If you had a craving for a soft-serve cone, hot fudge sundae, McFlurry or Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s in the U.S. Saturday, there was at one point a 10.83 percent chance you weren’t going to get one, according to mcbroken.com.
In New York, close to 35 percent of McDonalds ice cream machines were broken Saturday morning. In Dallas, 17.24 percent weren’t working. In Los Angeles and Chicago, nearly 16 percent were broken. Fortunately for San Francisco residents with a hankering for ice cream, no machines were reported down.
For many customers – including some who have created memes and petitions about their McDonald’s ice cream-related woes – it may seem strange that a company with more than $23 billion in revenue would have such trouble keeping equipment running for years. Even McDonald’s social media team has joked about it.
So, what is going on? Why aren’t these machines working?
According to Wired, the $18,000 Taylor Brand ice cream machines used at over 13,000 McDonald’s locations “have gained a reputation for being absurdly fickle and fragile,” and have a hard-to-navigate user interface.
Not too long ago, there was an outside attempt to make the machines easier to use.
“It’s a huge money maker to have a customer that’s purposefully, intentionally blind and unable to make very fundamental changes to their own equipment,” Jeremy O’Sullivan told Wired.
After studying the machines, O’Sullivan and his partner Melissa Nelson started selling a Wi-Fi gadget called Kytch around three years ago that “essentially hacks” the machines and offers an easier interface. Now, they are suing both Taylor and McDonald’s.
Kytch filed a complaint against McDonald’s Tuesday. Previously, the startup sued Taylor. It claims both companies attempted to reverse engineer Kytch’s device, according to Food & Wine. In July, a judge issued a temporary restraining order against Taylor related to the case, said the outlet.
In a statement sent to Food & Wine, McDonald's USA called the allegations “meritless.”
At one point, McDonald’s owners in 30 states used Kytch’s breakdown-spotter, the startup company said, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, McDonald’s told franchisees that the devices were not sanctioned and could pose a safety hazard. Kytch denies it.
“A lot of what’s been broadcasted can be attributed to the lack of knowledge about the equipment and how they operate in the restaurants,” a Taylor representative said. “You have to make sure the machine is cleaned properly. The machines are built up with a lot of interconnecting parts that have to operate in a complex environment and manner.”
In particular, an automated heat-cleaning cycle intended to destroy bacteria that can last up to four hours causes issues for McDonald’s stores. If the cycle fails, the machines can’t be used until a repair technician can get them going again.
In September, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Trade Commission had reached out to McDonald’s franchisees over the summer about the ice cream machine problem. Even with the reported FTC inquiry and legal battles regarding the machines, it doesn’t seem that they are getting easier to use, according to mcbroken.com statistics.
Software engineer Rashiq Zahid created the site in 2020, when he was 24 years old, according to The Verge. Jack in the Box, another fast food chain, partnered with mcbroken this week to promote its own frozen treats.
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