When people in the L.A. neighborhood of Wilmington began to get word that a Valero gas station was selling gas for the low, low price of $1.10 a gallon, there were soon cars lined up around the corner. But this wasn’t some crazy promotional discount; it was a computer glitch that lost the station’s owners thousands of dollars.

According to KCAL 9, it took a few hours for the on-duty attendant to realize that it wasn’t the late ’80s and that people weren’t queuing up just to see his pretty face. In the meantime, police had arrived on the scene to direct traffic around the station.

When the station owner finally got wind of his unintended generosity, he shut down all the pumps until the problem could be fixed. He estimates that he lost around $21,000 because of the glitch but says he hopes that at least some of the people who got discount gas will come back and buy stuff at his convenience store in the future.

Computer Glitch Allows Station To Sell Gas For $1.10 A Gallon In Wilmington [CBSlocal.com]

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