Fast food giant McDonald’s was hit by a global technology glitch, affecting services across multiple countries, including the UK, Australia, Japan, and China. The company issued an apology and was quick to deny that it had fallen victim to a cybersecurity attack.
Fryers and cash registers at McDonald’s outlets came to a standstill in multiple countries after the technology outage struck on Friday. Staff members of the fast food chain found their screens black or frozen and were unable to process in-person orders from customers. Mobile customer orders were also stalled due to the technical outage.
The situation was so dire even rival Burger King slyly took a dig at the worldwide McDonald’s conundrum.
Burger King made a cheeky jab at the rival's misfortune
The company said they were working to resolve the issue as patrons across the world began questioning the golden arches.
“We are aware of a technology outage, which impacted our restaurants; the issue is now being resolved. We thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. Notably, the issue is not related to a cybersecurity event,” a global spokesperson for McDonald’s was quoted saying.
Similar messages popped up from the chain’s representatives in other countries.
McDonald’s Australia wrote a message on Twitter, saying, “This wasn’t related to a cybersecurity event and most restaurants have now re-opened and are serving up all your faves. A huge thank you to our customers and our hard-working crew for their patience, we’re sorry for the inconvenience. Team Macca’s.”
The company ruled out a cybersecurity threat and said they were working to resolve the issue
Image credits: freestocks.org
“There is currently a system failure. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and ask that you please wait for a while until the service is restored,” McDonald’s Japan confirmed.
One restaurant manager working for the fast food joint said all their computer screens had gone black or frozen with a loading screen that said: “Waiting for the assigned host.”
"We're in the dark," he was quoted telling the Daily Mail Australia.
Customers took to social media to share their woes of not getting their Big Mac cravings satisfied.
One customer said he found the staff at a Japanese McDonald’s “calculating the totals on paper”
One patron went as far as penning a poem to take the emotional load off his chest:
"Ketchup is red
Burgers are brown
I ordered McDonald's
But their system is down
Mustard is yellow
Pickles are green
Where's Ronald McDonald?
Nowhere to be seen."