FTC investigates why McDonald's ice cream machines are always broken

[Calista241]

Source: AJC

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating why the ice cream machines at McDonald’s restaurants across the country always seem to be out of order.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Biden administration sent a letter to franchisees over the summer, requesting information about the ubiquitous machines that are supposed to serve up milkshakes, soft cones and the fast-food chain’s popular McFlurry on demand.

Instead, frustrated customers typically find the appliances either malfunctioning or broken, with the restaurant’s managers everywhere struggling to explain why.

...

The widespread conundrum has the FTC questioning whether big manufacturers have been purposely preventing franchisees from hiring local-level, independent repairmen to fix the machines, the Journal reports.



Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/ftc-investigates-why-mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-are-always-broken/K6NKWB42KJD5XM3XE3OW6L3XBM/

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A little bit of lighter news, and it'll probably get locked, but it made me smile.

[Cracklin Charlie]

1. Funny

[Champp]

2. Why, it's an outrage. No doubt Republicans are behind this.

Pissed off, ice cream-deprived Ronald McDonald gonna kick Republican keester.

[SoFlaBro]

61. I never trust a MAGA scumbag shitbird of an asswipe.

They are all lowlifes.

[modrepub]

3. Actually

it's somewhat important. I think farmers are protesting this same thing. They are not allowed to self repair some of the equipment they use due to some patent law (I think) that says only certain certified repair companies can actually do the repair. Obviously, that causes a problem if the designated repair company/person is in short supply; they can't get timely repairs and the repairs are expensive.

[efhmc]

4. Most of those repair people are not within a hundred mile radius of the farm and ranches' locales.

[Calista241]

5. I think the Right to Repair is somewhat different than this.

This smacks of poor infrastructure management from McDonalds, both from a supply and process perspective. The FTC's concern is that they're falsely advertising McFlurry's and then selling you something else when the machine is broken.

The right to repair is more about goods that you've bought specifically, and the manufacturer is enforcing warranty and repair standards to generate revenue streams in additional to the initial purchase price. This applies to specialized equipment like tractors used on farms, in addition to cell phones, TV's, refrigerators and other stuff used by most consumers.

[Eugene]

18. McFlurry is a racket. The contractor supplies buggy software maintained by a closed network

of pricey repair techs. Diagnostics were unintelligible until a third-party reverse engineered them and developed a patch to make the machines more reliable.

The two parties are now fighting it out in the courts, and right to repair figures prominently along with trade secrets and industrial espionage.

[forgotmylogin]

28. I actually watched a video about this.

McDonalds has a *very specific* model from the company. No other fast food location uses this model, and they don't have troubles with their machines.

The gimmick is the McD machines' computers do not explain what is wrong with the machine if it stops. Sometimes it will shut down just because it's overfilled, but the machine won't tell the worker that in any sort of understandable manner. The only remedy they are given is to run an 8-hour cleaning/pasteurization routine.

The video said the codes are purposely obscured so the company makes money sending techs out to "repair" the machine frequently. Some people have tried to put up websites with error code explanations that would help the workers know "hey, this code means just remove a half gallon of the dairy product from the hopper and it will be fine" but the company makes most of their money from service calls.

EDIT: likely that video down thread!

[mpcamb]

47. So, somebody gamed McDonalds... Hah.

[forgotmylogin]

49. Or it's done willfully as a kickback for providing the machines...

[Irish_Dem]

6. Ice cream problems should be made a federal issue.

Ice cream lovers like Joe understand this is important business!

[aeromanKC]

7. I've always chalked it up to they suck to clean so they just say they are broken.

Employees hate to clean them and managers hate to get a ding from health inspecters. Win win for them to just say they are broken.

[JenniferJuniper]

9. Very possible. If the machines aren't much different from

the ones we had when I was a kid working there.

They usually had to be cleaned by a manager before the store opened. If said manager didn't want to or for some reason couldn't, the machine got an "out of order" sign for the day.

They shouldn't even bother with it. McDonald's has permanently dumped salads because they were too much of a hassle for them to deal with.

[Dream Girl]

12. I always thought it was a cleaning issue too.

Live and learn.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. I thought the same thing until I saw this.

This story is about a small startup company that tried to help franchisees get access to their own machines by “cracking the code”

It’s about machines that are purposely hard to repair and corporate espionage.

[Kali]

17. I knew someone would post this

or I was going to go look for it.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

26. I owe McDonald's employees an apology.

All these years I figured it was just laziness.

On one hand I get trying to get around intentionally finicky and expensive repairs.

On the other hand, I understand while McDonald’s would farm out an intricate machine rather than rely on underpaid transient staff who might not be able to deliver consistent SAFE results nationwide. The company that took on the job of building/designing that machine AND the required support infrastructure did so with the promise(?) of lucrative service revenue.

That doesn’t excuse the corporate espionage and patent infringement. Maybe they should have just waited until the first time some manager in east bumblefuck overrides a pasteurization protocol and kills 15 people with listeria. Those machines maybe should stay really finicky.


This story reminds me of the settlement Home Depot had to pay when they pulled a similar stunt.

Home Depot hired a guy who patented a safety device for the in-store radial arm saw cutting stations (a clamping system so workers wouldn’t chop their hands off while making customer cuts). Home Depot decided they could just steal the idea and build their own. It ended up costing way more than if they just played fair.

[crimycarny]

44. NOT TRUE--my son works at McDonalds

You try getting screamed at by customers when the ice cream machine is broken. The last thing you want is for that to happen, believe me. My son said the ice cream machines will go into a self-cleaning mode after a certain amount of time and they have no control over this. He said the cycle lasts about 15 min and during that time they can’t serve ice cream. He is also the person responsible for breaking down the ice cream machine at close and cleaning it. He described the process and I will say one thing, they are very thorough—you can rest assured the machines are clean.

The employees do NOT just say the machine is broken cause they are too lazy to clean it. Believe, the hassle of pissed off customers who scream obscenities at them or accuse them of lying is not worth it.

[ripcord]

63. Don't forget to mention if the cleaning cycle is interupted for any reason the machine resets.

[Shermann]

8. I took a chance on McDonald's last year on St. Patrick's Day

No working ice cream machine, no shamrock shakes.

Are you kidding me?

Haven't been back since.

[ruet]

10. ...

[stevil]

16. +1

Grandfather contract with machine manufacturer. Plus a bit more. Great video.

[Phil the Kilibuster]

22. Marjorie Taylor Greene's gonna be All Over This

I can see her now, ranting about the Clintons using Jewish Space Lasers to disable the machines.

[keithbvadu2]

60. Worse than planned obsolescence... Planned unreliability for reliable cash flow.

[dalton99a]

11. 35% of machines in NYC are broken. 22% in Dallas, 22% in Houston, 20% in Washington, etc.

https://mcbroken.com/

McDonald's has a problem

[LeftInTX]

31. Hee, hee! That's like gas buddy after Hurricane Harvey!

[Brother Buzz]

58. Um, it's not a bug, it's a feature

There's a sweetheart deal between Taylor and McDonald's, designed to shakedown franchise owners for unnecessary and expensive repairs.

I'm surprised the owners haven't brought a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s and Taylor.

[IronLionZion]

13. Dairy Queen and Chick Fil A don't have this problem

while using the same machines. Part of it might be the prevention of independent repairs. But I'm sure the workers don't want to clean it and managers don't want to fail inspections. So they just keep it down and say it's broken.

One would think they'd at least try to keep them up during the summer because of consumer demand, but you'd be wrong.

[LeftInTX]

29. Never been to Chick Fil A, but DQ's primary business is ice cream...

So, they probably have more of an incentive to keep their machines working.

I think McDonald's sees their frozen treats as an after thought...

I remember in the 80s and 90s, I went to McDonald's numerous times, just wanting a shake. The response: "Our machine is broken"...At the time Sonic and other places were starting to move in, so I gave up on McDonald's.


It's a good thing because about 10 years ago, I managed to score a McDonald's shake and I was repulsed. It was mostly warmish milk and sweet syrup..ick....

No more McDonald's shakes for me, but I will order the Oreo McFlurry or cone...

[cannabis_flower]

38. I used to work at a small independent burger place....

They ground their own hamburger, used real chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup for chocolate shakes. They would always have chocolate, vanilla and strawberry soft serve ice cream and another flavor that changed daily. None of the chains hold a candle to them. If you ever go to Victoria, TX ( I know Texas) go to Dairy Treat on the corner of Laurent and Crestwood. You won’t be disappointed.

[LeftInTX]

42. Yum! Victoria is not too far!

[cannabis_flower]

45. Well

I haven’t been there in years but hopefully they are as good as I remember they were. Every time I go it’s like Christmas and they’re closed so I don’t get to stop by.

[Roc2020]

15. It's comforting to see an investigation

into something that does not make me incensed

[Lulu KC]

52. Yes! I was thinking the same thing!

Although I have a feeling it will make me disgusted when it's complete, if I ever hear about it.

[Crowman2009]

19. No losss for me, their ice cream is garbage anyway.

Besides, there is this local coffee shop nearby that makes some heavenly gelato! I only get a couple scoops because it's so rich. Not to mention they make some lovely sorbets as well.

[Jon King]

20. Love the McDonalds app...

You can custom order and it always gets it right, no messing with trying to communicate with the drive through. Always get something free with the deals so save $$. You can pick it up at the window or they bring it out to you in 2 minutes. Pretty cool.

But yes, the ice cream machines are frustrating, love a nice shake after 5 hours working with the tennis kids!

[C_U_L8R]

21. With all the corrupt right wing businesses around

You’d think the FTC would have more pressing priorities.

[jalan48]

23. LOL

[packman]

24. It's their frozen Coke machine that always seems broken

As if killer hornets, floods, and plague wasn't enough


I ASK YOU - did Egypt have to suffer this much? When will the Potomac River turn red?

[WinstonSmith4740]

25. I swear...

I thought this was an Onion article when I read the headline.

[Vogon_Glory]

27. I always thought there was another reason

That when Mickey D’s ice cream machines go off-line, it’s because some competitor one to ten blocks away has functioning ice cream machines.

[Wicked Blue]

30. Biden loves ice cream

so this could be personal for him

[IronLionZion]

57. Biden likes Dairy Queen, which doesn't have this problem

Last edited Fri Sep 3, 2021, 03:29 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

They're investigating some anti-trust noncompete kind of stuff blocking independent repair services.

[Escurumbele]

32. To avoid having to deal with those broken machines the best thing to do is to NOT EAT AT McDonalds

or any of those franchises that just make people sick and fat. I cannot remember when was the last time I stepped on any of those franchises, that food is not good for anyone.

[Jon King]

33. Nah, its more about exercise and lifestyle.

We eat at McDonalds pretty much every day, sometimes twice. Its fast and consistent. Yogurt, oatmeal, grilled chicken salad, low fat milk, grilled chicken sandwich, apple slices. Like anything, it is what you make of it.

Of course we do strenuous exercise every day. We know of flabby people who 'eat healthy' while we enjoy a quick trip to McDonalds almost every day.

When you are traveling, its good to know you can grab something that will be relatively consistent. Healthy eating is always what you make of it. Don't know how many times I see people take a salad and load it up with bacon and dressing...ends up more garbage than many McDonald's items.

[cannabis_flower]

34. I'd also like to know why....

Jack-in-the-Box says it’s open 24 hours but when I come around 3 or 4 in the morning they are closed “for about an hour so they can change out the register.” That fine, but don’t say you are open 24 hours. Put a sign up that says closed from 3-4am.

[Orrex]

35. The company received this news with a a Grimace.

[Polybius]

36. How is this the FTC's business?

Why would they care? Now you can't legally have broken machines all the time? There is no law saying that you must serve ice cream.

[ruet]

39. Not the FCC and Not Really About McDonald's. The Headline is Crap and Sabotages the Story.

The widespread conundrum has the FTC questioning whether big manufacturers have been purposely preventing franchisees from hiring local-level, independent repairmen to fix the machines, the Journal reported.

The FTC announced in July that it planned to step up policing efforts against manufacturers that restricted businesses, government agencies, workers and consumers to conduct machine repairs on their own.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

41. Corporate won't take it off the menu for marketing reasons

So if it's on the menu, there is a reasonable expectation you should be able to get the product. The shake machines seem to have an unusual rate of failure, statistically speaking.

But the Feds do have about 5 million higher priorities.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

37. The reason that the machine is broken is that it is a pain to clean

...and it is a low profit item compared to fries and soda. So the machine is "broken" because the manager would rather not deal with it. Eventually corporate gets complaints and the machine is "fixed."

[ruet]

40. Yeaaaahhh... No.

See post #10.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

43. YouTube guy is overthinking it.

It's that the franchisees hate dealing with the whole ice cream/shake thing. It's an old issue.

[LiberatedUSA]

46. Can we investigate the chicken nuggets?

I don’t think there is a part of the chicken called the nugget. I want to know WTF is going on here.

[Calista241]

48. That's a whole political campaign right there.

What is in these Chicken Nuggets? We'd need to work with Dave Chappelle on messaging.

[Lulu KC]

53. Ha ha ha ha

Thank you for a literal laugh-out-loud.

[IronLionZion]

55. McDonalds thought it was newsworthy to announce they were switching to white meat

and people were like WTF was it before?

Either way, my body stopped being able to digest that kind of food many years ago.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

59. I thought everyone knew only roosters have chicken nuggets.

KY............ ........

[twodogsbarking]

50. The fries are best thing they have. Just eat them.

[ruet]

51. They Are the Best If...

fresh and eaten within 5 minutes. After that they slowly morph into, easily, the worst. Freezer fries are preferable at that point.

[twodogsbarking]

54. Advice taken. Eat them quick, like ice cream, except the ice cream machine is broken.

[ruet]

56. Pro-Tip!!!

Eat fresh, salty, McD fries WITH the ice cream.

[twodogsbarking]

62. Ben & Jerry's new flavor......McD's French Fry Ice Cream (sea salt)

[MustLoveBeagles]

64. My mom worked at McDonalds in the early 70's

The ice cream machine had a minor explosion. She wasn't hurt but she was covered in soft serve.