this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 80 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

That's roughly around the time I'm rolling out my Surge Boycotting strategy.

I can't wait!

[–] Infinite_Indecision@midwest.social 23 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)
[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

The Baconator is clouding my decision making abilities.

[–] SuiXi3D@kbin.social 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It won’t when it’s $20 for just the burger.

[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

I'll be using Surge make a sandwich at home.

[–] Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 1 points 8 months ago

Worst case of food poisoning I have ever suffered was from a Baconator. Fuck Wendy's with fire.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 62 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

The economy doesn't care what people aka consumers want anymore. At shareholder insistence, they sabotage the future for a short term stock boost, knowing infinite growth on a finite world is over. This is terminal stage capitalism, and it's not just gonna be Wendy's, or in the food sector. The snake is eating its own tail as the scam runs out of room.

Capital markets were sold as seed funding to grow businesses, now they dismantle business ability to provide the product/service they existed for in the first place at any remotely decent quality. Economies are supposed to be lowly tools, existing solely to benefit and serve society, a method to more efficiently distribute goods/services within said society. The tail is wagging the dog.

[–] doc@kbin.social 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The customer is the shareholder. The consumer is a means to an end. Same as it ever was.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

The consumer/employee is livestock to the owner class, to be exploited at both ends, and discarded when it is exploited to the point it can no longer produce.

[–] zoostation@lemmy.world 49 points 8 months ago

This shit can fuck all the way off

[–] Ozzy@nexxis.social 42 points 8 months ago (2 children)

capitalism is nearing perfection their workers must be excited about all that surge pay

[–] HowMany@lemmy.ml 7 points 8 months ago

mmm yeah... that's it.

[–] grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

Also, I'm sure they will not use the conversion rate at higher prices to test out a higher base price.

[–] Pistcow@lemm.ee 37 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I mean, if they want to but I'm getting fast food less and less. My wife and I got two numbered breakfast meals from McDonalds and it ended up being $27~. Yeaah I'll just make breakfast at home.

[–] nul9o9@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

Breakfast from a local diner costs less around here.

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 19 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Jokes on them, every single fast food place near me has already priced themselves out of contention as far as I am concerned.

You're a fucking convenience freckle-bitch, not an $11 burger.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)
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[–] mp3@lemmy.ca 14 points 8 months ago

I'm gonna surge the fuck outta here.

[–] HowMany@lemmy.ml 12 points 8 months ago

Bye bye Wendy's. Dave is rolling in his grave right now.

[–] Dagamant@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

the good Mexican place in town feeds us better food for less than we would pay at 2/3rds of the fast food places in town. The exceptions being Cookout and Taco Bell. Either way, my family has been moving further and further from fast food going from once a week to maybe once a month if we are driving somewhere and don’t have time for something else.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] podperson@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago

Have read Snow Crash more than once, but hadn’t heard of that New Yorker article. A+++. Loved that he had to put a quarter in everything.

[–] Crow@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago

This will really hamper my 0 visits to Wendy’s without coupons.

[–] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Nooo not the le epic company with the funny tweets

[–] TheOctonaut@mander.xyz 2 points 8 months ago

Wendy's isn't a parody account?!

[–] RonnieB@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Isn't it almost $15 for a meal now anyway? Not worth it for fast food.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

$5 for a biggie bag.

4 for $4 (RIP) was my go-to when I was poor. It's not great or healthy but it was by far the cheapest option at a job where bringing my own lunch every day wasn't feasible

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 6 points 8 months ago

Psst. Hey kid, want to buy a Baconator?

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 8 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Wendy’s is looking to test having the prices of its menu items fluctuate throughout the day based on demand, implementing a strategy that has already taken hold with ride-sharing companies and ticket sellers.

During a conference call earlier this month, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said that the Dublin, Ohio-based burger chain will start testing dynamic pricing, also known as surge pricing, as early as next year.

“As we continue to show the benefit of this technology in our company-operated restaurants, franchisee interest in digital menu boards should increase, further supporting sales and profit growth across the system.”

Wendy’s Co. plans to invest about $20 million to launch digital menu boards at all of its U.S. company-run restaurants by the end of 2025.

It also plans to invest approximately $10 million over the next two years to support digital menu enhancements globally.

Last year, Penegor announced a restructuring intended to speed decision-making and invest more in new restaurant development, particularly overseas.


The original article contains 232 words, the summary contains 160 words. Saved 31%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] itsonlygeorge@reddthat.com 1 points 8 months ago

So you want customers to pay more for shittier service and already overpriced burgers? Fuck that.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 months ago

Real restaurants have been doing this for years, but rather than raising prices at peak times, they lower them during the slow hours.

They’re called specials

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Unpopular opinion, but I like it.

I don't eat Wendy's stuff often, but when I do it's late at night, or other unpopular times. So, it would be cheaper for me. At popular times the higher prices will discourage people from going, so whoever does go will have a shorter line.

[–] DontRedditMyLemmy@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What makes you think it will be cheaper? (at any time if the day vs now)

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 months ago

That's how surge pricing works.

Right now they have to set a price that's reasonable both when the place is empty, and when it is jam packed. The price they're using is going to be right in the middle.

If they can change prices dynamically, they'll want to slightly reduce the crowd when things are busiest, and earn more per customer, and they'll want to draw people in when it's empty. When it's empty they have to pay for workers to sit around doing nothing. They make more money (or lose less money) if those workers are kept busy. To do that, they'll want to increase traffic by lowering prices.

[–] osmn@lemmy.ml 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, no. The base price will be whatever price it is now (probably higher), then price will increase during busy times. They have zero incentive to make it cheaper, ever.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They have zero incentive to make it cheaper, ever.

Sure they do, competing against other burger joints. There's a reason the prices are set where they are now: they're high enough to generate a profit, but low enough to entice people to come there instead of other burger joints. But, right now those prices are static, not dynamic.

A burger joint that's open late has to pay for staff. If they're just sitting around without any customers they're losing money. If they can lower prices to get people to come to them instead of Mc Donalds or Burger King at night, then they can presumably make more money.

[–] LyingCake@feddit.de 0 points 8 months ago

Do you pray to the invisible hand of the free market before going to bed every night?