Wendy's Preparing For All-Time Dumb Restaurant Plan: Surge Pricing For Food
Wendy's has cooked up a truly bizarre pricing plan it plans on rolling out for customers.
Wendy's is a middle of the road fast food burger chain. It's not great like an elite institution such as Culver's, but it's also not terrible. I'd take Wendy's any day of the week over a place like Burger King. However, I might have to smash the pass button if its new pricing structure ever takes hold.
The company's CEO Kirk Tanner announced to investors that the fast food chain plans on introducing a surge price model starting at some point in 2025, according to the New York Post.
Wendy's will test surge pricing model starting in 2025. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Wendy's toying with surge pricing model.
That means food during busy hours will be more expensive, and in theory, food will be cheaper during slower hours. It's the same model used by rideshare apps such as Uber.
For a car, it makes sense. There's limited availability, the roads get crowded and in order to incentivize more drivers to get out there, prices go up.
However, the same logic makes no sense when it comes to a restaurant. Yes, there are market price options at high end restaurants, especially when it comes to seafood.
Outside of that example, surge pricing is beyond brain-dead when it comes to a fast food joints. The establishment either has the food available or not.
Wendy's will test out surge pricing. (Credit: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
There's not much middle ground, and if the food is available, then sell it at a price that doesn't change. Isn't the entire point of fast food that you know what you're getting yourself into before even ordering?
Imagine showing up at a Wendy's for lunch, and everything is double in price because there's a rush. That would make me irate, and I'm generally a calm guy. I'm sure many people reading this feel the exact same way.
I will offer one olive branch. There are some bars that do a beer stock market with fluctuating prices through the night. That's fun, but it also serves a real purpose. It's meant to clear out old inventory by lowering the price of drinks they want the bar to move.
Will customers reject Wendy's using surge pricing? (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
That's not what Wendy's is doing. The restaurant chain just seems interested in gouging customers during high interest hours. Hard pass. Count me out, and I'm not apologizing for it. Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com if you agree.