Public Knowledge and iFixit want the right to repair commercial kitchen gear.
McDonald’s soft-serve ice cream machines are regularly broken, and it’s not just your perception. When repair vendor and advocate iFixit was filming a video about the topic, it checked tracking map McBroken and found that 34 percent of the machines in the state of New York were reported inoperable. As I write this, the nationwide number of broken machines is just above 14 percent.
To improve the nation’s semi-frozen milk fat infrastructure, iFixit has done two things. One, as first reported by 404 Media, is to join with interest group Public Knowledge to petition the Copyright Office for an exemption allowing people to fix commercial equipment, such as McDonald’s ice cream machines and other industrial kitchen equipment, without fear of reprisal under Section 1201 of the DMCA.
This dude on Youtube did an in-depth examination of the weird corporate reasons why the ice cream machines can't be maintained properly. Sorry for the Youtube link, but I honestly couldn't find a text story that went into the same type of analysis about it.
Edit: Timestamped the link to skip some folderol at the beginning
Also, from someone who used to work at mcdonalds when I was in college - it's not the fault of the employees that the shake machine is broken and getting pissy at someone earning minimum wage because you can't have your mcflurry is peak entitlement and assholeism.
"I am not mad at you. This is not your fault. I am upset at the situation, and I am having trouble controlling myself. I apologize if I sound crazy or have upset you with my words and actions."
Me, apologizing profusely to an underpaid, much abused intermediary on a call to the insurance company where I beg for the meds I need to live. God, those poor people are being used as human shields.