In an extraordinary turn of events, a Woolworths shopper was the unexpected beneficiary of a technological hiccup that turned her regular grocery run into an $88 windfall.

The incident unfolded during a massive global IT outage that affected supermarkets, banks, and airlines, leaving many customers in a bind.

Still, for this lucky mum, it became a moment of unexpected generosity that she won't soon forget.



The shopper, Stephanie, shared her experience on social media, recounting the moment she realised that the nationwide IT cyber attack had struck just as she attempted to pay for her $88 groceries.

‘So I’ve gone, collected all my items and then gone to pay, and there’s been a freakin’ nationwide IT cyber attack, so my money isn’t going through the EFTPOS machine,’ she said.


The situation could have quickly turned into a logistical nightmare, with the prospect of having to ‘leave all of the groceries’, extending childcare for her baby, and the hassle of withdrawing cash to return and pay later.

However, the Woolworths store manager stepped in with a heartwarming solution.

‘She said, “Just try again, I think there’s some IT issues, but, you know, we’ll give it another chance”,’ Stephanie said.

‘And then the manager goes, “Just take it. It’s free. It’s not your problem the computers [are] down. Just go home and take it”.’



This act of kindness left Stephanie 'shook' and emotionally overwhelmed, as she tearfully thanked the manager and Woolworths for the unexpected gesture.

‘I think that was just a really nice thing for that lady to have done from Woolies. So Woolies, thank you for my free groceries. I’m so thankful,’ she said.

Her story quickly went viral, with viewers praising the 'beautiful' manager for her 'lovely' offer and others expressing amazement at Stephanie's 'absolutely insane' luck.

While the IT outage caused significant disruption, with some Woolworths checkouts still affected the following day, the company worked diligently to resolve the issues.



‘All stores are open and trading as normal for cash and cards. Saturdays are a busy shopping day, and we have plenty of stock on hand,’ a Woolworths spokesperson said.

‘Some checkouts continue to be affected by the global outage so we thank customers in advance for their patience and treating our team with respect.’

‘Following some disruption to a small number of orders last night, our online system is operating as normal, with our team expected to pick and deliver thousands of orders over the weekend.’

‘Thanks to all of our team members who have worked tirelessly overnight to ensure our stores could open to serve our customers.’

You can watch Stephanie’s video below:

In a previous story, a struggling mum at Woolworths was assisted by a staff member who helped carry her groceries to the car while she managed her young son.

She discovered the helpful service was not a one-off gesture, as the Woolworths worker mentioned it was the third time she had helped someone that day. You can read more about the story here.
Have you ever faced a similar situation or been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness during your grocery runs? Share your stories in the comments below!