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

Post by asdff » Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 5:12 PM UTC

Cederfjard wrote: post #90

asdff wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are they using such a complicated ice cream machine? I worked in food service in the 2010s and ours was pretty simple. One switch at the back for on and off and that was it. It took one person like 10 minutes to break it down and have it cleaned at the end of the night. The hardest part was wiping the exterior down. You basically just put a bucket underneath, ran the ice cream out, then ran hot water through it (…

It sounds like the idea is to only have to spend time manually cleaning it every fortnight instead of daily, and perhaps to limit waste of the product? But perhaps that gets offset by the fact that the increased complexity seems to make it so difficult to operate that it leads to constant interruptions and expensive service calls.

Post by Spooky23 » Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 5:32 PM UTC

rdedev wrote: post #171

Spooky23 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reporting is based on conversations with franchisees, who are a part of the equation here too. McDonalds franchisees are always in a tug of war with the company over various issues, especially loss leader products like ice cream and the dollar menu. Thus, it mysteriously “breaks”. In some markets, a cone is $0.29 — it’s a money loser that the franchisee doesn’t like and probably doesn’t drive traffic in many loca…

This seems to be an issue with only McD. According to the video other vendors like Wendy's don't have this problem. Remember that McD the company has nothing to loose from failing ice cream machines. That loss is taken by the franchise owners

Post by whydoineedthis » Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 9:49 PM UTC

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…

Post by fouc » Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 10:36 PM UTC

m00dy wrote: post #219

fouc wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, is what automated? The machine doesn't call for a service technician automatically if that's what you meant.

I meant your summary. Did you pull the transcript from the video and run through text summarisation model ?

Post by jbm » Mon, Apr 26, 2021, 11:19 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #194

60secs wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The video covers this. All franchises for all companies typically do this overnight.

They all have to be cleaned nightly, but they're not all self-sanitizing. The woman at the wendy's drive-through said they "wash" the machines nightly, which suggests they take it a part and wash it rather than running a self-sanitizing cycle.