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https://qz.com/mcdonalds-broken-ice-cream-machines-federal-regulators-1851339089
Federal regulators want to fix McDonald's broken ice cream machines, and they're asking to expand right-to-repair laws to address the issue. In a letter to the U.S. Copyright Office on Thursday, regulators asked for commercial soft-serve machines to be exempt from current laws making them difficult to repair. The laws also make it more difficult for you to get a McFlurry.
"In the Agencies' view, renewing and expanding repair-related exemptions would promote competition in markets for replacement parts, repair, and maintenance services," said the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission in a joint letter.
The McDonald's broken ice cream machines have found themselves at the center of the right-to-repair movement. The reason McDonald's ice cream machines are always down is because of copyright law. Only technicians licensed by the company that made the device are allowed to touch the machines, and they charge over $300 for a 15-minute servicing, according to the letter. The DOJ and the FTC identified commercial soft-serve machines as one of four device categories that would benefit from an easing of copyright laws.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday July 05 2024, @07:45AM
Thanks for that.
Yeh, franchisees have to agree to onerous T&C too.
I guess in the name of uniformity of operations...like all the coke machines and flavors available the same no matter which franchise one visits...
But fixing the ice cream machine sounds too much like a routine maintenance issue, like plumbing or electrical maintenance usually done by local tradesmen.
I am considering a local pizza parlor, where I met the owner and discovered the old mechanical Cramer time switch on his dough mixer was driving him nuts...by forcing him to stand for 15 minutes holding the Start button in. I recognized the circuit, he had an egg-timer, and I popped the cover of his old Hobart mixer and did a slight wiring change that took the time switch out of the run circuit. So it was now purely manual with latching start and stop buttons. And had Grainger get me another switch, which I swapped back in the next week.
That guy made me a pizza every time I came in until he sold the place. I'd pay the lunch price but he would fix me up with something that I don't think I could even buy anything like it anywhere. When he told me how much the cost was for factory support for his 50 year old machine, I was floored. Thousands of dollars? And change the control panel? Over a broken mainspring?
I figured the McD franchisee would have done the same with a local fix it guy.
When the ice cream machine at our local HomeTown Buffet went on the fritz, I asked about it, only to discover yet another patron was familiar with the machine and had already fixed it. Loose drive belt. So the motor pulley just spun against the belt, heating it up so it smoked, and made one hellacious racket in the process. Then we all had ice cream the next time we came in, as the machine has been off for several days, needed to be cleaned, then the new ice cream needed a couple of hours to come to the correct temperature and consistency.
I like these small towns where we all know each other and co-operate to keep our stuff running. However the old ways are dying out, replaced by terms, conditions, contracts, and terribly big bills.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]