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Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

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Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#61

Post by randymercury »

adventured wrote: post #60
noisy_boy wrote: post #57

Some questions that I felt were not answered: 1. The video shows Taylor docs that have logo of Wendy's and other outlets that use their machines. So why those outlets are not facing the same issues? Do they use the same 602 model? Are the software versions same there i.e. same cryptic error codes? Any other differences compared to McDonalds? 2. One of Wendy's employees says that they wash the machine every night. Are…

> The video shows Taylor docs that have logo of Wendy's and other outlets that use their machines. So why those outlets are not facing the same issues? The video mentions that McDonald's was/is locked into a specific machine from Taylor (which all franchisees had to buy), whereas one imagines that the other chains like In-N-Out Burger are entirely free to purchase a different machine from Taylor that doesn't have so…

The kickback scenario came to mind for me as well. It could even be something less nefarious than a formalized system on a corporate level.

Personal relationships with key decision makers, vegas trips, the old boys club etc. Two companies with that kind of old relationship.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#62

Post by laurent92 »

syrrim wrote: post #29
bcaa7f3a8bbc wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that even a megacorp like McDonald needs the right to repair... On second thought, not exactly the megacorp, but the franchise owners.

McDonald's the corp isn't hurt by this, individual franchise owners bear the cost. In particular, mcdonald's the corp mandates the particular icecream machine that is used, rather than allowing the franchise owner to pick from several machines. The video argues that this is done because mcdonald's is interested in benefiting the company that makes and services the ice cream machines.

Given the meme is already circulating among the youth with McDonalds ice cream being the bottom of the joke, and given it reached the top of HN many times already, I say this hurts McDonalds image a lot.

When people think about “broken like a McDonalds ice cream machine”, I think McD can legitimately ask Taylor for damages at corporate level.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#63

Post by evil-olive »

wronglebowski wrote: post #36
boatsie wrote: post #3

Tldw: the machine throws obscure error codes (too viscous, failure to heat to proper temps, etc) and can “lock out” the operator, who has to then call an authorized service technician that bills hundreds of dollars for repair. Any attempt to self repair or hire someone else will void the warranty and is disallowed by McDonald’s corporate. The ice cream maker company, Taylor, reports 25% of their revenue is service an…

As someone who worked in stores for years, this isn’t entirely accurate. The machine isn’t just being an asshole to drive up service calls. The machines are filled with a dairy product which makes the “ice cream”. This is boiled nightly to keep the mixture free of bacteria. If the nightly heat cycle fails to complete for one of a dozen reasons the machine locks out. Those unaware of the process usually end up calling…

> Every two weeks the machine must be torn down and cleaned. It’s slightly complex but all well documented. Once the 14 day marker has been passed the machine is inoperable. It must be cleaned for food safety reasons. If your “cleaner” is out or you just have poor operations you’ll end up placing service calls out of confusion.

This seems entirely reasonable to me. I've heard horror stories about bacteria & mold growth in commercial ice machines from infrequent cleanings.

But...how high is the barrier to entry to becoming a "certified" ice cream machine cleaner? How much training is required, how much does it cost, etc?

In other words:

> Once the 14 day marker has been passed the machine is inoperable.

Who has "admin rights" to reset this "most recently cleaned" timestamp?

Is there any reason why I, if I'm a McDonald's manager, couldn't take the training myself, and be the person who does the every-two-weeks maintenance?

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#64

Post by jfoster »

syrrim wrote: post #29
bcaa7f3a8bbc wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that even a megacorp like McDonald needs the right to repair... On second thought, not exactly the megacorp, but the franchise owners.

McDonald's the corp isn't hurt by this, individual franchise owners bear the cost. In particular, mcdonald's the corp mandates the particular icecream machine that is used, rather than allowing the franchise owner to pick from several machines. The video argues that this is done because mcdonald's is interested in benefiting the company that makes and services the ice cream machines.

On the face of it, McDonald's corp should also be harmed by this. It makes their customers less successful through higher costs & lower sales, and it tarnishes their brand when a customer of their customers is unable to purchase an ice cream.

The two questions in my mind after watching:

1. What makes McDonald's corp okay with it?

2. What is the difference between the arrangement with McDonald's and the other franchises/chains? (Wendy's, In'n'Out, etc.)

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#65

Post by setr »

sverhagen wrote: post #47
wronglebowski wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always had access to a Taylor manual and a Taylor technician via phone at no cost. Even with machines that were far out of warranty. Troubleshooting was never an issue for me. I never worked anywhere else with a Taylor machine. Perhaps other companies have better deals or easier to use equipment. I would like to know if Wendy's and others machines operate using the same food safety standards.

> I always had access to a Taylor manual and a Taylor technician via phone at no cost. Was that technician for free? Or did your franchise owner pay for it, out of (your) sight? The claim isn't that they do a poor job with technicians, just that they are perversely incentivized to profit from it. The video also explains there was a (very limited) owner manual, while all the secrets were in the service manual. Which o…

Payment type would also matter. If it’s a flat monthly fee then they’re incentivized to avoid service calls. I imagine franchises and Taylor itself would also vastly prefer such a scheme, as it would reduce cost variation.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#66

Post by sverhagen »

setr wrote: post #65
sverhagen wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I always had access to a Taylor manual and a Taylor technician via phone at no cost. Was that technician for free? Or did your franchise owner pay for it, out of (your) sight? The claim isn't that they do a poor job with technicians, just that they are perversely incentivized to profit from it. The video also explains there was a (very limited) owner manual, while all the secrets were in the service manual. Which o…

Payment type would also matter. If it’s a flat monthly fee then they’re incentivized to avoid service calls. I imagine franchises and Taylor itself would also vastly prefer such a scheme, as it would reduce cost variation.

I understand that companies like Taylor benefit from income streams being predictable. But as per the video it seems that their revenue model was predicated on having as many incidents as possible, each billed separately.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#67

Post by grecy »

wronglebowski wrote: post #36
boatsie wrote: post #3

Tldw: the machine throws obscure error codes (too viscous, failure to heat to proper temps, etc) and can “lock out” the operator, who has to then call an authorized service technician that bills hundreds of dollars for repair. Any attempt to self repair or hire someone else will void the warranty and is disallowed by McDonald’s corporate. The ice cream maker company, Taylor, reports 25% of their revenue is service an…

As someone who worked in stores for years, this isn’t entirely accurate. The machine isn’t just being an asshole to drive up service calls. The machines are filled with a dairy product which makes the “ice cream”. This is boiled nightly to keep the mixture free of bacteria. If the nightly heat cycle fails to complete for one of a dozen reasons the machine locks out. Those unaware of the process usually end up calling…

Do you have any explanation why this is purely a McDonald's problem, and other fast food places who use essentially the same ice cream maker have much, much less down time?

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#68

Post by JohnJamesRambo »

1cvmask wrote: post #2

Here is the site to see if the ice cream machine works or not: https://mcbroken.com/ Here is the original HN thread on this subject: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24861623

I find it insane someone from corporate doesn't think 10-20% downtime on a product they make heavy profits from isn't a big deal. And yes I know McDonald's is a real estate company and the franchise owners are the ones losing money etc. but still.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#69

Post by nomilk »

What a brilliant and intelligent expose. I look forward to hearing the collective response of the 16000 US McDonald Franchisees owners :)

Afterthought: since franchisees are locked into the C602's I wonder if they could do anything about this even if they tried. Sigh.

Re: Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video]

#70

Post by C19is20 »

zizee wrote: post #51
ping_pong wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you mansplaining about how the ice cream machine works after watching a video, to someone who actually used and maintained the ice cream machine?

Can we please keep gender warfare off HN? (or at least when it has nothing to do with the story/discussion)

Isn't "mansplaining" nowadays so far gone that, as a word, it has become gender-neutral and is used instead of "condescending".
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