McDonald’s New Fountain Drink Policy Is Frustrating Customers

When McDonald's rolled out kiosks to streamline ordering for some of the more technology-focused customers, it should have been a hint of things to come. Because now, the fast food chain plans to make big changes to the way soda is served to customers. It's apparently part of a way to modernize the restaurant even more, but for people who have a special place in their hearts for a crispy McDonald's Diet Coke, it's a big headache.

McDonald's is not getting rid of soda as a whole. But there is a big change coming that customers will have to get used to if they prefer to order inside or eat inside their favorite franchised location.

And apparently, the McDonald's soda change is happening nationwide, so you won't be able to avoid it.

Fox Business reported that McDonald's locations across the United States plan to slowly roll out the transition from self-serve fountain drink stations to being available only from employees behind the counter. The planned change is set to finish in 2032. The idea is to get rid of beverage stations in the dining room and make it possible for customers to walk to the register and ask for refills rather than fill the refills themselves.

It's all part of plans to modernize McDonald's through drive-thru and delivery options. Per The Columbus Dispatch, the digital kiosks at most McDonald's locations were also part of the overall modernization plans for locations nationwide.

Now, with the soda changes at McDonald's, customers will either enter their specific drink order in the kiosk or tell the cashier what they want to drink rather than the generic "medium foundation drink" order. As for refills, customers will head back to the register to wait for an available cashier to assist them.

After McDonald's announced the soda changes, and someone shared it on Reddit, users came together to air their grievances about the change in how the fast food chain serves soda to customers. Some expect that it might be a financial issue, and having employees fill cups behind the counter negates any possibility for customers to cheat the system. Others don't think McDonald's will save any money by implementing the change.

"It's pennies," someone commented on the thread. "It costs them more to pay someone to draw your soda for you than to have you do it yourself. But whatever."

Another wrote, "The main problem with this is that it is nearly impossible to get an employee's attention for a refill. The self-serve ordering kiosks have made any interaction with an employee rare. It's by design, though, so they don't have to give refills anymore."

Although there are no verified reports of how much it costs McDonald's to produce fountain drinks, according to The Restaurant Warehouse, generally speaking, a 32-ounce cup of soda might cost a restaurant around 15 cents to make.

They then sell it for at least $1, making for a pretty decent profit. Without the possibility of McDonald's customers overfilling, filling and then pouring out, or just plain stealing drinks from fountain machine stations in the dining area, the chain could save and earn even more.