to a complete standstill.

According to local news outlet Fox 4 KDFW, the store, overwhelmed by the technical failure and a growing crowd of holiday shoppers, decided to play Santa Claus and give the groceries away for free rather than turn everyone away.
Video of the incident was captured by numerous patrons, including Shelley Browder, who recorded a store employee addressing the crowd lined up at check-out.

“H-E-B we love having you as our customers,” said the worker identified only as Destanie. “Thank you for waiting with us. Unfortunately, the computers are not coming back up right now.”

“Today, everything that you have, we are going to back you up,” she continued. “We hope every one of you have a very Merry Christmas and continues to shop with us.”

A round of applause ensued, along with cheers from the excited customers.

The Epoch Times reached out to H-E-B for comment, and did not hear back by the time of publication.

In a statement to KDFW, H-E-B said it is committed to serving its customers year-round and throughout every circumstance, especially during the holidays.

“During this busy holiday season, when our registers were temporarily down at our Burleson store, we gave all those with full baskets their groceries for free,” the company said.

“The customer experience is at the heart of what we do. Happy holidays!”

One unnamed customer expressed her gratitude in an interview with WFAA, the Dallas ABC affiliate, for receiving the free groceries, citing personal and economic hardships.

“It made a difference to me because my husband has ALS,” the woman said. “He’s bedridden, and we’re struggling. Everyone on a fixed income is struggling right now.”

“It wasn’t just a blessing to me, it was a blessing to others,” she continued, teary-eyed.

“When I went out, the manager was standing out front, and I grabbed his arm, and I said, ‘You know what, this is what Christmas is all about, so thank you very much,’ and he said, ‘You’re very welcome, Merry Christmas,’ so, there’s still good people in the world.”

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Elma Aksalic
Elma Aksalic
Freelance Reporter
Elma Aksalic is a freelance entertainment reporter for The Epoch Times and an experienced TV news anchor and journalist covering original content for Newsmax magazine.
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