141–150 of 245 posts
The software interface looks stupid, but ... that's really more of an industry problem.
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> 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 for service even if it’s a operations error(not enough product to boil successfully) This example is covered in the video. ;) The thing is, at least according to the reporting, even these operations errors are not clearly defined by the messages given by the machine. So,…
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.
You expect people to RTFM.... come one this is 2021 no one reads manuals any more...
//wish that as sarcasm but the number of times I have seen a solution to a problem that plagued people for weeks be found clearly laid out in the manual for a given product is far to high
Question - I keep hearing about this frequently as a meme on the internet, but I have never ever been to a McDonalds that didn't have a working ice cream machine(here in UK). Is this unique to US for some reason?
Just watch the video :)
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> Time is too precious to waste Sure. Which is why my default youtube playback speed is 1.5X.
Mine has just kept getting faster and faster, thanks to this Chrome extension[1]. Right now I average 2.5x speed for most videos, and 2.2x for people that talk fast. [1] https://github.com/igrigorik/videospeed
I find that most videos are understandable up to 3x. I watch most of them at 2.5-2.8x, down to 2x for people that talk fast or with a hard accent. Same for podcasts.
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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…
If it's mostly operator errors, than why not make the information clear to the operators on what the error actually is? Your post only confirms how bad Taylor machines at McDonalds are. It looks they are deliberately making the machines obscure to the operators
Here it is again, to save searching through the comments: https://www.wired.com/story/they-hacked-mcdonalds-ice-cream-...
[edited to add link]
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…
I guess it’s just way different now.
A common misconception. Most software is bad. There is more software now than any time before. Therefore, the amount of bad software increases with time.
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No one is dying from actually repairing a machine. However, the soft-serve mix is very conducive to bacterial growth. People messing with the sterilization or the self-checks for sterilization could easily result in bacterial food borne illness which can be deadly.
>People messing with the sterilization or the self-checks for sterilization could easily result in bacterial food borne illness which can be deadly. Yes, it's deadly, this is exactly the reason why we should make sure that McDonalds staff can properly operate their icecream machines by making the machine as easy to use as possible. If you have untrained staff that keep running the machine out of specs because the mac…
I would say it is quite clearly the opposite. Anything which could introduce safety risks to a customer necessitates a visit from a trained service technician to investigate.
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…
Crazy to imagine that another simple non-software issue might have not been such a problem and would have been easily fixed.
I hope that one day, engineers will understand that the less electronics/software there is in a machine, the better it is. This trend should begin any time now.