It looks like customers aren’t the only ones upset with McDonald’s regarding their ice cream machines. A repair company that fixes the machines sues the franchise for false advertisement.
According to NBC News, a startup company called Kytch was initially hired to repair the notoriously broken ice cream machines. The company is now suing McDonald’s for $900 million for allegedly ruining their business.
In the lawsuit, Kytch claims McDonald’s stole their technology to create their own and published “deceptive ads,” stating Kytch was a safety hazard.
Kytch co-founders Jeremy O’Sullivan and Melissa Nelson created a trial product in 2019. The computer device allows customers to run the machines with an online interface remotely. As well as “adjusts settings hidden deep in the machines. Which can prevent outages before the machines can detect an error.”
The lawsuit says Kytch’s product worked well and was “the largest independent software vendor for the shake machine in the McDonald’s system.” However, their glory was short-lived after McDonald’s teamed up with Taylor Company. The company is a soft-serve machine manufacturer that worked with the franchise to create their competitive product.
Kytch says while developing devices to get inside Taylor’s “cryptic” dispensers, they discovered a multimillion-dollar “repair racket.” Kytch claims Taylor created incorrect codes that’ll cause Kytch’s machines not to work.
In addition to the code switch, McDonald’s and Taylor accessed Kytch’s password-protected online interface to obtain a physical device. To make matters worse, Taylor allegedly used Kytch participants’ feedback to enhance their dispensers.
Nevertheless, McDonald’s and Taylor say the allegations are “fabricated bogus ‘safety’ claims.”
