WTF? Southern Utah McDonald’s Taking Away Self-Serve Soda Machines

It's time to say goodbye to your quick refills, McDonald's fans! Corporate McDonald's announced earlier this week that they'll be pulling all the self-serve soda machines in ALL of their restaurants. All of these soda machines will be gone from the restaurant lobbies by the year 2032.

According to McDonald's, they're doing this so the customer and worker experiences will be consistent across all ordering points. Whether you're dining in, ordering via the app, or through the drive-thru, everything will be the exact same experience.

How will refills work if you're dining in? Well, McDonald's hasn't commented on that yet. Refills will remain free, but you will have to have an employee get it for you. Some McDonald's locations across the United States have already pulled the self-serve soda machines. I believe the Washington Parkway location has already NOT had a beverage station in the lobby.

I reached out to a McDonald's employee today on what they thought about this. They said "All new buildings will have the beverage stations behind the counter, like at Washington Parkway." I also asked them "How come they're putting them behind and not for the customers?" They responded with "To be honest, I'm not 100% positive. Maybe because too many people are bringing cups and refilling them without buying anything. Also, the homeless are digging them out of the trash and refilling them and that's not sanitary. You can still get refills for free we just have to get them for you at the newer stores."

People are already voicing their frustrations online. One person said "I just tried to get a refill and it took over 5 minutes. It would have taken me less than 20 seconds to do it myself.

Be prepared for the next time you visit a McDonald's. Especially if it's a new building. They will NOT have the soda machines out in the lobbies.