Fast food dynamic pricing?

[Zee09]

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Wendy's, burned by CEO comment, vows no price surges for burgers

DALLAS (Reuters) -Wendy's said on Wednesday it has no plans to raise menu prices at times of peak demand, after the burger chain was scorched on social media sites for comments its CEO made earlier this month suggesting the chain may start testing "dynamic pricing." CEO Kirk Tanner told...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[NYEngineer]

I just don't eat it.

 

[RedSpider]

I pay more for gas on Thursdays-Sundays than Mon-Weds, we go to the pub up the road and pay more for a drink on a Friday or Saturday night than any other time.... Get an Uber home from the airport on a Wednesday night, then try that same thing on a Friday night and compare the prices. Buy an airline ticket today for a flight a month from now, then try to add a ticket a week before the flight and look how much more it costs.

But then Wendys wants to charge you a buck more or less for your hamburger and Frosty in the middle of the day when the demand is low than during dinner time when the drive-thru is backed up 12 cars deep, and the rage-addicted Facebookers, Redditors, and forum dwellers start losing whats left of their rage-addicted minds.

This isnt some new concept. Yet driving in this morning I made the mistake of checking for a traffic update on the big local AM station and some moron is ranting on there about this like its the end of the world and is certain this is going to bankrupt Wendy's into oblivion. Hilarious.

 

[mk378]

It was a report to shareholders to justify the company spending money on electronic menu boards. Nothing about that needed to be said at all as this technology is now an industry standard practice for several good business reasons not including "dynamic pricing." Wendy's is behind the curve on implementing it.

Thinking a little darker about this, a company that is good at PR (and Wendy's usually is) could readily turn it around to create ill will toward other chains that now have electronic menu boards by raising suspicion that they are using them to secretly vary prices.

 

[GON]

As long as consolidation continues in the fast food business, and producers, and wholesalers to restaurants continue to also consolidate, there are many reasons to believe surge pricing is not only feasible, but likely to be reality.

 

[Nukeman7]

Mark my word that Wendy's will ultimately implement the concept of dynamic pricing like many retailers. They will gradually increase regular prices over the next year or two and then debut a common retail sales strategy by offering a "discount" to increase traffic during off hours. The final net effect will be increased profits since everyone will be paying more than (or at least equal to) today's prices.

The bottom line is that their CEO/P.R. firm screwed up with how they marketed the proposed dynamic pricing change as "increasing/decreasing" in lieu of disguising it as only a discount during off-hours. Numerous other restaurants have offered "early bird" dining discounts for years, so this concept will not be any different.

 

[supton]

I dislike the idea, but, it shows up in other areas. Electricity being one. Another might be gas and oil, instead of time of day, it's time of season. By messing with pricing, they can try to shift demand around--or at the very least increase money so as to pay for the workforce when they have to upstaff during certain hours. And/or pay for staffing during off hours.

Personally I prefer to swing into a grocery store and peruse their shelves instead. I can't always grab stuff from home when out and about, but I long ago lost the taste for fast food, and have no love for sit down places anymore. Will admit to still ordering in, once or twice a month, but am reluctant to pay for any more than that.

But some have to eat on the go, and are not home bound like I am. Sorry for you guys, yet another complication in life.