Self-serve fountain sodas are on their way out at McDonald’s
If you love a good soda refill with your Big Mac and fries, we have a sad update. McDonald’s is beginning the process of phasing out its self-serve soda fountains over the next six years as they move to employees refilling drinks for customers behind the counters.
McDonald’s has allowed customers to fill their own sodas for many years, and for some folks, it’s a real selling point for having a meal there. Being able to control the amount of ice you prefer or even the ability to blend one or two (or more) sodas into one is an attractive feature to some patrons. Being able to refill your soda without having to wait in a line is also a perk many people undoubtedly appreciate.
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Now, don’t panic just yet — this change is going to take some time, so you will likely still have access to endless self-serve Cokes for the next few years. The machines are being moved away from a self-serve model as part of renovation and remodel plans for restaurants occurring through the year 2032, according to the company. Customers should still expect to receive free refills, but they will have to hit up the employee at the counter and ask them to do it once stores move over to this new policy.
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While some customers are fine with the change, others are taking to Reddit and social media to voice their disapproval. One Redditor points out that companies make these unpopular changes because customers keep showing up. “If this is a thing that bothers people, stop eating there. These companies keep raising prices, providing worse services or products, and people keep supporting them. Stop it.” Another former customer says this is just one more reason to not patronize their local McDonald’s. “I vowed to never go to McDonald’s again a year or two ago, so it’s nice they gave me another reason not to.”
The vibe overall is that customers are not really feeling this particular change, but like all things, we will have to wait and see if that sentiment translates to McDonald’s changing course with its plan to do away with self-serve soda machines. For now, get those refills and custom soda blends on your own while you still can.
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