Free Slurpees Run Out During 7-Eleven’s Birthday Promotion

DALLAS -- Yesterday may have been 7-Eleven's birthday, but the 84-year-old convenience store chain didn't have enough Slurpees to share with its party guests. According to an NBCDFW.com report, 7-Eleven stores around the United States ran out of cups and even the Slurpees themselves after inviting customers to enjoy a free 7.11-ounce Slurpee, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Slurpee fans didn't take this lying down, instead flooding Twitter and YouTube with complaints.

Company officials blamed the shortage on the intense popularity of free Slurpees. "We gave away some 5 million Slurpee beverages -- more than ever before -- but it appears demand was higher this year than we ever expected," said Margaret Chabris, corporate communications director for 7-Eleven.

7-Eleven used the power of social media to try and fix the problem."Our loyal customers like you far exceeded our expectations," the company wrote on its Twitter page, directing unhappy customers to call a toll-free number and including a link to a customer relations site. "We want to help make it better."

CSNews Online tried several times to access the customer relations webpage, but it kept timing out.