'O' dear! Auckland Airport Countdown's O goes missing

O dear! Photo / Cattrin_ / Instagram

Visitors to the country have been facing a rather amusing, and possibly offensive, welcome to New Zealand after Auckland Airport Countdown lost its "O".

The store's sign appears to have had the crucial letter missing for three days because of an electrical outage, before it was quickly fixed after the Herald reported the problem.

An image was posted to Instagram with the caption: "There's only one place I shop.
Also what people yell when I fall over. Ps @countdown_nz your sign has been broken for 3 days and long may it last."

Kiwis took to social media to express their delight at Countdown's misfortune.

"The lighting on that 'O' has been seen to fail on a few fair of those signs around the country now... coincidence?!? If so, I applaud the person who made them with a 'flaw'," one person wrote.

Another complained about the supermarket chain's pricing, saying "That's what their name should because of the prices they charge".

It happened again!!! (📸 via NZ’s Most Disqualified Diver)

Posted by Radio Hauraki on Monday, 19 March 2018

However the supermarket had a clever response when it contacted the Herald to explain that the sign had now been fixed.

"It just sh_ws y_u can't live in a w_rld with _ut an O!," a spokesperson said.

A Northcote Countdown lost its "O" last year, and took weeks to fix the issue.

Countdown Invercargill also fell victim to a faulty sign a few years ago according to commenters on Facebook.