McDonalds- no drink refills

[reymann]

i've only seen them remove the self serve soda from post-covid remodeled locations in fresno so far. i've seen worse from burger king, most of the freestyle coke machines are shut off and i've even seen some locations using pouring canned soda in a cup of ice because they are out of fountain soda.

[storewanderer]

i've only seen them remove the self serve soda from post-covid remodeled locations in fresno so far. i've seen worse from burger king, most of the freestyle coke machines are shut off and i've even seen some locations using pouring canned soda in a cup of ice because they are out of fountain soda.

New builds post-COVID in Dayton, NV and Minden, NV do not have self serve soda. A major remodel in Susanville, CA and East Elko, NV also do not have self serve soda. I expect them to reverse this decision. Customers are frustrated. Whoever came up with the idea to eliminate self serve drinks needs to be shown the door.

If they want to remove something, they can remove those terrible order kiosks that navigate so so slowly and take forever to put an order through. I would much rather fill my own drink cup than deal with one of those kiosks that is slow and painful to use to order a single drink (then wait another 5 minutes for them to give you the drink after you pay). Terrible experiences. The old model paying a cashier and being handed the cup to fill myself I was in and out in a minute or two.

And to be clear I am a huge proponent of self order kiosks. I use the kiosks at Wendys, Taco Bell, they work great. They are fast and easy to use and I'd rather use the kiosks at those two than order via a cashier.

[Alpha8472]

Wow! Wendy's has kiosks? I have never seen any in my area. Then again Wendy's still is non self serve for sodas.

[reymann]

wendy's only went self serve at most locations after remodels. i really don't see mcdonald's bringing back self-serve soda machines in fresno anytime soon at remodeled locations due to the homeless loitering in the dining rooms. they've been reducing evening dining room hours due to the homeless problem at some locations around fresno.

[Alpha8472]

I have seen many homeless people set up camp near McDonald's in the San Francisco Bay Area because they can steal self serve drinks. They even take cups out of the trash and reuse them.

[storewanderer]

wendy's only went self serve at most locations after remodels. i really don't see mcdonald's bringing back self-serve soda machines in fresno anytime soon at remodeled locations due to the homeless loitering in the dining rooms. they've been reducing evening dining room hours due to the homeless problem at some locations around fresno.

This has been going on for a while and I don't understand why McDonalds is such a magnet for homeless people to loiter. They do not have the lowest price fast food. Wendys and the 4 for 4 or 4 for 5 wins that award, or value menus at Taco Bell/Del Taco are also much cheaper.

[storewanderer]

Wow! Wendy's has kiosks? I have never seen any in my area. Then again Wendy's still is non self serve for sodas.

Wendys has been moving to self serve drinks in remodels for years now. Not just since the remodel program they implemented however many years ago that does inside/outside/fireplace but even before that when they were just doing interior repaint recarpet type remodels they were moving to self serve drinks.

There are 4 Wendys along I-80 with kiosks in NV. Two are new builds and the other two were installed with remodels. There are 3 different models of kiosk, some support the loyalty app and some don't. The receipt prints up at the counter, the kiosks don't have a printer, but the receipt automatically prints after you pay the kiosk. The kiosk interface is identical to the app interface until you get to payment, at which point it has a pinpad so you don't have to manually enter your card number.

During COVID a couple of low volume Wendys in Reno/Carson City received remodels and neither received kiosks. However both converted to self serve drinks.

[cjd]

I remember some Wendy’s locations, when they had the fountain behind the counter, wouldn’t refill your cup, but would give you a new drink instead.

All the fast food places I’ve been lately still have the fountains for customer access.

[storewanderer]

I remember some Wendy’s locations, when they had the fountain behind the counter, wouldn’t refill your cup, but would give you a new drink instead.

All the fast food places I’ve been lately still have the fountains for customer access.

Supposedly McDonalds is shifting the entire US operation away from self serve drinks. Some franchisees have jumped on this initiative and have been removing self serve drinks rapidly from locations. Other franchisees don't seem to be in any hurry. I expect what will happen is this initiative will be stopped due to negative customer feedback in short order and the locations that removed self serve drinks will likely keep it removed at least until the next remodel or ownership change.

They are saying this is all about "safety and sanitation."

Yet there is no problem with those nasty order kiosks that never seem to get cleaned. Strange.

McDonalds I'll make a deal: bring back the self serve drinks, and eliminate the order kiosks. I'll take the chance of "safety and sanitation" at the drink machine that is touchless or I can use a napkin to pull the iced tea lever, vs. those order kiosks which you have to touch to use.

[cjd]

I’ll look out for that. One location in my town is supposedly going to be remodeled and not even have an ordering option other than the kiosks. I don’t see that going over well. That particular location is from 1993 and had a major remodel in 2012, so I’m kind of skeptical that it’s getting remodeled again. It already has the bland box look anyway.