The Transition Is Already Happening
McDonald’s is transitioning away from self-serve beverage stations in dining rooms across the U.S. by the year 2032. This isn’t some distant plan. Several locations in Illinois, for example, are starting to phase out self-service soda. The self-serve beverage stations have been a staple of their dining rooms since 2004. Nearly two decades of customers mixing custom soda concoctions and refilling at their leisure is coming to an end.
The Official Reason Behind the Change
The chain says the change is intended to create a consistent experience for both McDonald’s workers and their customers at all ordering points – meaning that whether you order your Big Mac Meal via McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or in-restaurant, you’ll get your grub the same exact way. It’s all about uniformity across the board. McDonald’s digital sales – made up of app, delivery and kiosk purchases – accounted for almost 40% of systemwide sales for the second quarter of 2023. Consumer behavior has changed since the pandemic, and the chain has experienced a surge in business through its drive-thru and delivery services, with fewer people choosing to eat in its dining rooms, reducing the need for the machines.
What About Free Refills
This is where things get murky. Individual franchises have the power to decide if they will charge for refills. An Uber Eats delivery driver told Marketplace that he recently spotted a McDonald’s location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that no longer offered self-serve machines and charged customers for refills. However, some franchise owners are trying to reassure customers. Franchise owner Kim Derringer stressed that people needn’t worry about free refills going extinct, saying “Free refills are a big draw for people.”
Theft Prevention and Cost Savings
Franchise owners interviewed by the newspaper mentioned theft prevention, food safety and fewer dine-in customers as contributing factors for getting rid of the stations. Honestly, this makes sense from a business perspective. Let’s say 20% of customers dine in, and 50% of those guests get a free refill – if McDonald’s pays 10 cents per beverage, that will cost the company $250,000 a day, which translates to more than $90 million a year. Ditching self-serve also limits opportunities for theft, removes clutter from the dining room and allows McDonald’s to place a bigger emphasis on having customers served at the table when dining in.
Customer Reactions Are Mixed
Reaction online has been somewhat mixed, with those in favor of the change concerned with the hygiene of the current system, and those against the switch concerned with personal preference on ice-to-drink ratio and having to ask for refills. One person on Facebook commented, “Considering the last McDonald’s drink station I used was moldy and not clean, probably a good move. They don’t have enough staff to monitor them and make sure they’re getting cleaned.” Still, not everyone is happy. One customer said they asked an employee for a refill and it took more than five minutes to get the drink, writing “If they had them I could have refilled it myself in less then 30 seconds.” The loss of custom drink combinations is also a sore point for many customers who enjoyed mixing their own flavors.
