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It is NOT doing something wrong when flavors end up in a drink from these machines, it is residual syrups left over in the nozzle from the previous user, one should know how things work before assuming someone else is too stupid to use a pop machine that has nozzles that are NOT self cleaning!
I find those Freestyle machines to be cool. It's nice to just push a button and then you can get any Coca-Cola product that you want. It's even more simpler than those soda fountain machines, which was always a mess.
I like the variety, but I have noticed that the "normal" flavors (Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke) just don't taste the same, and not in a good way.
The line does stink too. I appreciate restaurants who put water out separately from the machine. One of these machines is just not enough for a high volume restaurant.
I don't like the Freestyle for two different reasons:
1- The machine is never not- sticky. How it is that difficult for some special people in this world to use a soda fountain without spraying it everywhere is beyond me.
2- I dread having to use this machine if I am at a place where there are kids. Lots of parents let their kids go wild and either won't supervise them, or, they will stand there with their child and scroll through the billion drink options asking the kid what they want. If there are no people waiting to use the machine, fine. Knock yourself out. But if there are two or three people in line, just make the decision for the child already. And if you see your kids holding up people who just want to get a water and go, please intervene.
+100
The few restaurants around here that have them, I refuse to go back to for those reasons.
Plus, some people are just too stupid to work them.
I have noticed that the soda tastes a bit watered down, and I'm thinking they DO have a bit of a self-cleaning mode. After I stop dispensing, for just a second or two, the machine puts out just plain carbonated water. It's just a shot, but probably enough to clear out the pipes. To avoid getting my drink too watered down, I try to remove my cup as soon as I stop pressing the button, before the clear water comes out.
I love these machines. Now, instead of getting maybe 6 choices, I've got dozens. If I want a Cherry Dr. Pepper -- which I never knew I would even like, before I tried it at a Freestyle machine -- I can get one. I've never noticed the drink aftertaste either.
I will agree on the line issue, though. My kids like to experiment, so I'll stand with them, and if there is someone behind us, I'll tell them they get a max of two flavors, and if they don't pick 'em now, I will. But that's more an issue of proper parenting than the drink machine itself.
I love the machines. My palate isn't sensitive enough to taste any previous residue. I usually default to lime Coke 90% of the time though, but so many great combinations.
If there is a large group of kids like in a Moe's or a Zaxby's I'll probably skip the place altogether. Like many have said, standing behind some kid who is concocting some 100 flavor suicide and than dumps it out after one sip to start all over is infuriating.
I feel like I was accused of not knowing how to use the machine. I know about the bleeding off of prior selections.
There is nothing you can do it the machine is used in a drive-through setting. It just tastes different. I can't place the flavor that is added, but it is consistent across every place I've encountered the Freestyle machines. I've just got to the point where I get sweet tea instead of being disappointed. It's a subtle difference, but it is there. Maybe its all in my head, maybe not.
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