Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

gizmodo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 98 posts

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

#71

Post by 1letterunixname »

bitbang wrote: post #43
michaelmrose wrote: post #11

Who wants to go into business selling bricks near their HQ to angry consumers. I'm going to beat the rush and stop eating there now.

I foresee surge pricing for bricks...

Lumber pricing after hurricanes.

Maybe there ought to be regulation and enforcement of price gouging. Price gouging is legal at all times including during emergencies and disasters in 12 states specifically: Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming. Libertarian paradise!

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

#72

Post by 1letterunixname »

datavirtue wrote: post #27

....because Wendy's is looking for that last key move that puts them out of business.

Nawh, it's innovation in ways to be the biggest assholes by saying FU to employees and customers in new, short-term profitable ways that completely trash customer loyalty, goodwill, and brand value.

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

#73

Post by jacknews »

mlinhares wrote: post #51
jacknews wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about special, but it's not just the price, especially in emerging markets, where these places are often priced more toward the luxury or at least mid-range. There's possibly a niche opening up for actually-cheap convenience food, but I don't know how good a business that would be.

This is specific to US stores.

Sure, I'm just saying in other markets these places are already at mid-tier prices, and the US market looks like it's heading that way too.

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

#75

Post by catchnear4321 »

gremlinsinc wrote: post #55
catchnear4321 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

right, but check back tomorrow. it might be cheaper than next door then. no promises on the next day.

who has the attention span for that? After 1-2 times I'd just give up and default to the competitor - and Wendy's is by far my favorite fast food restaurant.

what if competitors all adopt the model? less fear of doing so if w takes the l.

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

#76

Post by cameldrv »

Server6 wrote: post #66
WalterBright wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You charge too much and I'll just go next door. It's almost like Supply & Demand is the Law.

Isn't that what they're trying to do though? Perfectly price their product for demand at any given time? Not saying I like the idea, but it seems like pure supply and demand in action.

Yeah but it's more like the prisoner's dilemma vs. the iterated prisoner's dilemma. Some people think that what makes the modern world work is hyper-optimization, but what really makes the modern world work is reliability. If my counterparty, the hamburger stand, is trying to hyper-optimize their profit by doing dynamic pricing, now I have to run my own optimization loop to find the best value hamburger stand for that particular hour, and maybe I don't want to waste my time/energy trying to figure out what the best hamburger stand is at any given moment, so I just go to the one that charges the same prices all the time.

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

#77

Post by dumbo-octopus »

mlinhares wrote: post #56
basil-rash wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is insanely cheap, getting that much calories in less than 10 USD would be a dream in any developed or poor nation. Might not be the best calories but will keep you (under) fed for a long time.

Not really, I've gotten full plates of delicious chicken and rice in Colombian slums for ~2 USD.

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

#78

Post by WalterBright »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #41
WalterBright wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The higher the price of labor, the more incentive there is to match the labor schedule with the need.

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

#80

Post by giraffe_lady »

WalterBright wrote: post #78
giraffe_lady wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The higher the price of labor, the more incentive there is to match the labor schedule with the need.

Yes but again the intentional understaffing preceded the jump in labor costs we've seen the last few years. So regardless of how powerful the incentives are, they weren't the cause of that change.
Post reply on HN