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All of this sounds great until you realize that McDonald's ice cream machine reliability is by far the worst in the nation. There is no other chain that comes c

• Alupis 3y ago
  Perhaps, flipping it on it's head, the issue is so visible because McDonald's ice cream is by far the most popular fast food ice cream? From Cones to McFlurries to Milkshakes, I'm pretty sure they all use the same machine. McDonald's sells a tremendous amount of ice cream products. > I wish I could find the videos now, but there was a decently convincing (although with the usual "documentary grain of salt" caveats) argument that McDonalds took a payout to allow Taylor to predatorily extract value while providing shit service to their Franchisees. I find that very hard to believe. You're right, it's a meme for a reason after all, but sabotaging themselves makes no sense even if Taylor paid McDonald's for that racket. McDonald's has nothing to gain in that situation, only loss of reputation and revenue. > This makes the arguments about repuatational risk from shoddy repair parts fall flat. It doesn't though, and cannot just be hand-waved away. Imagine what the memes would be like if the machines were further degraded by bad parts or worse, got people sick at random locations. McDonald's has a right to force consistency. It's their brand, and ultimately their wallet that bears the consequences.
  • MostlyStable 3y ago
    They literally don't use the same machine. The McDonalds franchise contract requires them to use a specific, made-for-mcdonalds, model (mostly similar to the models sold to other chains, but not identical). And I'm pretty sure that people have done (informal) reliability studies by things like calling random franchises, and Mcdonalds isn't just more popular, it's actually less reliable.
    • Alupis 3y ago
      You misunderstood. The ice cream products from McDonald's all come from the same machine. I was not asserting they are the same machines at other fast food brands. The fact that these machines are likely custom made, or partially customized just for McDonald's is even more reason why it's reasonable for McDonald's to force franchisees to use specific vendors for repair/parts. Even with right to repair, McDonald's can force franchisees to use specific equipment and parts and vendors. That is their right as the brand owner. Which means... there is no reality where joe-random repair company is going to be allowed to repair joe-random franchisee's machines using parts sourced from who knows where. It's just not going to ever happen, there's too much liability. McDonald's wants a machine that's so brain-dead simple to use safely and keep sanitarily that even a new-hire with 5 minutes of training can operate it effectively. They get that by forcing standardization on one unit and one vendor, and software safety mechanisms that provide a firm no-go when something isn't right. > And I'm pretty sure that people have done (informal) reliability studies by things like calling random franchises, and Mcdonalds isn't just more popular, it's actually less reliable. You'll need some sort of source for this. Most fast food chains only sell one ice cream product, usually shakes or cones, maybe both. McDonald's sells McFlurries which are very popular, in addition to seasonal products and then the regular products. Given McDonald's is also the largest fast food chain in the world, it stands to reason they sell more ice cream products than anyone else. Which would, yes, mean the surface area is larger and more exposed. People go there specifically for a McFlurry and come away dissapointed. How many people go to Taco Bell specifically for a milkshake and nothing else?
      • MostlyStable 3y ago
        Of course McDonalds the brand can do that. They literally _are_ doing that. Someone made a 3rd party troublehsooting tool that solved the majority of problems without needing to call a Taylor tech, and McDonalds corporate disallowed it. The point is not "can they do this" the point is "is it necessary for them to do it for brand reputational reasons". The steelman argument I've seen for this state of affairs is that (apparently) the McDonald's machine is much more complicated to allow it to self sanitize/clean every night and only need full disassembly every 2 weeks. The machines used at other chains apparently don't' have this automatic process and must be disassembled and manually cleaned more frequently. That would all be well and good...if it worked. The frequent state of disrepair of McDonalds machines pretty clearly indicates it does not. They are mandating the use of a low-reliability machine, presumably in the name of lower labor costs (which you'd think you wouldn't have to _mandate_ since the franchiesees probably care more about labor costs than anyone), also mandating an expensive service contract for those machines. I'm just really really skeptical that 3rd party parts would make this situation worse. People already have the impression that McDonals ice creams machines are usually broken. I don't think this opinion is based on a quantitative assesment of uptime, where, if it got 10% worse, their opinion would decrease by 10%. To try and summarise: I thin your argument that 3rd party parts would create enough of a reliability problem to meaningfully change their reputation, which is _already_ one of lack of reliability (deserved or not), is completely implausable to me.