McDonald’s Faces a Milk-Shakedown

Why is the McFlurry machine always broken?

McDonald’s McFlurry machine is famous for great ice cream.

It’s equally famous for never being able to serve said ice cream. 

The machine is out-of-order so frequently that it’s become a long-running joke (read: big customer bugbear). Even the company couldn’t help but poke fun at the problem, tweeting, “We have a joke about our soft serve machine but we’re worried it won’t work.”

Customers have continually made their disappointment heard, and it’s now the most common complaint.

Conspiracy theories have grown louder, including the popular one that McDonald’s employees intentionally lie about the machine being broken to avoid making shakes and McFlurries. (As a former hospitality worker, this is likely true in some cases).

Websites like Mcbroken were created to help customers satisfy their ice cream cravings, showing the operating status of the machines in real-time by using a system that orders a McFlurry from every restaurant every 30 minutes, noting which orders fail due to an error.

You’ve been (soft) served!

In late 2021, the Federal Trade Commission wanted to know why the machines were always broken, believing the issue could be “potentially in violation of antitrust law.” One can only hope they burst into McDonald’s headquarters and shouted, “You’ve been soft-served!”

The issue is twofold: the machines themselves and who has the right to repair them. The machines are expensive, have complicated code within, and have to manage the delicate process of withstanding the cold temperature needed to serve the ice cream and the hotter environment required during its cleaning cycle. In short, the machines are far from intuitive, prone to breakdowns, and are not easy to get back up and running. Some even accuse the Taylor Company — the manufacturers of the machines — of inserting intentionally ‘janky’ code that sets the machines up to fail. It wouldn’t be that much of a shock; it costs $350 for every 15 minutes of service on a machine. The company denies this, stating, "There is no reason for us to purposely design our equipment to be confusing or hard to repair or hurt our operators.”

In true startup spirit, many have sensed the potential for disruption. One was Kytch, a startup that developed a diagnostics tool to help franchise owners get their machines fixed faster. However, the tool was met with a frosty reception from Taylor. While franchise owners can fix their machines, Taylor made it clear it would void their warranty, forcing owners to pay high prices for specialist repairs. The resulting battle ended up in the courts, with Kytch suing Taylor for intellectual property theft. The judge sided with Kytch, ordering Taylor to return any of Kytch’s devices they had gotten their hands on — they were found to be trying to reverse engineer the device to make their own — and even threw in a restraining order for good measure. The legal battle is still ongoing. 

When President Biden signed a right-to-repair executive order aimed at manufacturers that impose limits on independent repairs, the FTC took notice and started making early inquiries. In the summer of 2021, it issued McDonald’s franchise owners letters seeking answers about why the machines are always broken. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FTC also inquired about how “McDonald’s reviews suppliers and equipment, and how often restaurant owners are allowed to work on their own machines.”

The right to repair is an issue gaining momentum. There has been some fascinating discourse around smartphones — especially iPhones — and how, for the sake of the planet and people’s wallets, it’s only right we can try to fix them, and not only through the manufacturer. Refusing it is nothing short of a scam that allows companies to sell businesses equipment that’s likely to break — or worse, is designed to fail (something called planned obsolescence)— prevent owners from learning how to fix them or understand the root causes then forcing them to pay for repairs at high prices, of which the seller takes a healthy cut. In some good news, Apple has recently reversed its position and will support a bill in California that would make the iPhone and other consumer electronics last longer. It’s only a minor step but a step in the right direction, and it can hopefully drive further action. 

Ice cream could be next. Online repair community iFixit and the DC-based nonprofit Public Knowledge are asking the government to let them fix McDonald’s soft serve machines. iFixit recently broke down a Taylor ice cream machine and — would you believe it —found “easily replaceable parts” that were kept hidden by “cryptic error messages.” They are pushing for copyright law exemption and are again asking Congress to pass the Freedom to Repair Act, which has stalled (though some states have implemented similar bills). 

Allowing franchise owners to use third-party software and tools could be the solution disgruntled McDonald’s customers are waiting for. But these issues take time, and with the power, money and resources a giant like McDonald’s has at its disposal, they will fight this tooth and nail. It should also be noted that the FTC made it clear in its letter to franchise owners that “the existence of a preliminary investigation does not indicate the FTC or its staff have found any wrongdoing.” 

In simple terms, McDonald’s isn’t in cold water… yet. But as the battle over the right to repair continues, the company may have to concede that its restaurant owners want to be able to give customers what they want, when they want it, without having to operate in an unfair system to do so. 

In other words, it may one day admit its practice of 'no right to repair' is un-cone-stitutional.

I’ll get my coat.