Company That Makes McDonald's Constantly Broken Ice Cream Machines Hit With Restraining Order
Nothing will have you saying "I'm lovin' it" like this McDonald's scandal.
pancha.me / Shutterstock Revenge is a dish best served cold — and in a crispy cone.
At least that's what two companies embroiled in a battle over McDonald's ice-cream machines seem to think as, one has just hit the other with a restraining order.
The only thing crazier than the fact that McDonald's ice-cream machines are always broken — to the extent that a website called McBroken was created soley for the purpose of allowing you to check whether your local McDonald's ice cream machine is working before you bother driving over —is the story behind why that's the case!
Why are McDonald's ice-cream machines always broken?
The reason is surprisingly simple — albeit ridiculous. One company has a monopoly over repairing the machines, making it difficult for McDonald's workers to keep their machines alive without outside help.
McFlurry machine manufacturing company Taylor was previously the only company with any clue about how to fix the machines — making McDonald's entirely reliant on their assistance.
However, when Kytch, an independent company, made a device that helps McDonald’s locations repair their ice cream machines, chaos ensued.
McDonald's ice-cream machines are notoriously difficult to repair.
In order to repair the ice cream machine, you must understand a secret passcode. The complex passcode unlocks a secret menu, which allows you to fix the machine.
This process keeps all the power in the hands of Taylor.
It's a recipe for disaster, to the extent McDonald's themselves have joked about it social media.
Kytch Solution Devices were developed in an effort to prevent McFlurry machines from breaking.
Kytch's Solution Device acts as surveillance within Taylor machines and track breakages as they happen and prevent things from getting worse.
Unfortunately, McDonald's have allegedly been warning franchise owners not to purchase the device as Taylor wants to be in control of repairs.
Taylor has allegedly been trying to catch up with Kytch.
According to Kytch's restraining order filing, Taylor got a McDonald's frachisee to acquire a Kytch device so the company could use it for "trade secret information."
Taylor admits they did get the device but say it was only to see whether a "Kytch device would drain the power source of our software and/or cause it malfunction.”
Kytch also say Taylor have been telling McDonald's workers and owners that the device could cause "serious human injury."
Kytch was granted a temporary restraining order against Taylor which says “Defendants must not use, copy, disclose, or otherwise make available in any way information, including formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process obtained by any of them.”
McDonald’s soft serve machines are notorious for constantly breaking down.
McFlurries and vanilla soft serve ice cream cones are obviously not the healthiest products on the McDonald's menu. However, they are arguably the most delicious.
But they're not easy to get, which is why software engineer Rashiq Zahid developed software to track which locations have working and non-working machines at all times.
Now, as the cold-war over the ice-cream machines continues, it remains to be seen if Kytch will change the reputation of the broken machines.
Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture for YourTango. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her work has been published in The Iowa Review, BOAAT, Gulf Coast, Black Warrior Review, The Columbia Review, and New York Tyrant.