Finally the Gubment is asking important questions. McD's Ice Cream Machines!!!!

[crash_davis 23113]

https://www.news10.com/news/national/ftc-investigating-why-mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-are-always-broken-report-says/

FTC investigating why McDonald’s ice cream machines are always broken, report says

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating why the McDonald’s ice cream machine is always broken, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ reports the FTC sent letters to McDonald’s franchisees over the summer asking what’s going on with the ice cream machines. (The FTC declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal.)

The report says McDonald’s franchise owners have complained about how complicated the machines are and that fixing them when they break is hard.

The FTC wants to learn how suppliers and equipment are reviewed, and whether or not restaurant owners are allowed to work on the machines in their own stores, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A 24-year-old ice cream fan fed up with McDonald’s oft-broken machines managed to reverse-engineer the McDonald’s app to create a map of every broken soft serve machine in the United States.

The map tracks the percentage of restaurants that currently have broken ice cream machines and uses red and green labels to identify stores serving up soft serve.

[bolverk 29672]

Currently, 10.65% are broken. Link to the map: https://mcbroken.com/

[AUS-97HORN 11762]

a company reverse engineered the back end software on the machine and realized they could fix a huge percentage of the issues by slightly renaming the software menu to more employee friendly descripters.  

 

their fix cost something like $40 per incident and the machine was up within an hour or 2 most of the time.  The McDonalds repair team takes a week and charges the franchise an astronmical amount per repair, like $1k or more.

 

something  like 20 franchises signed up to use the software and were loving it, until MCD's sent them all a cease and desist order and claimed the software broke their proprietary contract with the ice cream machine maker.

 

i watched a you tube vid on it about 6 months ago.    its a complete scam and I would not be surprised if it ends up with the feds hitting them with an anti-trust suite.

[crash_davis 23113]

4 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

a company reverse engineered the back end software on the machine and realized they could fix a huge percentage of the issues by slightly renaming the software menu to more employee friendly descripters.  

 

their fix cost something like $40 per incident and the machine was up within an hour or 2 most of the time.  The McDonalds repair team takes a week and charges the franchise an astronmical amount per repair, like $1k or more.

 

something  like 20 franchises signed up to use the software and were loving it, until MCD's sent them all a cease and desist order and claimed the software broke their proprietary contract with the ice cream machine maker.

 

i watched a you tube vid on it about 6 months ago.    its a complete scam and I would not be surprised if it ends up with the feds hitting them with an anti-trust suite.

they've had this opportunity for years with John Deere. just means McDs needs to up their political contributions.

[VirginiaLonghorn 4771]

… special interest oversight.

[demos 3003]

Just go get a Frosty from Wendys.

[BabaYaga 15298]

8 minutes ago, demos said:

Just go get a Frosty from Wendys.

It'll melt before you clear the parking lot

[Sandman 3403]

1 hour ago, AUS-97HORN said:

were loving it

ISWYDT

[AUS-97HORN 11762]

this was not the vid i watched, but it explains the company "Kitch"  who did the reverse engineering on the units, and creating a repair app that MC'D's originally agreed to, then sued for the copyright infringement after a large number of their franchisees were told by MCD's that anyone who used Kitch would lose their franchise license.

pretty simple way to end the company before they could get big.  and also probably the start of how to create a perfect anti-trust lawsuit.

 

 

[washparkhorn 9939]

The right to repair restrictions have come into focus at the FTC - finally.  5-0 vote by the FTC.

From the FDC:

FTC to Ramp Up Law Enforcement Against Illegal Repair Restrictions
July 21, 2021

Commission unanimously adopts policy statement aimed at restoring Right to Repair for small businesses, workers, consumers, and government entities

The Federal Trade Commission today unanimously voted to ramp up law enforcement against repair restrictions that prevent small businesses, workers, consumers, and even government entities from fixing their own products. The policy statement adopted today is aimed at manufacturers’ practices that make it extremely difficult for purchasers to repair their products or shop around for other service providers to do it for them. By enforcing against restrictions that violate antitrust or consumer protection laws, the Commission is taking important steps to restore the right to repair.

In May, the FTC released a report to Congress that concluded that manufacturers use a variety of methods—such as using adhesives that make parts difficult to replace, limiting the availability of parts and tools, or making diagnostic software unavailable—that have made consumer products harder to fix and maintain. The policy statement notes that such restrictions on repairs of devices, equipment, and other products have increased the burden on consumers and businesses. In addition, manufacturers and sellers may be restricting competition for repairs in a number of ways that might violate the law.

“These types of restrictions can significantly raise costs for consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste, delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said during an open Commission meeting. “The FTC has a range of tools it can use to root out unlawful repair restrictions, and today’s policy statement would commit us to move forward on this issue with new vigor.”

In the policy statement, the Commission said it would target repair restrictions that violate antitrust laws enforced by the FTC or the FTC Act’s prohibitions on unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The Commission also urged the public to submit complaints of violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits, among other things, tying a consumer’s product warranty to the use of a specific service provider or product, unless the FTC has issued a waiver.

The Commission voted 5-0 to approve the policy statement during an open Commission meeting live streamed to its website. Chair Lina M. Khan issued a statement. Commissioner Rohit Chopra issued a separate statement.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and to protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). For the latest news and resources, follow the FTC on social media, subscribe to press releases and read our blogs.

Edited September 2, 2021 by washparkhorn

[atomheartbevo 89668]

3 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

a company reverse engineered the back end software on the machine and realized they could fix a huge percentage of the issues by slightly renaming the software menu to more employee friendly descripters.  

their fix cost something like $40 per incident and the machine was up within an hour or 2 most of the time.  The McDonalds repair team takes a week and charges the franchise an astronmical amount per repair, like $1k or more.

something  like 20 franchises signed up to use the software and were loving it, until MCD's sent them all a cease and desist order and claimed the software broke their proprietary contract with the ice cream machine maker.

i watched a you tube vid on it about 6 months ago.    its a complete scam and I would not be surprised if it ends up with the feds hitting them with an anti-trust suite.

[dcbc 14484]

3 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

something  like 20 franchises signed up to use the software and were loving it,

Ba-da-da-da-daaaaa!

[Guest]

4 hours ago, demos said:

Just go get a Frosty from Wendys.

a decent snack, but not better than an ice cream cone.

[deadshank 24653]

On 9/2/2021 at 1:20 PM, crash_davis said:

 

The report says McDonald’s franchise owners have complained about how complicated the machines are and that fixing them when they break is hard.

 

 

[smuggs 9353]

On 9/2/2021 at 2:35 PM, AUS-97HORN said:

The McDonalds repair team takes a week and charges the franchise an astronmical amount per repair, like $1k or more.