Cheapism is editorially independent. We may earn a commission if you buy through links on our site.

Food & Drink / Fast Food

McDonald’s Sued For $900M Over Ice Cream Machines

Published

•

By

McDonalds restaurant exterior. View of the fast food restaurant on sunny day. FInland, Vantaa, 28feb2020.
Natalia Kuzina/istockphoto

McDonald’s is being McSued for $900 million. Over ice cream.

A technology company that developed a way to fix the fast-food giant’s constantly broken ice-cream machines says McDonald’s tried to put them out of business. Kytch, a tech startup, created a device that lets operators monitor the machines remotely. But the lawsuit alleges that the burger behemoth conspired with another company that created a similar device, and made false claims that Kytch’s product had safety risks. 

Related: Most Unbelievable Lawsuits Filed Against Big Companies

McDonald’s says the company’s claims are bogus. “McDonald’s owes it to our customers, crew and franchisees to maintain our rigorous safety standards and work with fully vetted suppliers in that pursuit,” the company has said in a statement. “Kytch’s claims are meritless, and we will respond to the complaint accordingly.”

But the lawsuit isn’t the end of McDonald’s soft-serve soap opera. The broken ice-cream machines have become such a joke in recent years that rival Jack in the Box is using the drama to its advantage. It has taken over McBroken.com, a site that tracks where McDonald’s ice-cream machines are out of order, for a month. “Don’t Get McShammed,” the site reads now. Of course, it also points users in the direction of their nearest Jack in the Box, which has a limited-time Oreo Cookie Mint Shake to compete with McDonald’s famous Shamrock Shake.

Related: Fast Food Dishes With Downright Obsessive Followings

Back in September, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into the constantly broken McDonald’s ice-cream machines. Though the FTC is mum on such investigations, it could be part of the Biden administration’s larger push to investigate “whether manufacturers impede owners from fixing … products themselves,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

For the record, as of press time, McBroken was reporting that nearly 11% of McDonald’s ice-cream machines were down chain-wide, with more than 30% broken in New York, 26% in Dallas, 19% in Houston, and 18% in Chicago. 

Gallery: 25 Weird and Wonderful McDonald’s International Menu Favorites

Meet the Writer


Jennifer Magid

Jennifer Magid has worked as a writer and editor in publishing and marketing for almost two decades. She has written for outlets ranging from InStyle magazine to Psychology Today and for a number of grocery and personal care brands. Jennifer is frugal by proxy: She is married to a certified cheapskate, which has been good for her wallet but bad for her shoe and handbag collections. These days, she never, ever buys her fashions at full price. Jennifer holds a Master’s in Journalism from New York University. She lives in Connecticut with her family and an admittedly expensive-to-maintain standard poodle — the one anomaly in her cheap lifestyle. Find out more about Jennifer at www.jennifermagid.com. You can reach her at [email protected].

“

More posts from category