You get your hopes up for a cone and cruise through the drive-thru, only to be told the ice cream machine is broken again.

你滿心期待著蛋捲冰淇淋並開車滑過得來速，結果卻得知冰淇淋機又壞掉了。

It's a problem nearly every McDonald's fan has likely experienced at least once in their lives.

這是幾乎每一個麥當勞粉絲人生中都有可能經歷過至少一次的狀況。

And without a functioning ice cream machine, there are no ice cream cones, no sundaes, and none of your beloved McFlurries.

如果沒有一台運作正常的冰淇淋機，就沒有蛋捲冰淇淋、沒有聖代，也沒有你鍾愛的冰炫風。

The problem has gotten so bad that fans are turning to social media to decry the lack of frozen treats.

情況愈演愈烈，以至於粉絲們開始到社群媒體抨擊麥當勞，抱怨這個買不到冰品的狀況。

In 2016, it was the most common service-related complaint to McDonald's on Twitter, and if anything, the problem has only gotten worse since then.

在 2016 年，這個問題再推特上「榮登」麥當勞客訴項目之冠，在那之後，這個問題也越演越烈。

Apparently, there's a perfectly good reason that McDonald's ice cream machines seem to be broken almost more often than they're working: They're not broken.

很顯然地，麥當勞的冰淇淋機壞掉的時間比正常運作的時間還久，是有個合理的原因的：它們其實並沒有壞。

According to a 2017 Wall Street Journal investigation, industrial soft serve machines must go through a laborious cleaning cycle that can last hours.

根據一個 2017 年華爾街日報的調查，工業用霜淇淋機都須經過一個長達數小時費力的清潔循環。

It's an 11-step process that includes using a sanitizer solution to clean seven removable parts.

這是一個涵蓋十一個步驟的程序，包含了使用消毒殺菌劑來清潔七個可拆式的零件組。

There are also two irremovable parts that must be scrubbed for at least 60 seconds, before the entire outside of the machine is wiped down with a sanitized towel.

在用殺菌過的毛巾擦拭整個機器外部之前，內部也有兩個固定的部分必須擦拭至少六十秒以上。

During this labor-intensive process, the machines are unable to serve up any frosty goodness, and if the crew is busy serving customers, cooking food, or cleaning other parts of the restaurant, the machine sits unassembled and inoperable.

在進行這個費力流程的期間，機器無法製作任何美味冰品，且如果員工們正忙於服務客人、製作餐點或是清理餐廳其他地方，機器就會呈現尚未組裝好且無法操作的狀態。

The soft serve machines also go through a four-hour heat cleaning cycle every night to get rid of any bacteria lingering on the inside and some employees may start that process early to get a head start on closing up.

霜淇淋機也會在每晚經過一個四小時的高溫清潔循環以殺死任何機器內部的細菌，而有些員工可能會提早開始進行清潔流程以準時打烊。

If that's the case, you're out of luck.

如果你遇到這個情況的話，就是你運氣不好了。

Not to mention, many McDonald's are now open 24 hours, meaning there's really no time to clean the machine without disappointing a few ice cream-loving customers.

更不用說現在很多麥當勞是二十四小時營業，意味著他們真的沒有時間去清潔機器，只好讓一些冰淇淋控消費者失望了。

To McDonald's credit, they do seem to be aware of the issue and in March 2017 revealed a plan to replace the old ice cream machines with newer versions that have fewer parts to clean and would be easier for employees to maintain.

而看在麥當勞的信譽上，他們看似的確有注意到這個問題，並在 2017 年的三月，公布了一項計畫要把冰淇淋機汰舊換新，新機的零件較少，更易於員工清潔及維護。

Unfortunately, customers are still waiting for those magical machines to materialize.

不幸地是，消費者仍殷殷等待著那些神奇機器的到來。

In November 2017, a McDonald's representative told Business Insider that while the company had identified which new machines would work best, they had yet to actually purchase the machines and move them into stores.

在 2017 年的十一月，一位麥當勞代表人告訴 Business Insider 說公司已經選定了一台效能最好的新機器，但他們仍未實際購入那些機器並置於店中。

Of course, the problem with the ice cream machines isn't always that they need to be cleaned.

當然，冰淇淋機停機的問題並非每次都是因為需要清潔。

Every now and then, when an employee tells you that it's broken, it actually is.

有時，當員工告訴你機器壞掉了，它就是真的壞了。

Many of the machines are reportedly old and temperamental, which makes them prone to breaking down.

據報很多機器都年久失修，以至於它們很容易壞。

Richard Adams, a consultant to McDonald's franchisees, told the Wall Street Journal that he once conducted a survey showing that 25 percent of McDonald's restaurants weren't selling ice cream because the machines were truly broken.

一位麥當勞經銷商的顧問Richard Adams告訴華爾街日報說，他曾進行一個調查，該調查顯示百分之二十五的麥當勞餐廳都因為機器真的壞掉而無法販售冰淇淋。

Not surprisingly, McDonald's doesn't seem to be in a hurry to fix or replace the machines that are frequently breaking, probably because the new machines are eventually on the way.

不出人意料之外地，麥當勞似乎一點也不急著修理或是更換常常壞掉的機器，這也許是因為新機器終於要來了。

In response to the perpetual lack of ice cream at the Golden Arches, one frustrated customer went so far as to develop an app to address the issue.

為了回應麥當勞冰淇淋常常斷貨的狀況，一位沮喪的消費者甚至設計了一款手機軟體來應付這個問題。

Raina McLeod created the free app called Ice Check solely for the purpose of warning customers about McDonald's locations where the ice cream machine was on the fritz.

Raina McLeod 開發了一款稱為 Ice Check 的免費手機軟體只為了告訴消費者哪些麥當勞店的冰淇淋機壞了。

And rival fast food giant Wendy's took an opportunity to throw some serious shade at McDonald's during a 2018 Ask Me Anything Reddit session with the company's social media team.

而它的競爭對手，另一大速食龍頭 Wendy's 在一個 2018 年的 Ask Me Anything Reddit 會議期間，與該公司的社群媒體團隊趁機公然地批評麥當勞。

Wendy's couldn't help but take the bait when a Redditor asked why McDonald's ice cream machines were always broken, writing "Same reason they serve round burgers, cause they cut corners."

當 Redditor 問及為什麼麥當勞的冰淇淋機一直壞掉時，Wendy's 不由自主地說，「原因就和他們提供圓形漢堡一樣，他們偷工減料。」

Ouch.

哎喲！

Whether the ice cream machine is truly broken or it's just in the middle of a lengthy cleaning process, the availability of soft serve at McDonald's is always a gamble.

不管冰淇淋機到底是真的壞掉還是只是剛好處在漫長的清潔程序中，要吃到麥當勞的霜淇淋都是一把賭注。

Cross your fingers the new machines arrive sometime soon or just go grab a Frosty.

好好雙手合十祈禱新機器的到來或者乾脆去吃 Wendy's 的 Frosty 吧！