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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

#31

Post by p1necone »

WalterBright wrote: post #29
bluedevil2k wrote: post #3

Fast food prices have already gotten exhorbitent and they think people would be willing to pay more? McDonald’s just released a statement that they’ve pushed prices up too far and as a result are seeing declining revenues. And another wild card…as more people start using Ozempic, fewer people will eat these health destructive meals.

When I eat at McD's, I order a QP, a side salad, and water. Nothing unhealthy about that.

Similarly - look at the macros on a whopper from burger king - other than the high sodium it's a pretty well balanced meal if you skip the fries and soda.

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

#32

Post by WalterBright »

scld wrote: post #20
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> crews are blown out to the max with mobile orders these days Why would the way the order is made make any difference?

A physical line has historically been a de facto surge price. You have to pay the cost of the meal plus your own opportunity cost of waiting in line. The long line is also a signal of how long your food will really take. Mobile options almost completely eliminated that, so you have way more orders at a time than you otherwise would (or the restaurant needs a digital queue of some sort)

I like walking to McD's and ordering while I walk, then just saunter in and grab it. No waiting.

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

#33

Post by WalterBright »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #25
ramesh31 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why would the way the order is made make any difference? It's the volume. Fast food work used to come in rushes, with a volume limited by the physical location. Now for many locations it's a nonstop queue of online orders from half a dozen systems from the first minute you open to the last minute you close. Great for business terrible for humans.

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.

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

#34

Post by basil-rash »

michaelmrose wrote: post #12
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..

This actually means something different. Notably its obviously a lie if your price floats up from your present baseline. People are stupid but they aren't that stupid.

They aren’t stupid but they are forgetful. There’d be a couple weeks of sharp bitterness then a low grumble, just as always happens when fast food prices get raised.

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

#36

Post by cameldrv »

I predict this won't end well. People will pull up to the drive-thru, find that the prices are much higher than usual, and get mad, because they may not be able to back up out of the drive-thru or pull forward to exit. They'll either have to pay the high prices or wait to leave. Once someone gets burned by this a couple of times they'll just stop going to Wendy's.

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

#37

Post by slt2021 »

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.

any idiot can hike prices arbitrarily, but the true art of pricing is to hike a price but still keep you as a customer.

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

#38

Post by basil-rash »

mlinhares wrote: post #2

Do people really eat at these places because they find the food "special" or is it just the price?

It’s not exactly special, and it’s not exactly cheap, but it’s almost always fast and food, which oftentimes is all I’m looking for.

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

#39

Post by popularonion »

catchnear4321 wrote: post #6
bluedevil2k wrote: post #3

Fast food prices have already gotten exhorbitent and they think people would be willing to pay more? McDonald’s just released a statement that they’ve pushed prices up too far and as a result are seeing declining revenues. And another wild card…as more people start using Ozempic, fewer people will eat these health destructive meals.

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.

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