MCD McDonalds Corp

By Julie Jargon 

McDonald's Corp. is getting new ice cream machines after customers complained the old ones were offline too often.

McDonald's says the new machines have fewer parts and are easier to maintain. A spokeswoman for the fast-food giant said the machines will be rolled out in restaurants in the U.S. and Europe.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that customers who ordered McFlurry ice cream treats and soft-serve cones in the evening were often turned away because the machine's weren't operational. The precise reasons weren't clear and led many customers to offer up conspiracy theories.

Some former McDonald's workers said it took so long to disassemble and clean the machines that they often began preparing for the nightly four-hour automatic disinfection cycle before the restaurant closed.

Others said the machines frequently broke down. McDonald's said at the time that it runs the cleaning cycle during off-peak hours. "Customers who come in during that time may encounter a longer wait time or soft-serve dessert unavailability," the company said.

The new machines are made by Carpigiani, an Italian company with a U.S. unit, and by Taylor Co., a unit of United Technologies Corp.

McDonald's says the new machines, already in use in some foreign markets, require less downtime to clean and dispense more flavors. McDonald's is in the midst of a two-year turnaround to revive sales in its struggling U.S. market and says it is redoubling its focus on devoted customers.

Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 02, 2017 14:37 ET (19:37 GMT)

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