# Decades of self-serve drinks in fast food restaurants... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 29, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723 "2019-03-29T18:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/21 "2019-04-03T01:03:57Z")
I think they should have a conventional soda fountain with the main products (regular Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite) right next to the Freestyle machine. Most people just want one of the old standbys, so they’d get their drinks faster. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/22 "2019-04-03T01:04:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think they should have a conventional soda fountain with the main products (regular Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite) right next to the Freestyle machine. Most people just want one of the old standbys, so they’d get our drinks faster. They should have to pay for and maintain two different machines to save you fifteen seconds every couple of weeks? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/23 "2019-04-03T01:29:33Z")
Well, yes, of course they should make things easier for their customers. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/24 "2019-04-03T11:28:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think they should have a conventional soda fountain with the main products (regular Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite) right next to the Freestyle machine. Most people just want one of the old standbys, so they’d get their drinks faster. I’ve never seen or used a Freestyle machine. What makes them so difficult to serve a main product? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/25 "2019-04-03T13:50:06Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’ve never seen or used a Freestyle machine. What makes them so difficult to serve a main product? A freestyle machine has a touchscreen display which you have to navigate through to get to your product. Typically it would go: Main Menu: Colas Diet Colas Non-colas _something I forget_ Then Colas: Coke Dr Pepper etc Then Coke: Coke Vanilla Coke Orange Coke etc So that’s three menus you have to go through to get a simple Coke. I’m seeing on them now on the front menu a quick select that takes you right to Coke Diet Coke Sprite ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/26 "2019-04-03T13:58:21Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, yes, of course they should make things easier for their customers. Maybe they should deliver them straight to your home. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/27 "2019-04-03T15:26:08Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > … > > Nobody has solved that problem? Seems like an array of semi-sensitive scales hooked up to an alarm would be a good start. Actually they have, and it’s you. See changing those things are a royal PITA and no one likes to do it, so the low syrup warning is routinely ignored, and that allows for more pours per change as it will run dry. Most customers, upon running out of syrup are cool about it and can easily make the switch to another flavor, but there are some who will insist of their preferred high fructose corn syrup mix and will go get someone who will change it, begrudgingly. And that’s why it takes so darn long, because the employee really hates that chore. But all and all the customers are happy, since they either get their HFCS mix of their choice or their second choice and are equally happy about that. The one customer (yourself) who has been put to work as the final warning system that the syrup is totally out, without pay, tips or benefit, and out their own time has to accept that because every other place uses the exact same method and it is just ‘the way things are’. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/28 "2019-04-03T15:52:33Z")
BTW, according to [this article](https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/the-real-reason-why-mcdonalds-coke-tastes-so-good), McDonald’s restaurants go to some length to make sure that Coca-Cola there tastes better than most places. They get the syrup in stainless steel containers rather than plastic bags as do most places, filter the water, chill the syrup and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/29 "2019-04-03T16:17:50Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > A freestyle machine has a touchscreen display which you have to navigate through to get to your product. Typically it would go: > > Main Menu: > Colas > Diet Colas > Non-colas > _something I forget_ > > Then Colas: > Coke Dr Pepper etc > > Then Coke: > Coke Vanilla Coke Orange Coke etc > > So that’s three menus you have to go through to get a simple Coke. > I’m seeing on them now on the front menu a quick select that takes you right to Coke Diet Coke Sprite Basically I think the machines have a bunch of syrups for various drinks, and can be combined in certain combinations- e.g. they have Coke syrup, lime syrup, cherry syrup and Ginger Ale syrup. The machine then might give the user the option of Coke, Cherry Coke, Cherry Fanta, Cherry-Lime Fanta, Ginger Ale, Ginger-Lime Coke, and Cherry Ginger Ale. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/30 "2019-04-03T16:54:10Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > A freestyle machine has a touchscreen display which you have to navigate through to get to your product. Typically it would go: > > Main Menu: > Colas > Diet Colas > Non-colas > _something I forget_ > > Then Colas: > Coke Dr Pepper etc > > Then Coke: > Coke Vanilla Coke Orange Coke etc > > So that’s three menus you have to go through to get a simple Coke. > I’m seeing on them now on the front menu a quick select that takes you right to Coke Diet Coke Sprite Dear God, [please don’t take this woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=873454) to a place with one of those. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723/31 "2019-04-03T18:38:40Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Maybe they should deliver them straight to your home. No, the fries would be cold. Never fails. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decades-of-self-serve-drinks-in-fast-food-restaurants/831723.md?page=1)