‘Deeply sorry’: OTR apologises after treatment of woman on her way to loved one’s surgery during global outage

A woman’s desperate dash to Adelaide in time for her loved one’s surgery was delayed after a Naracoorte fuel station refused to let her pay cash during the global outage.

A Mount Gambier woman’s desperate dash to Adelaide for her family member’s surgery was delayed as the CrowdStrike outage brought a Naracoorte fuel station to a halt.

Amanda Rose got caught up at OTR trying to pay cash for petrol while rushing to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in time for a loved one’s surgery.

She put $94.40 worth of petrol in her car and tried to pay $100 in cash for it during the outage but was told she couldn’t until the systems came back online.

She claimed staff initially told her to double check the amount on the bowser but when she re-entered the store to pay for the petrol, she was told she couldn’t pay with cash.

OTR service station. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

“I got grumpy and told them I needed to go but they refused to take payment and still expected me to stay until the outage stopped,” she said.

“I told them I need to go, I can’t wait.”

Ms Rose said staff told her they couldn’t provide her with change which she was willing to forego in order to get back on the road to Adelaide.

She told The Advertiser she left the $100 and drove off.

An OTR spokesperson said “as a result of a technical issue with leading cyber security protection software, the majority of OTR stores were unable to trade late on Friday”.

“Unfortunately Ms Rose filled up her car at OTR Naracoorte precisely when the store’s IT systems were impacted. As a result, the store was unable to open the till and provide Ms Rose with her change,” they said.

“We are deeply sorry this occurred. OTR has since contacted Ms Rose and resolved the matter.”

This comes as Para Hills woman Vivien Hyndman was looking at a week stranded in Darwin after her flight home was cancelled due to the global outage.

Microsoft CrowdStrike outage blue screen. Picture: Supplied

The 55-year-old was due to fly back home in Adelaide at 7pm on Friday July 19 when there was an announcement at the airport that there was a technical difficulty.

“We heard all about the global outage after doing some internet research,” she said.

“Eventually Jetstar got back to us … and said all flights are cancelled.”

She said Darwin locals were asked to return home while tourists were told they would be forced to find alternative options at their own expense.

“Jetstar actually never spoke to us, it was the Darwin airport staff,” she said.

“Basically because it was outside of Jetstar’s control there would be no reimbursement for accommodation, change of fare, change of flights or anything like that, and we were just left on our own.”

Vivien Hyndman while on holiday in Darwin at Wangi Falls Litchfield. Picture: Supplied

Ms Hyndman was thankfully able to return to her previous accommodation but was unable to secure another Jetstar flight despite being sent a text from the airline the next day with a link to rebook.

“We were told at the airport that Jetstar would have us on a flight out of Darwin within the next seven days,” she said.

“Then I got the text message (on Saturday morning), couldn’t get on a flight on Saturday, couldn’t get on a flight on Sunday.”

Ms Hyndman was stuck in Darwin unable to return back to Adelaide on the same airline.

“I was actually feeling really scared,” she said.

“My fear was, what if I don’t get home, how long is this going to take to get me home?

“I was on my own, I was feeling very isolated, because I didn’t know anybody in Darwin.”

Eventually Ms Hyndman paid $1200 for a Virgin flight via Brisbane back to Adelaide on Saturday night for a 10.30pm arrival.

“It was a long trip,” she said.

The 55-year-old is hoping for at least a refund on the return flight.

“Jetstar said to us at the beginning, it’s not their fault, there’ll be no reimbursement for accommodation or for all flights,” she said.

“Hopefully I’ll at least get a refund on that return flight.”

A Jetstar spokesperson made the following statement: “We appreciate this has been a frustrating experience for customers and thank them for their patience and understanding as our teams worked through the impacts of the IT issues to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”