William Simpson
McDonald’s is ditching self-serve drink stations, and some locations may start charging for refills that were previously free.
The fast food giant will slowly remove self-serve drink stations – fountain drink dispensers – and get rid of the stations completely by 2032.
The change, a McDonald’s representative told CBS News in an email, is intended to make customer experiences consistent no matter where you order — in the app, at the drive-thru, in the restaurant or other methods.
Without drink dispensers, restaurant customers can’t serve their own drinks — and individual franchises have the power to decide whether to charge for refills, the McDonald’s representative said.
Darren Tristano, CEO of Foodservice Results, which conducts research on the food service industry, said he believes other fast food chains will follow McDonald’s example. “McDonald’s is the leader and most other fast food chains are fast food followers,” he told CBS News in an email.
Some social media users shared photos of the empty counters at the local McDonald’s, where the self-serve beverage station once stood. Others expressed outrage at the change, with a Reddit thread on the subject racking up nearly 350 comments. “Seriously, this is a terrible idea. This is a big reason why I would choose McDonalds over another option. Shooting yourself in the foot with this one,” one person wrote.
“This is the final straw,” joked another.
One person in the Netherlands said that there have never been free refills at McDonald’s – and others in Europe agreed.
Others pointed out that it’s up to individual franchises to decide — so some locations may not charge for refills.
In 2023, McDonald’s reported global like-for-like sales increased 9% for the year and have grown more than 30% since 2019.
Still, the company announced earlier this year that foot traffic at its restaurants has declined as inflation has risen. Many fast food chains have increased prices in recent months, but to try to attract people back to their stores, McDonald’s launched a $5 meal promotion last week.
CBS reached out to McDonald’s for more information on how many franchises should charge for refills. Most of McDonald’s 14,300 restaurants are franchises. The company employs a staggering 2 million people in its restaurants and another 150,000 employees in its corporate offices.
Caitlin O’Kane
