About 50 customers in line at the Hannaford store in West Lebanon, N.H., on Jan. 21, 2019, left with free groceries after a glitch in the cash registers meant clerks could not process orders. (Stevens Blanchard photograph)
About 50 customers in line at the Hannaford store in West Lebanon, N.H., on Jan. 21, 2019, left with free groceries after a glitch in the cash registers meant clerks could not process orders. (Stevens Blanchard photograph) Credit: Stevens Blanchard photograph

West Lebanon — Dozens of shoppers who braved the cold weather on Monday to buy groceries at a West Lebanon supermarket got an unexpected hot deal.

The roughly 50 customers who were in line at the Hannaford store on Route 12A around 2 p.m. walked out with their groceries for free.

A glitch with the supermarket’s cash registers meant checkout clerks couldn’t process orders, so instead of turning customers away or making them wait at least an hour, Hannaford staff decided to give them the groceries they already were in line to purchase, West Lebanon store manager Shawn Quelch said.

Quelch, who made the decision after consulting with company officials, estimated the store gave away between $3,000 and $5,000 in product.

“We pride ourselves on customer service,” Quelch said.

Shopping there at the time was West Lebanon resident Stevens Blanchard, the lead singer and guitarist of the Conniption Fits, a popular band in the Upper Valley.

Blanchard, who also is an area radio host, posted the development on his personal Facebook page, where it received 1,900 likes and was shared by 750 people in 24 hours.

“Props to the Hannaford staff! They took being in the wrong place at the (wrong) time and made it the right place at the right time,” Blanchard wrote in his post. “(And no, nobody I saw at least, pulled the … move of going back to get more stuff).”

Reached on Tuesday, Blanchard said he and the others in line that afternoon couldn’t believe it when Quelch made the announcement that their groceries would be free.

“Everyone was like ‘what?’ ” Blanchard said with a laugh. “He had to say it a second time.”

Blanchard had less than $40 in groceries in his basket, but there were people in front of him with full carts, he said.

The technical problem with the registers’ server system started around 11 a.m. on Monday, and cash register after cash register slowly started failing.

The glitch meant the checkout line kept piling up throughout the day, something the staff tried to make better by handing out coupons and cookies, Quelch said. But when the last working register quit, Quelch and corporate officials changed course.

New customers entering the store were notified of the problem; they either had to wait a little while to check out or come back another day.

“I have been with Hannaford for 30 years and I’ve never experienced this type of a situation,” Quelch said. “I say often that our first chance is the best chance to make it right. ”

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.