It sounds like the title of the third installment of a Leslie Nielsen movie franchise. But it actually happened: Frustrated that his OREO McDessert was unavailable, a McFlurry fan recently fixed the ‘broken’ machine himself!
The new, unspillable closed-top cardboard McFlurry containers: No single-
use plastics involved. You get a little wooden paddle to eat ’em with…
First, it was all about McFans being ticked off that the Soft Serve machines that are key to so many desserts, shakes and other specialties at McDonald’s were so often ‘out of order’. Then, it came down to the fact that McD’s had an exclusive deal with the machines’ makers that allowed only factory-approved service techs touch them. Then… A court ordered McD’s and the machine maker to let third party techs open up the machines and affect repairs. Now, it appears that not only third-party techs but fans are getting into the act!
What happened
For the first time (that we know of) a McFlurry fan jumped counter recently and fixed a broken Mc-Flurry machine. Didn’t ask anyone or get into any kind of altercation with staff. Just went ahead and did it.
An Instagram user, @LADibble, posted a viral clip showing a customer asking an employee if the Mc-Flurry mixer was broken. Fellow fans who gathered round agreed the OREO McFlurry appeared not to have been mixed at all. You’d think that would have be the end of it. Maybe with some other McFlurry fan… This guy just went ahead and fixed the machine!
But THEN…
You’d think fellow fans would have been grateful. At minimum, declared him a hero. Maybe even thrown him a parade. But, to the surprise of many, they BOOED him!
To say crowd response to the incident was ‘mixed’ would be an understatement. Instagram com-menters ‘went wild’, debating whether the customer was ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ to take things into his own hands.
Plenty of theories…
One commenter echoed observations by McDonald’s employees on previous complaints that the machines were too often ‘down’, suggesting the staff may have simply lied to the customer, initially. That happens the original commenter said, if the machine had been ‘deep cleaned’ in advance of the impending end of the shift, per store protocols, and staff didn’t want to have to clean it again for one order.
Another suggested the staff members involved in the ‘Mr. Fix-It’ incident may have had valid issues about ‘sanitary concerns’. Which is to say, the machine wasn’t broken, but had been neglected. And the staffer had used the ‘Out Of Order’ excuse to defuse an uncomfortable situation. Sometimes, apparently, McD’s insiders say, ‘Out Of Order’ is a used as code phrase meaning: ‘I can’t in good conscience use it on your food.’
Other current and former McStaffers chimed in, in support of the latter position. One saying that cleaning the Soft-serve machine is probably the single most-hated job on the McD’s kitchen chore list: “If an employee tells you something isn’t working, please trust them. We told people that every day for their own safety! Those machines [may] go MONTHS without being cleaned!”
Part of the problem may be that only ‘selected’ McStaffers receive training in the complex job of disassembling, cleaning and reassembling the machines. And sometimes, at least, machine ‘cleans’ are scheduled for shifts on which no ‘certified’ staff are working.
My take
I would like to point out that the McFlurry mixer is not the same machine that dispenses the Soft Serve used in so many different McTreats. I’m no expert on McD’s behind-counter operations… But I’d guess the ‘mixer’ at the centre of this post is the same device that whips up MCD’s shakes and other blended menu items. And as such would be prey to similar sanitary issues.
All that said… I still can’t figure out why fellow customers would ‘BOO!’ the guy who fixed the mixer. But I wasn’t there. And it’s possible the clip that made it to Instagram omitted some key details if it was ‘edited for length or clarity’.
One issue that does NOT seem to have been addressed by commenters is… Did the guy who fixed the machine wash his hands before he dove in and started poking around inside it?
Just asking…
~ Maggie J.