Wendy’s Wants to Start Uber-like Surge Pricing in 2025. Should Everyone Follow? \ stacker news ~news

Wendy’s Wants to Start Uber-like Surge Pricing in 2025. Should Everyone Follow?gizmodo.com/wendys-wants-uber-surge-pricing-in-2025-1851288108

3062 sats \ 31 comments \ @kr 27 Feb news

Erik Voorhees had a really interesting take on this suggesting everyone should normalize surge pricing for all sorts of goods.

A few questions for stackers:

Should all products have surge pricing?
If tasked with implementing surge pricing on Stacker News, how would your version work?

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1016 sats \ 7 replies \ @kepford 27 Feb

I think businesses should try stuff like this. That's really the only way to know if it works. One issue with being the first in an industry to try something like this is that you might get a bad response and not be able to shake it off. The average Joe has been conditioned to think that this type of thing is "price gouging". Even smart people don't get how supply, demand, and prices help equalize a market. Every time there is a natural disaster and plywood prices go sky high you hear the same price gouging / price cap discussion. Same goes for gasoline. Its all so tiresome.

33 sats \ 2 replies \ @clr 27 Feb

In theory, it sounds like a good thing, but I am not sure how it would be received. Combined with price inflation, existing prices will become the new off-peak hours prices, and higher prices will be the peak hours prices, which will be applied most of the time and become the new normal.

It may be perceived as another trick to hide price increases, just like it already happens with shrinkflation or decreasing the quality of the product. Of course, inflation of prices expressed in $ is not Wendy's fault. Either way, I don't care for Wendy's or corporations in general.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 27 Feb

Yup

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @clr 27 Feb

Cue the woke press headlines:

"Experts explain why eating early can improve your health and your finances."

20 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr OP 27 Feb

seems like a worthy experiment, it would be especially cool if Wendy’s found that offering discounted burgers during low traffic periods actually helped their bottom line too…

522 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 27 Feb

A more important question. When is there a surge at a Wendy's? In n Out? Yeah.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 27 Feb

Lunch time and dinner time

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 27 Feb

Corporate greed

Maybe consumers are too cheap

1275 sats \ 4 replies \ @marks 27 Feb

I have in-depth knowledge of how rush times work at a few very popular fast food places and been involved in deep dives of their process and how to improve them.

A few key points:

If pricing is held constant, you have to increase customer flow
Increasing customer flow has a couple of dials to turn: ordering process and food prep
While making changes to ordering process certainly help, changes are made to food prep that tend to lead toward having food already prepared and waiting or making food that can be re-heated quickly

My takeaway is that keeping prices constant during rush times partially leads to lower quality food with preservatives.

If Wendy’s is successful with surge pricing, maybe they don’t feel the need to cheapen the food and the market starts demanding higher quality food

99 sats \ 3 replies \ @kr OP 27 Feb

interesting, i hadn’t thought of it that way before 🤔

493 sats \ 2 replies \ @gmd 28 Feb

Does Wendys really get that busy though? In-N-Out of Chick-Fil-A I would understand surge pricing..

99 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 28 Feb

i’d pay some absurd surge prices for in-n-out in canada

99 sats \ 0 replies \ @marks 28 Feb

They must get busy enough or they wouldn’t be exploring this.

573 sats \ 3 replies \ @kepford 27 Feb

Prediction. If they do this some Karen or Ken will want their congress person to ban it.

512 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 27 Feb

It kinda blows my mind that in the age of social media and how quickly the crowd can turn on someone that people still don't get how market pressure works and that it is much faster than state action. The people have NO IDEA how much power they actually have with their purchasing choices.

33 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 27 Feb

i agree that someone will ask for a ban, don’t think they’ll get it though

522 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 27 Feb

I could see it happening. Wouldn't bet sats on it but it isn't crazy. California's attempts to attack Uber / gig work have been pretty successful. It is utterly stupid but so are the masses. But, the food delivery companies were able to work around it by getting a proposition passed. Its all so dumb to me. The only force being exerted is from the state. But the companies are always the villains and people the helpless peasants. I don't think the average person has any clue of the collective power their free choices have and how weak their politicians are without this delusional belief in them.

522 sats \ 1 reply \ @brandonsbytes 27 Feb

I would love to know when the surge times are. Late at night after people have been drinking? It's even a way to make poor decisions more expensive.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 27 Feb

I like the way you think

493 sats \ 1 reply \ @gmd 28 Feb

When you need a ride there are few alternatives.

Food options aren't scarce unfortunately...

99 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 28 Feb

good point

491 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 28 Feb

So I made a post with my own Bitcoin centric take lel (because I didn't see this one) #442277

I think surge pricing is gonna make for some interesting conversations when people talk about Bitcoin being volatile in the future.

99 sats \ 1 reply \ @2d 27 Feb

I love Wendy’s

Personally think it’s a terrible idea but will be interested to see how the reception and roll out go

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @gmd 28 Feb

4 for $4 Wendy's meal deal (and costco hot dog) has been one of the few things that have been inflation proof since pre-pandemic.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 27 Feb

Maybe to your first question

No answer yet for second question

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @OT 27 Feb

Imagine waiting in a long line in blistering heat. You finally get to the counter and your ice cream cost's20% more.

What do you do?

741 sats \ 1 reply \ @clr 27 Feb

If implemented correctly, in theory this should get rid of the waiting lines and ensure a more constant and smooth flow of customers.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 27 Feb

you’d see right on google maps (before you even navigate to the restaurant) that there is a 20% surge price. if that was too much, you just wouldn’t go.

42 sats \ 2 replies \ @DiracDelta 27 Feb

This is a practical problem as that would be an illegal bait and switch as the contract is basically locked into place as soon as a person enters into the line. So you can only raise prices for new people. Any price drops would then apply to everyone currently standing in line.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 28 Feb

You happen to have the case law on that?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @OriginalSize 28 Feb

Maybe another reason to use an app and order ahead. Act now for cheap food!