McBroken - The Website tracking every broken McDonalds ice-cream machine in the US

[lazypc]

 

Summary

 Yesterday the website McBroken was launched, tracking every broken ice-cream machine in the US, and updating it's status every 30 minutes.

 

Quotes

Quote

 It’s hard to believe that it has taken us this long as a society to achieve such a feat, but it has finally been accomplished. 24 year old Rashiq Zahid has built the tool to track every broken ice-cream McDonalds machine in the US. Not only did he build it, but he made it available to everyone as well, so we can avoid the heartache of pulling in that drive-in just to hear the words, “Sorry Sir, but our ice-cream machine is broken.” 

This man needs a reward.

 

 

My thoughts

I may have had a couple night caps or date nights dampened by those words myself. And although I do not find myself in a McDonalds drive in very often anymore, I think this is great.

 

Sources

https://basictech.tips/2020/10/23/meet-the-website-tracking-broken-mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines/

https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/22/21529477/mcdonalds-mcbroken-bot-ice-cream-machines-app-engineering

[manikyath]

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

[lazypc]

1 minute ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

The Verge article mentioned 15% in New York so I am wondering if closed stores or time of day for cleaning might be a factor.

[Drama Lama]

not the website we want but the website we need

[Master Disaster]

This isn't really tech news and you know what? I don't care.

 

Honestly this has to be the most pointless thing ever created and simultaneously one of the most brilliant

[Donut417]

54 minutes ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

I mean I've read numerous articles that suggest most stores dont even clean them properly. And no, they probably just use the thing till it dies. 

[DeScruff]

3 hours ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

2 hours ago, Donut417 said:

I mean I've read numerous articles that suggest most stores dont even clean them properly. And no, they probably just use the thing till it dies. 

Ive never worked at a McDonalds, but I have worked at a place that serves frozen yogurt in similar machines.

Based on my experience I can definitively say 4 things:

1. Cleaning these things is a pain in the ass, and is a time consuming process.
2. Usually there is only like 1 or 2 people in a place who actually know how to take the thing apart, clean it, and put it back together.
3. Those who do know how to "clean" it, only know how to do a barebones cleaning. (So its always really nasty)
4. These machine have a 'warm up' time that takes 10-20 minutes.

If you come in late at night, its very likely the machine was or is in the process of being shut down, and nobody wants to (or knows how to) do the process of setting it back up then shut it down again just so you can have your ice cream.
Customers are just much less likely to argue if the employee just says "Its broken", rather then the reality.

 

[Intergalacticbits]

I used to love to get the strawberry shake at Mcdonalds with a cherry on top to finish off my meal.

For me the burgers at Burger King were always better but I'd go to the Mcdonalds just for that shake.

It was such a bummer how often I'd make the drive further into town to get it.

Just to hear the person at the counter say "Sorry the machine is broken".

It seemed to be down more then it was up so for the most part I stopped going. Do they even sell the strawberry shake anymore?

 

This guy does deserve a reward !

 

This should be an app on the apple store because it is actually useful !

[wanderingfool2]

It's a neat concept at least.

 

6 hours ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

Broken I think is the wrong term.  Cleaning takes forever, so they just say it's broken...and there is a long process of sanitizing as well (4 hours by the sounds of news articles).

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/this-is-why-mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-always-seem-to-be-broken/

So it could be that many are in the process of being cleaned, or the person who tasked with assembling/disassembling it isn't there (or got busy)

[Dabombinable]

10 hours ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

Probably a lack of parts? I've seen it happening here in Australia at various places.

[Senzelian]

This is so 'Murica.

[Eaglerino]

I've always found this weird, no McDonalds I've ever been to has had a broken ice cream machine

[Donut417]

Reminds me when I worked at BK, our shake machine was dead for over a year. Bunches of people cried about it, like I was to fix it. Eventually we got a new one. 

[soldier_ph]

Ah yes McBroken 

 

 

It would be amazing if they will be very successful and can expand to other countries too.

[MysticLTT]

Probably depends on the quality of management, my location always has ice cream

[rockking1379]

17 hours ago, DeScruff said:

• Cleaning these things is a pain in the ass, and is a time consuming process.
• Usually there is only like 1 or 2 people in a place who actually know how to take the thing apart, clean it, and put it back together.
• Those who do know how to "clean" it, only know how to do a barebones cleaning. (So its always really nasty)
• These machine have a 'warm up' time that takes 10-20 minutes.

I have worked McDonald’s. And I was one of the few at my McDonald’s who knew how to tear it down. Clean it. Sanitize it. And reassemble. I still got calls from crew for almost a year after I quit asking for help to put it back together. It would take me 2 hours minimum every Thursday starting around 9pm to do the weekly maintenance. And then I would have to spot check the syrup lines to ensure shake calibration was correct. I also handled the McCafé machines...let’s just say you don’t ever want to see the drain for those two machines

[rockking1379]

20 hours ago, manikyath said:

how is 30% of ice cream machines in new york broken? do they not do maintenance at all?

A lot of time it’s “broken” is likely for maintenance. Especially if you go there the same day of the week and roughly the same time. Our machine had two maintenance cycles. Daily was done automatically at 2am. And weekly tear down and deep clean I did on Thursday at 9pm. 

[Zodiark1593]

On 10/23/2020 at 6:33 AM, DeScruff said:

Ive never worked at a McDonalds, but I have worked at a place that serves frozen yogurt in similar machines.

Based on my experience I can definitively say 4 things:

1. Cleaning these things is a pain in the ass, and is a time consuming process.
2. Usually there is only like 1 or 2 people in a place who actually know how to take the thing apart, clean it, and put it back together.
3. Those who do know how to "clean" it, only know how to do a barebones cleaning. (So its always really nasty)
4. These machine have a 'warm up' time that takes 10-20 minutes.

If you come in late at night, its very likely the machine was or is in the process of being shut down, and nobody wants to (or knows how to) do the process of setting it back up then shut it down again just so you can have your ice cream.
Customers are just much less likely to argue if the employee just says "Its broken", rather then the reality.

 

It was kind of like that at work during the glorious three months we had an automatic espresso machine. I was pretty much the only person who knew how to keep the thing running, but because the cafeteria staff knew little about maintaining it and kept coming to me when problems occurred. It got to be such a regular occurrence that my supervisor eventually told cafeteria staff to F-Off. Much to the lament of everyone, the espresso machine was removed by next week. 

[wamred]

On 10/23/2020 at 6:57 AM, Master Disaster said:

This isn't really tech news and you know what? I don't care.

 

Honestly this has to be the most pointless thing ever created and simultaneously one of the most brilliant

Right? LOL 

 

I literally never even eat at McDonalds but this is great. I wonder how they know if the machines are operational?

[Donut417]

23 minutes ago, wamred said:

I wonder how they know if the machines are operational?

Probably works like gas buddy. People who eat at the store report if the machine is working. 

[Master Disaster]

32 minutes ago, wamred said:

Right? LOL 

 

I literally never even eat at McDonalds but this is great. I wonder how they know if the machines are operational?

It was explained on WAN Show. Turns out if you go to the McDonalds website, select your store then try to buy an ice cream it will only allow you to add it to basket if the machine in your selected store is working. The guy simply wrote a bot that tries to buy an ice cream from every store once every 30 minutes. Those that refuse to add it to the basket are marked as broken.

[ouroesa]

Only for the US though, darnit.

[GDRRiley]

On 10/24/2020 at 10:54 AM, Donut417 said:

Probably works like gas buddy. People who eat at the store report if the machine is working. 

nope by trying on the app