Wendy’s planning Uber-style ‘surge pricing’ where burger prices fluctuate based on demand

[jimbosride]

 

[chargervert]

They should fire the CEO that came up with the idea! A Bud Light style boycott may be in order!

 

[70 sublime]

I had Mcdonalds for supper tonight
Double cheese burger Large fry Larger pop and one apple pie was $10.38
Some times you just have to know what to order
Think a Big Mac meal is like $15.00 without the pie and about the only difference was I did not get one layer of bun between my 2 meat patties

None of the cheap stuff is ever on the menu board to be seen when you go inside to try and order
Think that is their plan to make it so confusing you just order the fancy meal because that is all you see to choose from

 

[Richard Cranium]

Stop it already. We need to increase minimum wage to $100 hr so the worker can support a family.

Starting in April, fast food workers in California will be paid 20 bucks an hour. Think what that will do to the price of fast food there.

 

[j-c-c-62]

I'd rather see a $2? charge for each drive thru, and incentivize lazy butts to park their cars and walk in, instead of sitting in line engine/AC running for 15? mins waiting in line while one person orders six meals six different ways and the next car orders a coke.

 

[Pops1967GTX]

In today’s world, that sounds about right. Unfortunately. 50 bucks for lunch & tip for two at a real restaurant is the new norm.

What about a simple breakfast at the Dinner ? Pancakes bacon, western omelette with coffee $34 and tip…

 

[chargervert]

Starting in April, fast food workers in California will be paid 20 bucks an hour. Think what that will do to the price of fast food there.

People are leaving California in droves! I can't understand how anyone can afford to live there!

 

[hdwrench]

Instead of this being one of RC's sometimes humerous/sarcastic posts, this one is for real. I saw it on the local news tonight. News says this applies to U.S. locations, not Canada. I can see MacDonalds sitting back with a big bag of popcorn to see how this will play out. Consumers are already pi$$ed about getting gouged at the grocery store.
My wife and I recently stopped at our local A&W to order a quick lunch. We do not like the taste of A&W root beer from those paper cups and straws (saving the planet, one paper straw at a time!), so we brought our own drinks. I ordered an UncleBurger and my wife wanted a TeenBurger, plus 2 orders of fries. The SpeakerGirl said $31.00. I said No; I will put $10.00 with that and go to a REAL restaurant.

amazing ! it’s about the same for wife and i at mcdonald’s, for junk fast food ! it’s not worth it we rarely eat fast food any more . your right , for an extra 10 bucks you can get a steak at outback …

 

[moparedtn]

I had Mcdonalds for supper tonight
Double cheese burger Large fry Larger pop and one apple pie was $10.38
Some times you just have to know what to order
Think a Big Mac meal is like $15.00 without the pie and about the only difference was I did not get one layer of bun between my 2 meat patties

None of the cheap stuff is ever on the menu board to be seen when you go inside to try and order
Think that is their plan to make it so confusing you just order the fancy meal because that is all you see to choose from

Speaking as someone who ate a bazillion times at McD's until 10-15 years ago, there's no way in hell you'll
catch me eating another one of their burgers ever again.
The quality was never the greatest to begin with, but what they put out there as "100% beef" these last several
years is truly disgusting - and this is from someone who remembers when the quarter pounder was introduced
(and ate probably hundreds of them in younger years).
What I'm saying is - I really liked them way back when....but they went to hell over a dozen years ago.

In my gig, I've done the inspection rounds with a couple dozen locations in this part of the state over the years.
About 10 years ago, a manager of one offered to give me a meal while there and when I expressed my great
disappointment in the slippage of quality in the meat, he silently nodded in agreement.
I wondered aloud if it made any difference to get one hot off the grill vs. out of those disgusting "warming bins"
they use and he offered to try, so we stood in the kitchen and watched a worked fry one up.
I took a bite and.....nope, still disgusting - and he agreed.

 

[Richard Cranium]

amazing ! it’s about the same for wife and i at mcdonald’s, for junk fast food ! it’s not worth it we rarely eat fast food any more . your right , for an extra 10 bucks you can get a steak at outback …

Agreed! Very rarely do we go out to any fast food places for lunch any more. For Christmas, birthdays and Mother's & Father's Day, we ask the kids only to get us gift cards to the Longhorn & a couple other local restaurants. They have often have said that they want to get us something other than that, but we tell them not to. An average dinner for us at the Longhorn is about 50-55 bucks & with the gift card all it costs me is a few bucks plus the tip, which I always leave in cash. On our upcoming drive to Florida & back we'll pack a cooler with enough food for breakfast & lunch and make sandwiches at a rest stop & just have dinner someplace. Eating out three times a day for 2+ weeks, besides being costly, wears thin after a couple of days.

 

[chargervert]

Soon it will cost 25 bucks to buy your kid a Happy Meal that no one will be Happy about!

 

[toolmanmike]

True that. We went to a local mexican joint for lunch on Sunday 1 margarita, 2 cokes and 3 meals with tip, $80. I about flipped. It was good but not $80 good. I am in the kitchen right now making Spinach and artichoke CHicken pasta with bacon and tomatoes. I would estimate $10-15. total.

It was tasty and I know it cost me less than $10 to make. Fresh tomatoes and spinach, a chicken breast, artichoke hearts, pasta, half and half, cheese, garlic, spices, and bacon.Just a follow up. Make your own at home!

 

[toolmanmike]

Agreed! Very rarely do we go out to any fast food places for lunch any more. For Christmas, birthdays and Mother's & Father's Day, we ask the kids only to get us gift cards to the Longhorn & a couple other local restaurants. They have often have said that they want to get us something other than that, but we tell them not to. An average dinner for us at the Longhorn is about 50-55 bucks & with the gift card all it costs me is a few bucks plus the tip, which I always leave in cash. On our upcoming drive to Florida & back we'll pack a cooler with enough food for breakfast & lunch and make sandwiches at a rest stop & just have dinner someplace. Eating out three times a day for 2+ weeks, besides being costly, wears thin after a couple of days.

Exactly! That $80 Mex meal could have bought me food for a week.

 

[YY1]

I can't eat Wendy's burgers anymore.
A few years after Dave died, they completely changed the patty.
Used to be easily recognizable as beef, and had that crispy fried edge.
Now the edge is gone, the patty is round, and it's kinda chewy and has an artificial taste.

Culver's is pretty close to what Wendy's used to be.
They also have seasonal Walleye.
Haven't had it yet, but I'm supposed to go tonight.

 

[moparedtn]

Wife and I had NY Strips and Nathan's fries a couple nights ago for less money than a meal
at any of the fast food joints around here. Not kidding.

I've started amassing my own little cookbook with recipes of things I like and have started cooking
most of the dinners around here anymore - and of course, I still make the gravy + biscuits from
scratch on weekends, the only food I asked my mama to teach me how to do before I left home
40+ years ago.

 

[Hey-O]

I stopped eating those pretend meals a few years ago. I'd rather go to a restaurant and get raped sitting down, it feels more comfortable than standing in line with everyone watching. SVU needs to be called in......... 20 dollars an hour to flip burgers,while I was paying 15,000 dollars a month for my parents to stay in a place that was paying their people 12 dollars an hour. WTF!........... Went to pick up a go order with a friend from a restaurant and the bill was around 100 dollars. I asked him how he tipped for a go order, he said 20 percent, of course. I'm done paying for the food, all the employees and the owner, while the owners scream poverty and asks us to remember to tip his poor employees. Again, WTF.

 

[moparedtn]

I can't eat Wendy's burgers anymore.
A few years after Dave died, they completely changed the patty.
Used to be easily recognizable as beef, and had that crispy fried edge.
Now the edge is gone, the patty is round, and it's kinda chewy and has an artificial taste.

Culver's is pretty close to what Wendy's used to be.
They also have seasonal Walleye.
Haven't had it yet, but I'm supposed to go tonight.

They're still square here, at least last time I went anyways....
We don't have a Culvers anywhere near here, along with no In n Outs and Whataburgers and all
those renowned locations.
Instead, we got the drivel of Burger King (and I do so miss a good Whopper from 20 years ago!), Hardees,
Sonic, McD's and the like. ALL GARBAGE BEEF, every damn one of them.

 

[YY1]

Radio this morning said CEO "explained" that they were not planning to use it to jack up prices during lunch and dinner, but in fact to lower prices during off peak hours.

I'll believe that when I see it. I'm an early lunch guy and usually go between 10:30 and 11:00.

Regardless, it's a gateway for peak increases as it's going to be hard to tell after the first across the board increases.

We should have seen this coming. My bet is anything that can move to this will.

...and also they are figuring out ways to charge us for not buying things.

2 years ago, I was told it would cost $35 a month to continue to receive a paper bill and send a check for my shop dumpster.

2 months after agreeing to use "auto pay", in order to save that $35, they raised the price $26 without notice.

 

[YY1]

Here's a somewhat unlikely burger tip-

Denny's.

Hand pattied, 1/2 pound.

Not that much more than a fast food chain, and almost as convenient.

 

[JackR]

Surge pricing really ticks me off. This past Sunday took Uber from airport to home usually a +/- $60.00 trip. When i did the pickup it showed 56.00 for the ride. It was an $88.00 ride due to surge pricing.