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Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

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Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#41

Post by giraffe_lady »

WalterBright wrote: post #33
giraffe_lady wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the decision of the business to understaff relative to the expected demand in order to minimize labor costs. They could so easily have another one or two people working to make it better for everyone, they simply choose not to so they can squeeze that little extra bit of profit out.

Understaffing has become the norm with the rise in wages.

Preceded it by many years in fast food. Algorithm-optimized minimal labor scheduling based on previous sales was being used at starbucks and mcdonalds at least in 2014, but probably earlier and probably elsewhere too.

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#42

Post by a_e_k »

goda90 wrote: post #23
drewg123 wrote: post #4

It would be less aggravating to consumers if they framed it as off-peak discounts, rather than letting it be compared to surge pricing. Eg, they'd have a list price as their max price, and they could vary the discount throughout the day..

I remember several fast food restaurants were trying afternoon "happy hour" deals a few years ago. Pretty much a simpler version of that.

The Taco Bell near me still does that.

The difference is that they have large printed signs advertising the discounted prices and the times they apply (2p-5p). The posted prices are dependable as long as one checks a clock.

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#44

Post by vgeek »

Why is it always surge pricing for consumers, but not employee compensation? (in a non-exploitative manner like the gig companies employee) Yes, there have been cash-flow improvements like daily payments, and maybe other improvements to scheduling apps-- why not a solution for surge pricing for employees? E.g., Wendy's is busy for the Tuesday afternoon shift, wages +30% for workers who want to come in for X hours (if order throughput is +300% from 11am-1pm, why wouldn't they want extra hands, even if the marginal cost is much higher, albeit more transient). Or Amazon/DHL/UPS sees an increase over a weekend and offers $X bonus per shift for standby/off shift employees, increasing the amount until enough people volunteer.

Given that labor is viewed as fungible by most employers, why not enable more promiscuity by employees to help with wages and/or security? Things like background checks seem fairly transitive. Maybe do some sort of skill set certifications like food handling, warehousing, basic labor, etc.?

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#45

Post by electriclove »

popularonion wrote: post #39
catchnear4321 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the threat isn’t so much “more” as “mystery.” you can plan for four fries instead of five if the cost goes from a buck to a buck and a quarter. but what if you don’t know how much it will cost? it doesn’t matter if you can afford a baconator right now. it matters if you can afford it in line, and you may not know until you get there. as if that’s not enough manipulation, maybe you can get a deal if you change your sc…

It’s to push you into using the app. The fast food conglomerates really, really, REALLY want to shut down dine-in service for good and transition drive thru to an app-only business model. It’s their #1 strategic imperative. I would go so far as to say they don’t care about profit here and in fact they’re happy to lose quite a few customers, as long as the “percentage of orders made in app” KPI keeps going up.

Maybe that’s a good thing

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#48

Post by deprecative »

vgeek wrote: post #44

Why is it always surge pricing for consumers, but not employee compensation? (in a non-exploitative manner like the gig companies employee) Yes, there have been cash-flow improvements like daily payments, and maybe other improvements to scheduling apps-- why not a solution for surge pricing for employees? E.g., Wendy's is busy for the Tuesday afternoon shift, wages +30% for workers who want to come in for X hours (if…

So many people seem to forget that we live under capitalism. Why is it always for customers and rarely employee compensation? The latter costs money and the former increases already obscene profits. It's capitalism. That's why.

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#49

Post by catchnear4321 »

ramesh31 wrote: post #10
chrismcb wrote: post #5

"Dynamic pricing is a relatively new concept in the fast-food world, with little precedent" Yes, because they're are lots of options. You charge too much and I'll just go next door.

>Yes, because they're are lots of options. You charge too much and I'll just go next door. Sure, but thats how all markets work. When I want a Spicy Chicken Sandwich™, I want a Spicy Chicken Sandwich™. And there are no substitutes. The whole point of this would be that Wendy's dynamically accounts for this to an acceptable degree I don't cancel altogether. People who want a cheaper meal can go elsewhere, and I can ge…

national fast food franchises leaning in to firing customers for not being sufficiently juicy, as a means of increasing efficiency.

with a focus on the most willing consumers, you can probably even make more with fewer employees. keep crews blown out by making them smaller. maybe even add a token performance bonus with confusing math, to motivate those that remain. not that they need it, they should be grateful for not having been let go for non-performance efficiency reasons.

Re: Wendy's Wants to Start Uber-Like Surge Pricing in 2025

#50

Post by DerekL »

goda90 wrote: post #23
drewg123 wrote: post #4

It would be less aggravating to consumers if they framed it as off-peak discounts, rather than letting it be compared to surge pricing. Eg, they'd have a list price as their max price, and they could vary the discount throughout the day..

I remember several fast food restaurants were trying afternoon "happy hour" deals a few years ago. Pretty much a simpler version of that.

Many, many restaurants have had lunch specials for a long time.
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