For years, fans of the McFlurry frozen dessert at McDonald’s have been frustrated by the unreliability of the ice cream machines. They're notorious for being out of order, which is odd in light of the fact that ice cream parlors seem to be able to keep their soft-serve machines running with no problem at all. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is looking to dispense more than a creamy confection — they want to dispense some sweet justice. The agency has reached out to McDonald’s franchisees to gather information about why the machines tend to break down and who repairs them when they do. The FTC is involved because they control oversight on right-to-repair laws, which look to break up companies that monopolize the repair of commercial equipment. It’s believed that the McFlurry machines suffer from repeated outages because of a complicated cleaning procedure that forces employees to take it apart and put it through a lengthy 4-hour-long sanitizing process. Coupled with malfunctions, the odds of actually placing a successful order for a McFlurry can vary. The FTC’s investigation is being labeled preliminary for now, but depending on what they find, it’s possible the agency may one day get to the bottom of this fast-food crisis.
