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This is not going to be well-received by their customers and is likely to send business to McDonald's and Burger King instead. They also really shouldn't be do

This is not going to be well-received by their customers and is likely to send business to McDonald's and Burger King instead. They also really shouldn't be doing "suggestive selling" whether with humans or machines. Just shut up and take the customer's order rather than trying to talk them into ordering something. Nobody likes when stores or restaurants do that even if it "increases metrics" because some people choose to buy the item being aggressively pushed. What you don't see are all of the people who go somewhere else to avoid having to deal with that.

sokoloff 3y ago
"I'd like to buy some fast food at a reasonable and predictable price." "Sir, this is a Wendy's."
- dylan604 3y ago
  I know where your funny is aimed, but I would say the joke stands on its own if left off at food
- ethbr1 3y ago
  Ironically, Wendy's was the first of the major chains to have a value menu (aka dollar menu), in 1989.
dahart 3y ago
> likely to send business to McDonalds Wendy’s is doing this in order to compete with McDonalds, which has been pushing up prices much faster than inflation for several years in a row… and McDonalds has publicly claimed it’s not hurting their business. https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-price-hikes-putting-off-low-income-customers-inflation-expensive-2024-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-price-hikes-puttin...
- krsrhe 3y ago
  [dead]
- nimbius 3y ago
  McDonalds has every incentive to insist to its shareholders that price increases do not impact business performance. any onlooker --even Wendy herself-- who thinks otherwise is deluded. McDonalds is routinely lambasted on social media and in memes for its recently gilded pricing. the quality just is not there. I suspect actual sales are flat, or in decline as a response to the price increase. The alternative to scalding a frog is a world where corporations occasionally have to suffer the consequences of inflation as well as consumers.
  - bananapub 3y ago
    > McDonalds is routinely lambasted on social media and in memes for its recently gilded pricing. the quality just is not there. I suspect actual sales are flat, or in decline as a response to the price increase. so...you are assuming their sales are flat or declining based on your sense of the vibe and are assuming they lied in their SEC filings? this is a fairly bold method to analyse the world with.
  - bdw5204 3y ago
    If you're at the absolute bottom of the market in terms of price and quality then your sales are probably somewhat inelastic. Especially if people have to buy your product or a similar product. It's the same reason why prices keep going up at the grocery store. Those companies know you're going to buy groceries anyway and most people are going to buy the name brand instead of the store brand. Where McDonald's runs into trouble is if their prices get so high that you might as well just go to a sit down restaurant instead. Five Guys and Smashburger are getting pretty close to that territory especially with the tipflation added onto their already high prices. The other risk for McDonald's is that somebody else will try to replace them as the replacement level[0] restaurant. If your customers are choosing you because you're the cheapest and fastest restaurant then you can't afford to have a competitor undercutting you on price or speed. That's why it's so surprising to me[1] that McDonald's would be raising their prices aggressively. Even if they improved the food quality dramatically, they're not going to be able to move their brand up market because their existing reputation is well established. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_over_replacement_player https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_over_replacement_player (McDonald's is basically the restaurant equivalent of this baseball analytics concept) [1]: I virtually never eat at McDonald's so I was completely unaware that they've been jacking up their prices. I don't even know where my local McDonald's is without checking Google Maps.
- nsxwolf 3y ago
  I used to eat fast food multiple times per week. Now it's once a month, tops. It's just so expensive. It's crazy to me to think that no one else out there thinks like me? That these companies can just confidently do this and succeed doing it?
  - dahart 3y ago
    Lots and lots of people think like you, you’re definitely not alone. But there are so many people who still eat fast food at all times, and so many companies competing for fast food sales that yes, they can experiment with what the market will bear and not suffer serious consequences.
CooCooCaCha 3y ago
My pessimistic take is this wont drive significant business to competitors and will slowly become the new standard because of the profit potential. Basically, enshittification.
- spacecadet 3y ago
  Full on enshittification
adolph 3y ago
> Just shut up and take the customer's order rather than trying to talk them into ordering something. Would you like fries with that? Are you interested in the catch of the day? May I suggest a wine to pair with that? Unlimited breadsticks!
cogogo 3y ago
Might attract people who want to go there in off hours when the food is cheap and could be marketed that way. It’s interesting because they could definitely change the pricing algorithm dynamically as they see changes in customer behavior and impacts on revenue.

sokoloff 3y ago

"I'd like to buy some fast food at a reasonable and predictable price." "Sir, this is a Wendy's."

dylan604 3y ago
I know where your funny is aimed, but I would say the joke stands on its own if left off at food
ethbr1 3y ago
Ironically, Wendy's was the first of the major chains to have a value menu (aka dollar menu), in 1989.

dahart 3y ago

> likely to send business to McDonalds Wendy’s is doing this in order to compete with McDonalds, which has been pushing up prices much faster than inflation for several years in a row… and McDonalds has publicly claimed it’s not hurting their business. https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-price-hikes-putting-off-low-income-customers-inflation-expensive-2024-2 https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-price-hikes-puttin...

krsrhe 3y ago
[dead]
nimbius 3y ago
McDonalds has every incentive to insist to its shareholders that price increases do not impact business performance. any onlooker --even Wendy herself-- who thinks otherwise is deluded. McDonalds is routinely lambasted on social media and in memes for its recently gilded pricing. the quality just is not there. I suspect actual sales are flat, or in decline as a response to the price increase. The alternative to scalding a frog is a world where corporations occasionally have to suffer the consequences of inflation as well as consumers.
- bananapub 3y ago
  > McDonalds is routinely lambasted on social media and in memes for its recently gilded pricing. the quality just is not there. I suspect actual sales are flat, or in decline as a response to the price increase. so...you are assuming their sales are flat or declining based on your sense of the vibe and are assuming they lied in their SEC filings? this is a fairly bold method to analyse the world with.
- bdw5204 3y ago
  If you're at the absolute bottom of the market in terms of price and quality then your sales are probably somewhat inelastic. Especially if people have to buy your product or a similar product. It's the same reason why prices keep going up at the grocery store. Those companies know you're going to buy groceries anyway and most people are going to buy the name brand instead of the store brand. Where McDonald's runs into trouble is if their prices get so high that you might as well just go to a sit down restaurant instead. Five Guys and Smashburger are getting pretty close to that territory especially with the tipflation added onto their already high prices. The other risk for McDonald's is that somebody else will try to replace them as the replacement level[0] restaurant. If your customers are choosing you because you're the cheapest and fastest restaurant then you can't afford to have a competitor undercutting you on price or speed. That's why it's so surprising to me[1] that McDonald's would be raising their prices aggressively. Even if they improved the food quality dramatically, they're not going to be able to move their brand up market because their existing reputation is well established. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_over_replacement_player https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_over_replacement_player (McDonald's is basically the restaurant equivalent of this baseball analytics concept) [1]: I virtually never eat at McDonald's so I was completely unaware that they've been jacking up their prices. I don't even know where my local McDonald's is without checking Google Maps.
nsxwolf 3y ago
I used to eat fast food multiple times per week. Now it's once a month, tops. It's just so expensive. It's crazy to me to think that no one else out there thinks like me? That these companies can just confidently do this and succeed doing it?
- dahart 3y ago
  Lots and lots of people think like you, you’re definitely not alone. But there are so many people who still eat fast food at all times, and so many companies competing for fast food sales that yes, they can experiment with what the market will bear and not suffer serious consequences.

CooCooCaCha 3y ago

My pessimistic take is this wont drive significant business to competitors and will slowly become the new standard because of the profit potential. Basically, enshittification.

spacecadet 3y ago
Full on enshittification

adolph 3y ago

> Just shut up and take the customer's order rather than trying to talk them into ordering something. Would you like fries with that? Are you interested in the catch of the day? May I suggest a wine to pair with that? Unlimited breadsticks!

cogogo 3y ago

Might attract people who want to go there in off hours when the food is cheap and could be marketed that way. It’s interesting because they could definitely change the pricing algorithm dynamically as they see changes in customer behavior and impacts on revenue.