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We can now fix McDonald's ice cream machines
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mmmlinux 2y agoGreat, They made its so defeating the lock isn't illegal. Too bad selling the tool to do it is.
- dylan604 2y agoSo don't sell. Open an account on GitHub and post the procedure there
- greensh 2y agofrom the article: > The ruling doesn’t change the underlying statute making it illegal to share or sell tools that bypass software locks. I think this also includes sharing code.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- bebrbrhrj 2y agoIs it trite to ask if this is blocking free speech?
- delroth 2y agoThis has recently been challenged in courts and rejected: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/08/federal-appeals-court-rules-fair-use-may-be-narrowed-serve-hollywood-profits https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/08/federal-appeals-court-... > Integral to the Court’s decision was the conclusion that Section 1201’s ban on circumvention of access restrictions is a regulation of “conduct” rather than “speech.”
- roastedpeacock 2y agoAnyone know if EFF is going to attempt further appeals?
- everyone 2y agoGroups being motivated to ensure ice-cream machines are inoperable is a perfect example of a perverse incentive.
- kulahan 2y agoThey aren't; they're motivated to ensure ice-cream machines are only fixable by them. Still a perverse incentive. It makes zero sense for a company to be motivated to have their own product... not... work.
- readthenotes1 2y agoYour last sentence goes a bit too far. There are products that are "loss leaders" that the company does not want to actually sell
- kulahan 2y agoA loss leader is working if it's increasing customer traffic. Nobody is going to McD's because they have amazing/cheap/highly-available ice cream.
- adgjlsfhk1 2y agothe loss leader is the ice cream machine
- MathMonkeyMan 2y agoThe coffee is pretty good, though.
- Aloisius 2y agoI have definitely gone to McD specifically to get a shake on a hot day and driven away when told the ice cream machine was down.
- tedunangst 2y agoWhat's the over/under on how many franchises will now resume selling ice cream?
- BoorishBears 2y agoI think they're going to stop selling ice cream period as a company. If it was important to their bottom line McDonalds would have done something as a collective rather than having individuals enter this fight for back-channel repair options. At some point they'll probably have their main contracts expire and stop dealing with the mess altogether.
- davidczech 2y agoIsn't the same machine used for milkshakes? That's kind of staple of burger joints.
- wokwokwok 2y agoYeah, but the point is that MacDonalds obviously doesn’t want to sell icecream. Maybe it’s low margin. Maybe cleaning is expensive. Maybe it helps having the promise of cheap ice cream but “sorry not right now” leading customers to buy other (more expensive) items. It’s not an incompetent organisation. If they wanted the machines to work, they would work. They don’t. So… if anything changes out of this, it will be to keep the status quo; people coming in and not buying cheap ice creams.
- bastawhiz 2y agoMcDonald's also has no problem phasing out items from its menu. It does so with regularity. Why keep something on the menu that it doesn't want to sell? It either wants to sell it or it doesn't want to sell it.
- dangus 2y agoIce Cream products would be one of the last things they phase out. First, the ice cream machine produces multiple products: milkshakes, McFlurries, hot fudge sundaes, and ice cream cones. Second, dessert is an upsell and driver of APV. If you lack dessert options you basically leave money on the table from customers who are willing to buy dessert. Third, the ice cream machine, despite its problems, is a pretty small and manageable piece of equipment. It doesn't need an employee to babysit it like a fryer or flat top. The only thing simpler at a McDonald's is the Apple Pie heater. If you don't believe me, find a burger chain that doesn't have ice cream on the menu. Wendy's, Burger King, Shake Shack, Steak 'N Shake, In-N-Out, Whataburger, Culver's, Carl's Jr/Hardee's, seriously, which restaurant that serves burgers doesn't have ice cream/milkshakes?
- SoftTalker 2y agoAll of this was unnecessary on the old ice cream machines. The downside was they had to be cleaned and sanitized every night and that meant you needed one more person on the closing team. It was all about saving labor costs.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- recursive 2y agoIt's also all about Taylor's exclusivity on repairing the machines.
- Aloisius 2y agoEh. Taylor doesn't fix the machines. You actually get a contract with an independent certified technician - quite often provided through the reseller who sold the machine.
- recursive 2y agoCertified by a Taylor-accredited organization. The money all goes the same way. A distinction without a difference.
- Aloisius 2y agoTaylor doesn't get paid for the vast majority of repairs. The money goes to the independent technician. They make some money for replacement parts, but that's rarely more than the occasional o-ring.
- janalsncm 2y ago> It's also all about Taylor's exclusivity on repairing the machines. In context, it doesn’t matter whether Taylor is getting paid or Santa Claus is. The problem is that McDonald’s franchises were not able to fix them due to software locks.
- dang 2y agoRelated. Others? McDonald's ice cream machines are always broken and now the feds are involved - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40832988 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40832988 - June 2024 (2 comments) FTC and DOJ want to free McDonald's ice cream machines from DMCA repair rules - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39717558 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39717558 - March 2024 (177 comments) McDonald's ice cream machine hackers say they found 'smoking gun' - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38657192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38657192 - Dec 2023 (230 comments) The Real Reason McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38232983 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38232983 - Nov 2023 (2 comments) iFixit tears down a McDonald’s ice cream machine, demands DMCA exemption for it - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37325200 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37325200 - Aug 2023 (6 comments) Why McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken and How to Fix Them - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37319841 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37319841 - Aug 2023 (3 comments) iFixit Petitions Government for Right to Hack McDonald's Ice Cream Machine - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37311239 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37311239 - Aug 2023 (301 comments) Ice cream machine hackers sue McDonald's - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30527939 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30527939 - March 2022 (154 comments) New emails released in the McDonald’s ice cream machine lawsuit - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29325507 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29325507 - Nov 2021 (138 comments) Ask HN: Are McFlurries suddenly back now that lawsuit is pending? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28581906 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28581906 - Sept 2021 (14 comments) McDonald’s unreliable ice cream machines reportedly under FTC investigation - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28407525 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28407525 - Sept 2021 (41 comments) Investigating why McDonald's ice cream machines are often broken [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26936774 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26936774 - April 2021 (234 comments) The Reason McDonalds Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26932344 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26932344 - April 2021 (3 comments) They Hacked McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines–and Started a Cold War - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26874436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26874436 - April 2021 (4 comments) I reverse engineered McDonalds’ internal API - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24861623 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24861623 - Oct 2020 (420 comments)
- mcdow 2y agoHere's a great YT video on why McDonald's ice cream machines are always broken: https://youtu.be/SrDEtSlqJC4 https://youtu.be/SrDEtSlqJC4 TL;DW: there are some perverse incentives to keep them broken. Basically the owner operators are forced to use a particular brand by corporate. Corporate McDonalds has a deal with a particular ice cream machine company. That particular company is the only company owner operators are allowed to buy from, and the only company allowed to service the machines. And it's no skin off of McDonald's back for these machines to always be broken, the cost falls on the owner-operators.
- hansvm 2y agoImplicit here is the assumption that (a) when evaluating many franchises McD is still attractive for new owner operators despite the obvious flaw, or (b) switching costs are high for existing McD owner operator victims, and the issue wasn't known or believed to be this bad when they started.
- Aloisius 2y agoUS franchises have been able to buy machines from Carpigiani instead of Taylor for ~7 years.
- jessriedel 2y agoI don't understand the last sentence. If the machines are frequently broken, that damages the Macdonald's brand in the consumer's eyes. And if the franchisee's are paying unnecessary costs, making a Macdonald's franchise less lucrative for the owner-operator, that will lead to fewer franchises renewals and new franchises in the future.
- lbourdages 2y agoI'm sure corporate has done the math and concluded that whatever money the machine provider pays them is higher than any expected losses in franchise revenue due to franchise owners quitting due to poor ice cream sales.
- 2y ago
- coder543 2y agoI wish we would just repeal the DMCA. Under no circumstances should we need an exemption from the copyright office just to be able to repair an ice cream machine. It's not even a permanent exemption! The DMCA causes many weird problems.
- readthenotes1 2y agoDisney was willing to go to the ends of the Earth to protect Mickey mouse...
- Izikiel43 2y agoAnd Paraguay won
- lolinder 2y agoReference for those who didn't see it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41550417 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41550417
- selimthegrim 2y agoI really have to wonder if the BoJack Horseman writers knew about this when they wrote the Disney trademark episode.
- MichaelZuo 2y agoWell they didn’t literally go to every last square km on planet Earth… so it’s not that surprising.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- eli 2y agoSure, but the anti-circumvention provisions in particular just inconvenience everyone. It's not like DVDs being "protected" prevented them from being ripped.
- EMIRELADERO 2y agoThe DMCA, though a mostly terrible law, actually doesn't prohibit any of what the ice cream machine people want to do, at least according to the CAFC. Chamberlain v. Skylink, final court of appeals for the federal circuit opinion, page 39: "Underlying Chamberlain’s argument on appeal that it has not granted such authorization lies the necessary assumption that Chamberlain is entitled to prohibit legitimate purchasers of its embedded software from “accessing” the software by using it. Such an entitlement, however, would go far beyond the idea that the DMCA allows copyright owner to prohibit “fair uses . . . as well as foul.” Reimerdes, 111 F. Supp. 2d at 304. Chamberlain’s proposed construction would allow copyright owners to prohibit exclusively fair uses even in the absence of any feared foul use. It would therefore allow any copyright owner, through a combination of contractual terms and technological measures, to repeal the fair use doctrine with respect to an individual copyrighted work—or even selected copies of that copyrighted work. Again, this implication contradicts § 1201(c)(1) directly. Copyright law itself authorizes the public to make certain uses of copyrighted materials. Consumers who purchase a product containing a copy of embedded software have the inherent legal right to use that copy of the software. What the law authorizes, Chamberlain cannot revoke." (Emphasis mine)
- yreg 2y agoI've heard plenty of stories about the MCD ice cream machines, but it doesn't add up for me. Can someone who has more insight shed some light into this? - Are the machines listed as "broken" on https://mcbroken.com/ https://mcbroken.com/ actually broken? Or is that more of a meme, with many just undergoing routine cleaning, etc.? - Why does this seemingly happen only in US? In European McDonald's it's pretty much unheard of. - Why would McDonald's Corp. be happy with the status quo? Is it some kind of tactic to squeeze more revenue from the franchises? If so, why not address it in the franchise agreement and just let restaurants sell more ice cream?
- 0x457 2y ago> - Why does this seemingly happen only in US? In European McDonald's it's pretty much unheard of. Because only in the US, employees fill it up above max line.
- crooked-v 2y agoThe short version is that the machines' sensors are extremely picky (because the stuff that goes into soft serve is just begging for massive bacterial growth if not handled correctly), and McDonald's corporate requires (I'm pretty sure by franchisee contract, not just by the copyright restrictions the article is about) that their specific chosen vendor handles it, even for minor issues. A lot of people like to treat this as a conspiracy, but I think it's much more likely it's the corporate people being paranoid about local franchisees overriding the machines, and that leading to listeria outbreaks happening in the only non-sealed food item that isn't heated to safe temperatures shortly before it's handed off to customers. I don't know about the contrast with Europe, but it might just be geographical size causing time delays for individual techs showing up. McDonald's franchisees are everywhere, and the U.S. is gigantic.
- somethoughts 2y agoI suspect its a probably a combination of abundance of caution based on past bad experiences/lawsuits as well as also being good for margins: The Surprising Reasons Soft-Serve Ice Cream Can Be Dangerous To Eat https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serve-ice-150151493.html https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serv... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 From 2005: More than 120 people were sickened after eating ice cream at their local McDonald's. The health department says the restaurant's dairy mixture somehow was contaminated with staphylococcus, and a mechanical malfunction in the soft serve machine allowed the bacteria to grow. So many people became so ill, so quickly, the director of the local emergency room told me he at first thought there was some kind of bioterrorism incident in the town.... Nancy Smith says she had taken her grandchildren for an outing, and stopped at McDonald's to buy them a treat. Her grandson Darien had a milkshake, and she says he was violently ill an hour later. He became limp and listless, Smith says, and they rushed him to the hospital, scared to death. Then she got sick. She says she had just three sips of Darien's shake, but it was enough to make her very ill. She told us she was vomiting so violently, she thought she was going to have a heart attack. She's now suing McDonald's, as are many of the other people who got sick in that incident.
- Rugu16 2y agoFirst great write up and second kudos to iFixit for fighting this fight.
- from-nibly 2y agoNice, the politicians were able to get some brownie points on a hot button issue without actually doing anything! Good for them, I bet they feel proud, they deserve some of the ice cream they so valiantly saved.
- gkoberger 2y agoThe US Copyright Office isn't elected, and the woman running it was appointed by a non-political appointee herself. I have a pretty negative view of politics, too, but it doesn't mean we can't be happy when something good happens – no matter how small. The government doesn't pay well, and while we know the names of a dozen or so shitty self-serving jerks in Congress, most people in the government are genuine people doing it to help others.
- subarctic 2y ago> Meanwhile, Canada is in the final stages of considering legislation that would fix the Canadian version of the DMCA, a bill called C-244 that is in its third reading in the Senate and expected to move before the end of the month. If Canada legalized circumventing technological protection measures for the purposes of repair, we might just have to head north to find the tools we need to do repairs. That's good news, I didn't know about that bill. It looks like it was voted for unanimously in parliament. It's nice when you hear about our government doing something good for once.
- 8note 2y agoThe government of Canada is really missing out by not selling this bill as a reason to keep them in power
- anonylizard 2y agoThe odds are like 95%-5% against them, nothing will save them at this point.
- postepowanieadm 2y agoI saw some tweets claiming people would vote He Who Cannot Be Named if McDonalds ice cream machines get fixed.
- kevincox 2y agoFor some reason it another the broken ice cream problem doesn't seem to be nearly as prevalent in Canada. I don't have ice cream at McDonald's often, but at least a handful of times a year and don't think I have ever encountered a broken machine. This is mostly around Toronto.
- diogocp 2y agoIt's not a government bill.
- SECProto 2y ago
- wwweston 2y agoNote this part: > This time, the FTC and DOJ even weighed in to support our petition. See also: https://www.ifixit.com/News/92942/the-ftc-and-doj-call-for-ice-cream-machine-repair https://www.ifixit.com/News/92942/the-ftc-and-doj-call-for-i... Elections matter.
- kelnos 2y ago[flagged]
- amscanne 2y agoPrepare to have your mind blown: https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/11/shocker-dojs-computer-crimes-intellectual-property-section-supports-security-researchers-dmca-exemptions/ https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/11/shocker-dojs-computer-cr...
- wwweston 2y agoCertainly blew the mind of the people writing the techdirt article if the opening paragraph is any indication: "Well here’s a surprise for you / This is… flabbergasting." It's almost like they thought they had good reasons to expect something else from TFG's adminstration. Why were the results different? DOJ composition running up through 2018 was pretty strongly influenced by a decade of liberal-leaning but cross-partisan staffing, and this was a legal theory that obviously emerged from within staff rather than coming down from the top. And psychology of liberal or conservative but principled lawyers is likely to be conscientious enough when it comes to their legal theorizing that except where it serves particular organized power plays, you'll see some principled arguments come out, like this one, because obviously the DMCA exists to protect copyright rather than stymie repair. Also, right-to-repair has an appeal that crosses partisan boundaries very well, especially among voters themselves. Sure, businesses and social influencers who'd sacrifice right-to-repair for pro-capital / power-play positions are probably highly represented and influential in the right-wing party, what with the investment in social philosophies oriented around hierarchies of status. But going against right-to-repair is still unpopular enough and likely to piss off conservative-identifying libertarians that there was bound to be some discomfort, even with the usual Republican enthusiasm for being a pro-capital / pro-business capture party. And finally, while it's obvious that the 2018 POTUS is only capable seeing the issue in terms of friends/opportunities and enemies/liabilites rather than principled legal or social theories, it's also obvious that right-to-repair is one of the things that benefited from his shall we say limited range/depth of interest when it comes to policy. Inattention can allow any number of things to thrive. At least until someone offers to buy right-to-repair off of him. Elections matter.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Waterluvian 2y ago15%?! Is this a uniquely American thing because I can’t remember ever having a “sorry our machine is down” in Ontario.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 2y agoCertainly not a uniquely American thing, 15% sounds low for the places in Europe where I tried...
- chongli 2y agoIt correlates with demand. These things go down quickly during peak demand because they can't maintain cold temps. You'll often see this during summer heatwaves as people flock to drive-thrus to grab some ice cream!
- jph00 2y agoI’ve never come across a broken McDonald’s ice cream machine in Australia either.
- chongli 2y agoI think McDonald’s is under different ownership in different countries. They may even be using a different supplier for ice cream machines in Australia!
- anticensor 2y agoTurns out European and Asian McDonalds shops typically prefer Carpigniani.
- assanineass 2y ago[flagged]
- lysace 2y agoBad headline. No, they can't. They are now allowed to, but they don't have the actual ability to do so. Clickbait of the weirdest kind - the totally unnecessary one. They could have gone with more truthful "We're now allowed to" with the same amount of impact... right?
- singron 2y agoYeah this was weird. You usually expect this from a newspaper where the editor chooses an inaccurate headline, but this is iFixit? The actual text of the article points out that just about every McDonalds franchise will be unaffected and have equally broken ice cream machines, which is why it's so weird that they contradict that in the headline.
- lysace 2y agoYeah, it lowered my confidence in them, to be honest.
- Buttons840 2y agoIf you can raed tihs, you hvae voilated the DCMA and cmomitted a fleony. The oirginal palin txet of tihs msesage was put trhough a porprietary ecnryption aglorithm I cerated, and waht you see hree is the rseulting cpyher txet. It is illegal for you to rveerse my porprietary ecnryption aglorithm. I wnat tihs on a TS-hirt.
- PedroBatista 2y agoDoes anyone else thinks this is actually a great incidental marketing campaign for McDonald's? Not only the free reach but also tons of people discussing the "problems" with a big co and how to "fix" them as they are an essential part of society, and this case ice-creams. Sure we focus on the big brain things like copyright, business malpractice and MBA lore but with it comes McDonald's embedded. I know this might sound a bit snobby, but just don't play the game, ignore them. If there is criminal activity let who gets paid deal with it, otherwise just move on and stop "fixing" problems that are not of your concern, let alone "fixing" them for free.
- TheRealPomax 2y agoNot if they don't now fix their machines, no. Then it's just "despite now being legal, McDonalds still refuses to fix their machine". Because remember: McDonalds is make of so much money that they could have trivially forced this though literal decades ago if they'd actually cared. Which they didn't. They could have even flat out bought the company that makes their machines. They didn't.
- rjbwork 2y agoI thought it was intentional because the people that control McDonalds corporate also have shares in the ice cream machine vendor and use it as an additional vector to squeeze franchisees for their own enrichment?
- gruez 2y ago>because the people that control McDonalds corporate also have shares in the ice cream machine vendor and use it as an additional vector to squeeze franchisees for their own enrichment? Source?
- rjbwork 2y agoI'm mostly just being playful with a fun conspiracy theory. But, McDonald's and Middleby (current parent company of Taylor), are both publicly traded. Previous parent companies of Taylor were also publicly traded. It's not inconceivable - it wouldn't make sense to intentionally use a low quality product or intentionally cause service calls because of the decrease in revenue for McDonalds. But it would make sense to mandate a particular vendor you have a stake in.
- foreverobama 2y ago[dead]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- starkparker 2y agoBuried deep down: > Video Game Accessibility: > Unfortunately, the exemption allowing circumvention of digital locks on video games for accessibility purposes (introduced in 2021) was not renewed. No petition for renewal was submitted, and as a result, individuals with disabilities who need alternative input methods to play video games are left out.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- floam 2y agoWith games it seems like accessibility allowances would be dual-use, making it easier to cheat or make a bot.
- rockskon 2y agoThe alternative of making such acts a crime seems like a grossly disproportionate response though.
- barbecue_sauce 2y agoThat's only really an issue for specific games.
- iamnotsure 2y agoWhat about the cows?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- rummyMars 2y agoSabhjjtyi
- frenchie4111 2y agoIf you are interested in doing this for commercial control systems, come talk to me.
- sans_souse 2y agoIt took this long to establish a Right to Repair for Ice Cream Machines... So, where shall we set the over:under for number of years til regain a Right to Repair our own cars?
- unit149 2y agoAs per the US Code, title § 1201(D) "noninfringing uses" including but not limited to non-profit or archival purposes aren't a circumvention of the technological measure. No need to skirt DMCA if the fair use doctrine is in place.
- Liquix 2y agoiFixit is a strange entity. Their website, repair kits, and tutorials are all excellent. The amount of success they've had in championing right to repair initiatives in legal arenas is commendable. But it's not so great that the two are intertwined. It seems inevitable that conflicts of interests will arise between their exclusive deals with manufacturers, business selling repair kits, and increasing influence in the legal system.
- awestroke 2y agoI don't see it. No single manufacturer deal they make will be worth enough to them to change their strategy or values. They also know from experience that companies withdraw from such agreements or deals without warning, so they can never rely on them
- ingen0s 2y ago2024 was the year that an ice cream fix post became the most voted article on HN
- jeanlucas 2y agoAnd all the other things as well, but we will use the title as a filter
- Der_Einzige 2y agoN gate died far too soon.
- chachacharge 2y agoso glad we can hack these machines... now i can inject semiglutides into each cone at home
- written-beyond 2y agoFinally someone who gets it. Are you going to make an instructable on that?
- ThinkBeat 2y agoThe biggest reason I have read for why machines do not work, or are not being used is due to lack of maintenance, and employees who are trained to do so. (and people quit all the time). Having worked at a fast food join (not McDonalds) much earlier in my life, any lacking maintenance and proper cleaning, especially if there has been a power outage will turn the the machine into a rapid incubator for bacteria that will make you ill. Since shifts change and not everyone keeps on the machine, a power outrage can quickly be lost to the workers. Getting angry if an employee tells you the machine is broken and demanding ice-cream is an exceedingly bad idea. Take that as a blessing. The employee may have saved you from running to the bathroom a lot. I personally stay away from softicecream entirely. But if you must, try to find a place where a lot of people are buying so the machine is in frequent use. That doesn't mean its safe but it makes it a lot more likely. Of course not being used frequently is not an automatic reason for the machine to be in incubator mode, it may will be well cared for, well cleaned, great maintenance.
- trollbridge 2y agoExcept Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s outside of the U.S. don’t have this problem. Somehow I doubt DQ employees are paid better or are better trained or more diligent about regular maintenance. The difference is they don’t have a machine designed to require expensive maintenance visits with a DRM lockout to retard attempts to maintain it by normal restaurant/HVAC maintenance contractors.
- float4 2y ago> Except Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, and McDonald’s outside of the U.S. don’t have this problem. Heck, even Ikea has successfully been selling ice cream (from self serve machines!) here in the Netherlands for like 20 years now. €0.50 back in the day, €1 now. Can't remember the last time all machines (yes, they do have at least 2 usually) required maintenance.
- wjnc 2y agoMy stint as a EU McD worker did give me a feel of how well scripted low skill labour can feel like pleasant work. I didn’t appreciate it at the time but it was six sigma checklist everything. There is a magic to smooth operation. In all my other jobs (dishwasher, mechanic, cleaner and now 20 yrs in insurance) nobody came close to the McD smoothness of operations. I hope I bring some of this smoothness to the people working in my lines of operation. I’m going to ask them!
- tamaharbor 2y agoAside: Is it really ice cream?
- rootusrootus 2y agoDoes McD's still use these machines today? It seems like this has been going on for decades, more than long enough that pretty much everyone seems to know about it. I would have guessed that by now McD's would want to move on to a new setup that did not cause them such consistent negative PR and leave a trail of unhappy customers.
- traverseda 2y agoMcDonalds owns the company that makes and fixes these machines, and franchise owners foot the bill. It's a way of taking more money from franchise owners.
- mattmaroon 2y agoThey do not, this is disinformation. The machines are manufactured by Taylor for McDonald’s and maintained by Taylor’s service network. Taylor’s the largest manufacturer of commercial ice cream making equipment in the US. Franchisees also have the option of using Carpigiani machines, but they’re Italian so parts and service are not as easy to come by. And all ice cream machines are known for being easy to break, especially if used by poorly trained teenagers. This also makes no sense, if McDonald’s wanted to make more off the franchisees from ice cream, surely they’d rather do it by having the machines work (so they can sell product). They sell the mix that goes in the machine to the franchisees. It would be idiotic to try to gouge them by making the machine crappy rather than just charging them more for the mix and using a good machine. Then they wouldn’t need to employ these imaginary service techs and the franchisees would be happier with the situation.
- CamperBob2 2y agoThen why is the situation what it is? As numerous people have pointed out, other fast-food chains don't have this problem. They are able to provide ice-cream products that are consistently free of either toxins or excuses. Occam's Razor suggests that the most likely explanation is that the McDonald's Corporation is deliberately setting their franchisees up to fail by continuing to sign contracts with Taylor. Which I agree makes no sense.
- fourthark 2y agoApparently, no you can’t. But one can.
- coverband 2y agoRe: specific tools staying outlawed even after this win: What about offering a tool for some legit purpose, but it just happens to be the right tool that can be used to repair the protected item?
- hnbear 2y agoI just looked, and it’s been a while since Pulp Fiction came out, so now the McDs large shake is $5.
- ErigmolCt 2y agoThis is a solid step toward more common-sense repair laws. The Copyright Office’s ruling is a win