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On Friday, consumers struggled to order from restaurants in several countries. Restaurants in Japan closed their doors, while in Australia, some reportedly started using pen and paper again.
By Natasha Frost, John Yoon and Isabella Kwai
Natasha Frost reported from Melbourne, Australia. John Yoon reported from Seoul. Isabella Kwai reported from London.
McDonald’s consumers in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong reported Friday that they were struggling to order from fast-food restaurants, prompting some restaurants to suspend orders and others to close entirely.
The cause of these problems is a “global generation cutoff,” according to McDonald’s. The company did not specify the extent of the problem, but said several markets were affected.
The outage was “swiftly known and corrected,” Brian Rice, the company’s chief data officer, said Friday in a statement that was also sent to workers around the world and franchisees. He noted that this wasn’t due to a “cybersecurity event,” yet through “a third-party vendor during a configuration change. “
Rice said that while many markets came back online, some were still “experiencing issues. “
“What has happened today is an exception to the norm and we are going to act urgently,” he said, apologizing to consumers and restaurant owners.
The outage appears to have affected restaurants in several countries. In a post on X, McDonald’s Japan said its restaurants were experiencing technical difficulties due to a formula disruption. Later in the article, he said that “many” outlets across the country had suspended operations because of the issue, without specifying how many. Japan has about 2,900 McDonald’s restaurants, the third largest globally after the United States and China.
Hong Kong’s McDonald’s said on Facebook that it is also facing a “computer formula glitch,” clarifying that “mobile and self-service ordering kiosks are not working” and asking consumers to place their orders directly at restaurant counters. McDonald’s Taiwan also said on its website that it had temporarily suspended online and phone orders.
And British consumers said they struggled with the McDonald’s app on Friday morning, according to Downdetector, a site that monitors outage reports.
In Australia, images circulating on social media showed symptoms at the doors of some McDonald’s outlets apologizing to consumers for the inconvenience. Australian media reported that some restaurants had closed their doors, while others had reverted to an analogue approach, with some workers taking orders with pens and paper.
Some restaurants in Australia appeared to have resumed full service on Friday night.
At a diner in Richmond, Melbourne, consumers ordered milkshakes and burgers, crowded around self-service machines and lingered eating shared fries. Employees at the eating place said the outage lasted about two hours and consumers paid in cash.
Jeremy Ruz, a visitor from Newcastle, Australia, at the drive-thru looking to pick up his children’s dinner when his plans were thwarted by the formula disruption, said.
“People would come out with a notebook and a pen, saying they couldn’t accept cards,” he said. “There was a kilometre-long queue. “
Natasha Frost writes the Times’ weekday newsletter, The Europe Morning Briefing, reporting from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. It is located in Melbourne, Australia. Learn more about Natasha Frost
John Yoon is a reporter for the Times in Seoul who covers news and trends. Learn more about John Yoon
Isabella Kwai is a reporter in the Londres. Se joined The Times in 2017 in the Australia bureau. Learn more about Isabella Kwai
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