1,850 Target Stores' Cash Registers Go Offline for Two Hours and Videos Reveal the Chaos

The cash registers at all 1,890 Target stores across the U.S. crashed on Saturday afternoon, [...]

By Michael Hein

The cash registers at all 1,890 Target stores across the U.S. crashed on Saturday afternoon, leading to pandemonium for shoppers everywhere.

Target suffered a massive outage on Saturday when a technical issue took down the chain's registers for two hours. Customers were unable to pay and therefore unable to shop as the retailer struggled to get its payment methods back online, and some got a little more upset than others. Video footage showed long lines at the store, with disgruntled customers craning their necks to see what was going on up ahead.

As long as the waits were, many customers actually stayed until they could pay for their items, having already filled their carts. While waiting, they shared food and drinks with one another, and some reports indicate that employees even walked the lines handing out refreshments for the patient customers. Meanwhile, cashiers entered the items manually, and customers were remarkably calm, though they ddi clog the aisles in huge numbers waiting to pay.

"It took me almost an hour to check out just now," one person tweeted at Target. "Honestly the only reason you still got my money was because of employee Kevarian at the Blue Diamond Las Vegas location. He manually entered in every one of my items and was patient."

"Sometimes the most uncomfortable situations can actually bring out the best of human nature," wrote KTRE News anchor Hunter Sowards on Twitter.

However, not every story was heartwarming of course. Some were disgruntled and even outraged over the inconvenience, especially those who did not have other stores to turn to for their needs. Not all stores were as accommadating either, as NPR reported that one store in Washington, D.C. sent all customers out without their items, explaining that the outage was nationwide.

"Tensions are high and the ice cream is melting," one person joked. "They have provided us popcorn and green tea, but rations are fast diminishing. How I wish we had gone to Walmart. Pray for us."

Target issued an official statement following the outage, apologizing for the inconvenience and assuring customers that there was no data breech. From the sound of it, the registers went down internally, not due to a cyber-attack.

"Our technology team worked quickly to identify and fix the issue, and we apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this caused for our guests," the statement said. "After an initial but thorough review, we can confirm that this was not a data breach or security-related issue, and no guest information was compromised at any time."

"We appreciate all of our store team members who worked quickly to assist guests and thank everyone involved for their patience," they finished.

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