McBroken

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/24/2020 at 15:22 • Filed to: None

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Some guy hacked the McDonald’s ordering app to create a live map that shows the operational status of the soft freeze machine at all the McDonald’s locations in the US . I lost count of the times I’ve rolled up to McD’s to order a milk shake only to find that the machine is “broken.” I’m convinced that the machine is just a PITA to maintain and clean, so the employees just don’t bother and then say it’s broken. I imagine the soft serve machine is the same, or else the machines just suck.

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But the real question here is, “ Is McDonald’s soft serve that good so as to warrant this much effort?”

You can see the McBroken map !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:31

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Apparently the machines are now self-sanitizing because it was very hard to do it correctly by hand.

However, they’re bad at clock management, so instead of going through the sanitization cycle overnight they tend to spontaneously shut down during the day. 

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:32

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My grandpa used to take me to get their sundaes whenever I’d visit.

wafflesnfalafel > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:43

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wow , there is A LOT of McDs in the NE

Also somewhat interesting - nearly all the locations around us that are “broken” are in cr@ppy neighborhoods. It’s gotta be a plot by the man.

Svend > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:45

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Many people I know who have worked at various McDonalds outlets have said, it's just time consuming to clean and messy so most of the time they just don't use it, unless it's a particularly hot period then the takings justify it. 

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:55

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McDonald’s ice cream machines are automated, they self-clean and re- pasteurize whenever they decided its needed, and the staff at the restaurants can’t do anything to stop or delay the sanitizing process once it starts. Now, why “temporarily offline for cleaning” somehow gets translated to “broken”, I’m not sure.  

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:56

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Urambo Tauro > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:56

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That’s quite telling . I hope this thing is going viral enough for the higher-ups at McDs to take notice.

dogisbadob > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 15:59

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They had suspended their ice cream during the pandemic. I didn’t know they brought it back.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin' 10/24/2020 at 16:02

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Makes sense. The McDonald’s PR guy who responded to the app said they are working on the system. Perhaps this is what he is referring to. 

ttyymmnn > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 10/24/2020 at 16:03

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I don’t think I’ve ever had McD’s soft serve. I am a fan of their chocolate shakes, though, especially when paired with a very hot batch of fresh French fries. 

ttyymmnn > Svend 10/24/2020 at 16:03

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Anecdotal evidence to support my theory.

ttyymmnn > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/24/2020 at 16:05

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I really miss that show. My family watched it every week.  We tried watching the somewhat more adult reboot, and it was just weird and kind of uncomfortable.

ttyymmnn > Urambo Tauro 10/24/2020 at 16:06

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David Tovar, McDonald’s VP of U.S. Communications, seems to support the soft serve savior.

“Only a true @McDonalds fan would go to these lengths to help customers get our delicious ice cream! So, thanks!” Tovar tweeted. “We know we have some opportunities to consistently satisfy even more customers with sweet treats and we will.” (KXAN.com)

ttyymmnn > dogisbadob 10/24/2020 at 16:06

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No idea. I haven’t been inside a McD’s in more than a year. 

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 16:11

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I had the same thing with their “espresso machines” several years ago... A suspiciously high percentage of the time you’d hear the reply “Oh, that machine’s down for service— would you like drip coffee instead?”

“No. That’s why I asked for an espresso drink.”

It could have been faulty machines in fairness... but I like your theory that anything “high maintenance” is likely to be ignored by the fran chisees.

A Boy and His Longtail > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 16:44

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The ice cream machine was never working in the first place. It’s just all a big con by the ice cream machine manufacturer. At this point, McDonald’s is too invested to stop

DipodomysDeserti > wafflesnfalafel 10/24/2020 at 17:17

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A plot by the man to reduce diabetes in low income areas.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 17:19

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Not a buyer of McDonald’s ice cream, but they seem up at all my go to locations, and mostly up in the region.

What a time to be alive!!!

Nick Has an Exocet > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 17:28

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Personally, I think their ice cream tastes like chalk but I know a bunch of people that love it.

ttyymmnn > John Norris (AngryDrifter) 10/24/2020 at 17:28

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What a time to be alive!!!

That statement can go both ways.

ttyymmnn > Nick Has an Exocet 10/24/2020 at 17:28

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Doesn’t it start out as a powder?

Nick Has an Exocet > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 17:30

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B ack in the day, yeah. Don’t know about now.

fhrblig > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 18:40

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I barely ever go to McDonald’s for shakes (I make far worse food choices there instead), but when I do the shake machine is always down. But that’s ok, Dairy Queen’s shakes are better.

ranwhenparked > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 10/24/2020 at 18:48

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I miss their McCafe items, suspended indefinitely due to the pandemic, and probably never coming back.

The regular coffee is too much of a crapshoot depending on who made it and how long it’s been sitting out getting burned, but at least with a hot Mocha, the chocolate flavor will hide whatever problem there  is with the coffee and make it consistently drinkable.

Kiltedpadre > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 18:54

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I had ready that McDonald’s has created an add on piece for the machines that reports faults to a maintenance service so getting them repaired can be more efficient. The issue is apparently the parts is very expensive so lots of franchise owners won’t buy it.

Of course, that also doesn’t do much about the fact that the typical issue isn’t it actually being broken. Instead it’s   either midclean or broken down and cleaned but neither of the three employees that know how to put it back together are there.

ttyymmnn > fhrblig 10/24/2020 at 19:09

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Much better.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ranwhenparked 10/24/2020 at 19:35

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They had a recent announcement of some new bakery items sneaking back onto the menu.

I’m in the car so much during COVID , I need to come up with an in-car espresso fix. Having been getting by  with those Starbux “Via” packets— and they aren’t actually bad for what they are.

Dusty Ventures > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 19:53

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Of the 30 McDonald’s in my area 2 have “broken” machines. 93.3% operational seems pretty good by McD’s standards

Svend > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 21:45

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Ye', well two of those were managers, one I'd known for a few years, the other, I've known for some 20+ years from my school days. So I've no reason to doubt them. 

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > ttyymmnn 10/24/2020 at 21:49

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Yes, I guess it does. I was just th inking that if this were 1995 and you wanted to know the status of each McDonalds ice cream machine in semi real-time you would need an army of phone canvassers dialing each franchise daily . For the price of one man’s clever programming and daily app launching he gets the status. We are just going t o get more connected and more surprising results . Thus, i t’s a great time to be alive.

Of course my sympathies for those seriously impacted by illness or death from COVID-19. That wasn’t my focus as I was reading your post.

ttyymmnn > John Norris (AngryDrifter) 10/24/2020 at 21:52

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Oh, I know what you meant. I just thought it was interesting that the statement could have two completely different meanings.

Having the world so completely connected is a wonderful thing. At the same time, having the world so completely connected is a terrible thing.