McDonald's blames 'configuration change' for global outage
Customers not lovin' it
Fast food titan McDonald's faced a worldwide technical outage on Friday, leaving numerous outlets temporarily closed and scores of customers disgruntled across various countries.
The outage hampered operations across various countries, including the UK, Australia and Japan, prompting the closure of numerous outlets.
The international restaurant chain attributed the global outage to technical glitches originating from a third-party provider. It said that the problem transpired during a "configuration change," resulting in a halt to order-taking processes in affected regions.
Despite the scale of the disruption, McDonald's stressed that the incident was not the result of a cyberattack, seeking to allay concerns regarding cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The outage struck around 5 am in the UK. Reports emerged from various locations detailing the extent of the disruption, with customers facing difficulties placing orders, whether in-store, at drive-throughs or online.
A franchise owner overseeing 21 branches in the Midlands recounted a 90-minute period during which serving customers became impossible.
While the exact scale of the disruption remained unclear, Downdetector recorded over 1,000 outages on the McDonald's app in the UK between 6 am and 3 pm on Friday, with a notable surge observed around 7 am.
Similarly, in Hong Kong, self-ordering kiosks and mobile phone orders faltered, prompting the company to redirect customers to traditional ordering methods at restaurant counters.
In Japan, McDonald's outlets posted notices informing customers of the widespread outage, acknowledging the "temporary suspension of operations" due to the systemic malfunction.
In China, where McDonald's is a prominent presence with over 5,000 stores, social media buzzed with concerns over the outage. The hashtag "McDonald's collapse" was the fifth most searched term on China's Weibo social media platform on Friday afternoon.
While the company assured customers of a fix, some said they had already turned to rival chains like KFC.
In New Zealand, X user named Germin van Royen described the outage as "crazy".
"Went in tonight and drive thru + all kiosks were down. A system that can fail nationwide is bad but across multiple countries too!? Bonkers."
Many regions managed to restore services by Friday afternoon, although some continued to grapple with the aftermath of the disruption.
Brian Rice, McDonald's CIO, later stated that the company suffered a "global technology system outage," which was promptly identified and rectified. He added that the incident was the "exception to the norm" and that the company was working to address the issue with utmost urgency.
Patrik Hjelte, owner of multiple McDonald's establishments in central Sweden, shed light on the interconnected nature of the chain's operations, stating that the technical glitch had repercussions for all outlets tethered to the global network.
McDonald's boasts approximately 40,000 restaurants globally, encompassing around 1,450 outlets across the UK and Ireland and over 14,000 stores in the United States. Additionally, the company operates nearly 3,000 restaurants in Japan and approximately 1,000 in Australia.
McDonald's suffered a blow to its quarterly sales in February, marking its first miss in nearly four years.
It attributed the downturn partially to geopolitical tensions, citing the impact of Israel's conflict with Gaza, which prompted calls for boycotts in Muslim-majority regions following revelations of the chain's franchisee support to the Israeli military.
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