Perhaps one of the most comforting things about fast food restaurant chains like McDonald’s is the consistency of their menu. There are very few changes both over the years and over locations, and a customer can set foot in almost any location around the world and breathe a sigh of relief as they spot their same favorites as they have at home. It is a conscious decision of the company, as it helps unify via pop culture and marketing, making cultures relate to each other better, but sometimes things change, and the chains make a change.
In this controversial change, McDonald’s has decided that in the US they will stop offering limitless refills on drinks.
We can hear your gasp from here, but it is true, and they are not the only ones who are doing this, many major fast food chains are choosing to do this as well, and the controversy is high with this seemingly out of the blue decision.
The new McDonald’s free refill policy
While it might seem that this company policy has been around forever, the reality is that it has only been in the past 20 odd years that Americans have been able to enjoy this privilege. It is not even available in most other places around the world, as legislation is a lot stricter with the sale of unhealthy foods and drinks.
This is also starting to be a concern in the US, rates of obesity are at an all-time high, and many lawmakers and advocates are arguing against the ease of access of these kinds of perks that can increase calory consumption without people really noticing. Even though no one thinks soda is good for them, the amount that is consumed by these free refills is concerning and can lead to many health issues like diabetes if one is not careful.
Another concern that the company has is obviously monetary, with people taking advantage of the system. Free refills cups cost more than regular ones and many people just do not want to pay for the upgrade but still use the machine with little to no control from the usually understaffed location managers. In an industry where every dollar counts as the prices are so low, the excess consumption does get noticed eventually, and eventually is now.
This also applies to the fact that these machines need to be cleaned regularly, which requires a member of staff to do it and it takes a very long time. Time is money and having an employee unavailable for the better part of an hour every day servicing these machines is also not a savvy business model. Plus, reusing cups can be unsanitary and lead to health problems unrelated to weight like infections that can still be traced back to badly cleaned machines.
Former McDonald’s corporate chef Mike Haracz agrees with many of these takes and explained why he thinks the company is making this move despite the social media backlash that they are receiving.
“Your Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, whatever, you will no longer be able to get them in the restaurant in the front of the house,” he says. “You’re gonna have to order it. You’re gonna get one. I don’t know what that means about free refills, which seems like that’s not gonna happen. […] They are citing that it is because of theft, which is interesting, and sanitation,” Haracz says. “So because they don’t have enough people to clean it and maintain it, they’re just going to get rid of it, is what I’m thinking. That is one less person, human, that McDonald’s needs to hire to manage and maintain it. […] I know they’ve also, I’ve seen some McDonald’s franchisees very supportive of AI and AI order-taking, AI at the drive-thru,” he shares. “So it looks like they’re trying to do as much as they possibly can with less people. That’s less money that they have to pay employees, less people in the restaurant to manage and maintain these things.”