McDonald's Ice Cream Machines

Discussions center on why McDonald's ice cream machines frequently break down, with blame on corporate mandates forcing franchisees to use unreliable Taylor machines that benefit suppliers, alongside insights into McDonald's real estate-focused business model rather than food sales.

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Keywords

howstuffworks.com m.imdb US yelp.com paidcontent.org wallstreetsurvivor.com FWIW McDonald USA ycombinator.com mcdonalds mcdonald ice cream cream ice food burger machines franchise taylor

Sample Comments

jmole Aug 20, 2019 View on HN

that's exactly what mcdonalds did: https://blog.wallstreetsurvivor.com/2015/10/08/mcdonalds-bey...

colinmhayes Sep 2, 2021 View on HN

McDonalds uses a different model than the other fast food places.

ozim Oct 20, 2018 View on HN

That is actually what McDonalds is doing, burgers are just addition.

sahila Mar 15, 2024 View on HN

You’re making it out to be far simpler than reality. McDonald’s is more than just an ice cream place, they sell Big Macs, fries, a clean place with wifi, and cheap coffee. It would have to be the sum of those worse off than a competitor.A bad ice cream machine could just mean sub optimal profits / experience.

lupire Apr 19, 2024 View on HN

Didn't McDonald's solve this problem decades ago?

Grustaf Apr 26, 2021 View on HN

Did you watch the film? The idea is that McDonalds are knowingly letting another company overcharge their franchisees, it's not about safety. Supposedly other fast food chains use the same machines without these problems.

karaterobot Mar 15, 2024 View on HN

I think of McDonald's as being pretty savvy, having dominated for decades in a competitive domain with large volume and low margins. In violation of Hanlon's Razor, I'd bet the reason is more malice rather than stupidity. Or rather, the specific form of malice more precisely called short-sighted greed.

yrcyrc Jul 22, 2025 View on HN

Remember. Mc Donald’s are not in the Burger business.

syrrim Apr 26, 2021 View on HN

McDonald's the corp isn't hurt by this, individual franchise owners bear the cost. In particular, mcdonald's the corp mandates the particular icecream machine that is used, rather than allowing the franchise owner to pick from several machines. The video argues that this is done because mcdonald's is interested in benefiting the company that makes and services the ice cream machines.

misja111 Nov 29, 2023 View on HN

Does this mean that McDonalds will be banned as well?