JasonParis
Moderator
Niagara Falls on both sides of the border (at least in the tourist hubs) is more like an airport or theme park. They have a captive market of tourists and don't use real-world pricing.
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- Thread starter TOareaFan
- Start date
ShonTron
Moderator
Just in the areas within a 20-30 minute walking distance from the falls. The chain restaurants next to the QEW or I-190 are the same prices as those anywhere else.
Though it’s not as bad in NFNY as it is in NFON. The only other place (outside of a sports venue, airport, or amusement park) I can think of where the prices are marked up as bad is at Times Square.
Northern Light
Superstar
Hold on...........LOL
Wendys wants to test 'surge pricing' or dynamic pricing...........such that your burger combo may cost significantly more or less depending on time of day and how busy they are............
www.thestar.com
This sounds like a PR disaster of enormous proportions.
Not my establishment of choice............but I'm just imagining the few Wendys I ever see really busy, typically ones w/drive-thrus, in evening rush.........and imagine those drivers facing 50% premiums on their orders for having the temerity to order dinner at dinner time, LOL
Wendys wants to test 'surge pricing' or dynamic pricing...........such that your burger combo may cost significantly more or less depending on time of day and how busy they are............
Burger chain Wendy’s looking to test surge pricing at restaurants as early as next year
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
www.thestar.com
This sounds like a PR disaster of enormous proportions.
Not my establishment of choice............but I'm just imagining the few Wendys I ever see really busy, typically ones w/drive-thrus, in evening rush.........and imagine those drivers facing 50% premiums on their orders for having the temerity to order dinner at dinner time, LOL
Richard White
Senior Member
Hold on...........LOL
Wendys wants to test 'surge pricing' or dynamic pricing...........such that your burger combo may cost significantly more or less depending on time of day and how busy they are............
Burger chain Wendy’s looking to test surge pricing at restaurants as early as next year
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
This sounds like a PR disaster of enormous proportions.
Not my establishment of choice............but I'm just imagining the few Wendys I ever see really busy, typically ones w/drive-thrus, in evening rush.........and imagine those drivers facing 50% premiums on their orders for having the temerity to order dinner at dinner time, LOL
Yeaaa this is going to go about as well as New Coke!
I can just see the confusion now regarding how much the food will cost and people complaining (rightfully so) about it. Keep one price, not several based on demand.
evandyk
Senior Member
It's just "happy hour".
Richard White
Senior Member
Hold on...........LOL
Wendys wants to test 'surge pricing' or dynamic pricing...........such that your burger combo may cost significantly more or less depending on time of day and how busy they are............
Burger chain Wendy’s looking to test surge pricing at restaurants as early as next year
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
This sounds like a PR disaster of enormous proportions.
Not my establishment of choice............but I'm just imagining the few Wendys I ever see really busy, typically ones w/drive-thrus, in evening rush.........and imagine those drivers facing 50% premiums on their orders for having the temerity to order dinner at dinner time, LOL
Wendys is backtracking on this after a rather frosty reception.
https://www.wendys.com/blog/wendys-digital-news-update
Apparently, the idea went over as well as New Coke and I suspect someone will be fired for suggesting it.
evandyk
Senior Member
" Digital menuboards could allow us to change the menu offerings at different times of day and offer discounts and value offers to our customers more easily, particularly in the slower times of day. "
Exactly. Happy hour for fast food.
Exactly. Happy hour for fast food.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Now, that might be something to roast Wendy's on their infamous Twittterx account.
AoD
AoD
Northern Light
Superstar
Wendy's denials aside, that was not really the plan. Uber does not do 'happy hour' as such.
You make it sound like a one-way model where the price drops for the slowest hour each day.
In fact, the intent was very clearly to raise prices at peak times; and drop them based on surplus staff or fresh product that might be close to expiring.
Retail-Insider has a piece up on this, before Wendy's summarily nixed their 'Bold' plan:
Wendy’s Bold Dynamic Pricing Move Has its Positives and Negatives [Op-Ed]
Sylvain Charlebois discusses the unusual move by Wendy's in the US to implement dynamic pricing, and how it could benefit the business while potentially turning off consumers.
retail-insider.com
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I actually favour dynamic pricing expressly to move 'fresh' inventory that would otherwise be binned. But I think it needs to be very strategically applied, without raising base-pricing.
In the case of Wendys, they bring their beef patties in fresh, not frozen, so the lifespan is really short. If, due to poor/great weather or some other unexpected event, they appear on pace to have to bin 100 patties at the end of day, it makes all the sense in the world that they drop burgers to 1/2 price for a couple of hours. That gets Wendys some revenue instead of none and saves on disposal costs. No one would object to that; but dinner-peak pricing would roil people, as it did in this case.
In the world of grocers, I've advocated for this idea of meat pricing, but not the way its done now, where they wait til the meat is looking sad and has to get sold in the next 12 hours. Instead, I would price it so that its full price on day one when it goes out, and it steadily drops in price as it gets closer to expiry. This requires electronic tags w/sell-by dates embedded. Its not difficult to do, but would be a transition for the industry.
In store ground beef generally has a 48-hour lifespan in most grocers; so I would price it at $15 per kg the day it hits the shelf, $10 a kg on day 2, and $5 a kg for must sell now.
Alternatively, I've suggested stores flash-freeze expiring product, then knock 60% of the price off.
The assumption though, is that you will always be able to buy 'fresh product' at today's price, and what's being discounted is what would have been binned.
Generally, this should not apply to shelf-stable or long-life items. There's also a need to keep prices consistent. I think dynamic pricing in travel, for instance actually hurts the industry at this point, because it makes prices wildly unpredictable, and and supply of seats similarly unpredictable. It has a place, but it ought to be moderately less dynamic.
evandyk
Senior Member
This is how the Wendys CEO described it. The Star headlined it as "surge pricing" but Wendy's never said that.
"Suggestive selling" and "daypart offerings" both indicate happy hour type pricing, not Uber-type surge pricing.
"Suggestive selling" and "daypart offerings" both indicate happy hour type pricing, not Uber-type surge pricing.
Richard White
Senior Member
What that means is that they are going to change prices based on what is not selling and what time of day it is.
Richard White
Senior Member
Fun fact:
Wendys Chili actually uses burger meat they cannot sell. Back in the day when I worked there, they would take mangled burgers from the grill and use them for chili.
The meat does not go to waste but again.. I never did buy into the fresh, never frozen mantra. It's not like they had a beef delivery every morning.
Northern Light
Superstar
Sigh.
The media all broadly reported the same thing, not just 'The Star'.
Industry experts who know what Wendy's plans are also commented that this was the plan.
The term Wendy's used was dynamic pricing, which is the same model; you don't change the price at different dayparts for the hell of it, you do it to match demand to supply and optimize margins.
evandyk
Senior Member
OK, so the Star and other media broadly reported something he didn't say, forcing Wendys to clarify, which they did.
Northern Light
Superstar
Not accurate.
I don't know why you're adamant that every industry follower and media outlet is wrong, and you're right, but it ain't so.