McDonald's burgers are easy to find. But what about ice cream? This is another story, as David Pogue discovered at a drive-thru franchise. He was told "I'm sorry", but "we don't actually have any ice cream at this time."
Broken McDonald's Ice-cream Machines have become a nationwide joke. In San Diego, 19% and New York City, 28% were down this week. McBroken.com, which is a website that tracks the machines in real-time, has this information.
McDonald's claims that the rumors about their breakdowns are exaggerated but they do make fun of it. The company tweeted this in 2020:
We have a joke about the soft-serve machine, but we are worried that it will not work.
Taylor, an Illinois-based company that supplies soft-serve and shake machines for McDonald's has been the exclusive supplier for decades. Jeremy O'Sullivan first encountered these machines when he, along with Melissa Nelson, started a line frozen-yogurt kiosks. The Taylor machines are finicky and overengineered, they say.
O'Sullivan gave Pogue an error message that would be typical on a machine like the McDonald's soft-serve machines: "R BRL > 41F After SL"? Please tell me what BRL is!
However, just because a machine isn't working doesn't necessarily mean that it's broken. It could just be going through its daily, four-hour pasteurizing process. O'Sullivan stated that each step of the process must be completed and executed within a specified time or it will fail and need to start over.
Pogue said, "I'd go in the morning, and it would say, What?"
"Heat cycle fail."
O'Sullivan claims the fragile design was intentional so Taylor can make a lot of repair fees. He stated, "A McDonald's employee should pick up the telephone and call Taylor to request assistance. "We really want to pay Taylor $500 more for repairs.
This may not be true. Taylor declined to speak on camera, but he said via email that he does not make any money servicing his machines. Taylor's machines are serviced by an independent network of distributors.
This may not be true. Taylor charges these technicians for their training, and 25% of the company’s revenue comes via selling replacement parts.
O'Sullivan and Nelson devised Kytch to solve the problem. It attaches to the front panel on the soft-serve machine. Nelson stated that it decrypts complex messages that your average employee might not be able to understand.
"So this would be: 'HPR >41 SL' What would the Kytch message state that is more helpful than that?
O'Sullivan responded, "Maybe it's as simple as: 'This hopper got heated up because you left off the lid'."
Remote control is also available with the Kytch device. Kytch allows owners to remotely control their machine if the machine goes down while they are at home.
According to the founders, the Kytch add on was a big hit with McDonald's franchise owners. He even gave it a thumbs up from the head of the franchise equipment team who said in 2020 that he believed the device could reduce complexity in restaurants and increase cash flow by keeping machines running.
Kytch didn't know that Taylor was developing a similar device and was looking at the Kytch for its features. One Taylor executive wrote, "So how do we do the same thing Kytch does?"
In late 2020, McDonald's sent an email to all owners of 13,000 franchises. O'Sullivan claims that they told the owners of all 13,000 franchises, "Don't use Kytch."
Nelson said, "It basically stated that Kytch might cause serious human injuries."
"How could that happen?" Pogue asked.
O'Sullivan responded, "Well, it cannot,"
According to the memo, the remote-control feature Kytch could cause the machine to start running even though someone is cleaning it or maintaining it. This could pose a risk to employees' fingers.
However, this may not be true. Nelson stated. Nelson said, "All these dangerous parts are inside the machine?" Kytch cannot operate if you take out the door. "Nothing can happen."
O'Sullivan stated that Kytch's only threat was to Taylor's bottom line.
The McDonald's memo caused business to slow down and Kytch was forced to close. McDonald's and Taylor are being sued by the founders for millions.
Pogue stated, "Reverse engineering isn't illegal. It's dirty pool but it's legal."
O'Sullivan stated, "There's a lot of stuff here that's super-illegal." It's impossible to say that something is dangerous if it's not.
Nelson said, "So, it is mainly about false advertising, interfering in our business expectancy."
McDonald's declined to interview the McDonald's representative, but stated by email that the Kytch device was unauthorized equipment and that Kytch had not submitted it for safety testing. McDonald's describes the suit as "meritless", while Taylor claims it's "built upon false allegations."
Taylor, however, has placed its own device on ice until the lawsuits are over.
For now, we can all look forward at more social media moments with machines.
O'Sullivan stated, "You know what, I think there's an illusion. You just need to work really hard. You can learn from those who have built better mousetraps and were foolish enough to believe that they would love our solution. This is not the case!
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Dustin Stephens produced the story. Editor: Mike Levine.
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