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New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

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Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do have a lower MTBF than other Taylor machines sold to other fast food chains. McDonalds requires franchises to purchase specific models that are more prone to failure and harder to repair.

Why would they do that?

And why would the manufacturer build that? Is it really the razorblade business model?

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never seen them provide value for money here in Europe compared to what was already available. What boosted them - and killed a lot of the local competition - was that tourists seemed to prefer them. We had plenty of fast food here that was quite ok before then.

> tourists seemed to prefer them Interestingly, in studies tourists actually do not prefer the food from McDonalds over local cuisine in almost every market studied. What they did prefer was the consistency: knowing what they are going to get.

Its home away from home.

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#85
The reason why McD tastes the same everywhere in the world is because of strict protocols like this. Ever wondered why Domino’s tastes very different depending on the country? I prefer predictability in quality and that is one thing that McD gets right

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and for some reason McD thinks you need a technician to fix something hard like "container overfilled" or something. And apparently even Taylor thinks this is stupid. Sounds like an "ok boomer" moment. (or maybe something involving financial incentives, can't exclude that) "Who mitms their own machine?!" Well, did Taylor fire the engineers that built this? Or they just want to keep the same limited hw and work…

If McDonald's want's to error on the side of caution, isn't that their prerogative?

Sure, it's their prerrogative to continue squeezing their franchisees as much as they can and make their work as hard as they can.

If I wanted to lose money there are less painful ways than being a McD franchisee.

McD's actual business is on real estate/franchise fees. The food business is secondary and is a justification for the first. Guess which part is risky and complicated?

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and for some reason McD thinks you need a technician to fix something hard like "container overfilled" or something. And apparently even Taylor thinks this is stupid. Sounds like an "ok boomer" moment. (or maybe something involving financial incentives, can't exclude that) "Who mitms their own machine?!" Well, did Taylor fire the engineers that built this? Or they just want to keep the same limited hw and work…

If McDonald's want's to error on the side of caution, isn't that their prerogative?

Problem is McDonald's isn't paying for all the unnecessary service calls, it is the restaurant owner that have to buy the McDonald's mandated machines that end up paying. So you have McDonald's which has no incentive to change things, Taylor which profits from the situation since their devices are mandated and the restaurant owners who have to foot the bill for hundreds of pointless service calls.

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never seen them provide value for money here in Europe compared to what was already available. What boosted them - and killed a lot of the local competition - was that tourists seemed to prefer them. We had plenty of fast food here that was quite ok before then.

Here in Germany, we still have a lot of other fast food, like the local Döner shops, or local "Asian" shops selling mostly Chinese, Thai and/or Vietnamese dishes (usually their menus are a mix), or pizza-to-go places or the good old "Currywurstbude" (selling Currywurst of course, but usually things like Schnitzel and even burgers as well). Even my own minor city (about 250k people) also has a lot of other fast food (…

> I know a few people who go to McD because "you know what you'll get"

Funny that the last times I did that, I didn't get what I expect. Broken machines (not only ice-cream), missing products, and it seems it was harder on the stomach as well, etc.

I just gave up on it if it doesn't even do that anymore.

There are better choices, even around BK, AW, Quick in Europe, etc

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> tourists seemed to prefer them Interestingly, in studies tourists actually do not prefer the food from McDonalds over local cuisine in almost every market studied. What they did prefer was the consistency: knowing what they are going to get.

Its home away from home.

McDonalds is only "home" for Americans. As the parent comment says, it's "consistent", but it's absolutely not "home" for me or anyone else I know from Europe. And for anyone who has tried McDonalds on a few different continents, it's not even that "consistent" in what you can expect, I think people are more interested in the consistency of safety, i.e. you have a lower risk of being food poisoned than you may have from some of the other establishments nearby.

Re: New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If McDonald's want's to error on the side of caution, isn't that their prerogative?

Sure, it's their prerrogative to continue squeezing their franchisees as much as they can and make their work as hard as they can. If I wanted to lose money there are less painful ways than being a McD franchisee. McD's actual business is on real estate/franchise fees. The food business is secondary and is a justification for the first. Guess which part is risky and complicated?

Abusive monopolistic behavior if left unchecked can lead to great evil. This was recognized a long time ago and led to anti monopoly legislation and enforcement. Just think what would have happened to the internet if AT&T‘s stranglehold over the connection of equipment to telephone lines had continued.

Strangling is not a prerogative of the strongest.

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