Wendy’s to test surge pricing.

[Aunt Bea]

I thought that this was an interesting idea but I’m not sure that I agree with it.

What do you think about Wendy’s or other businesses using surge pricing during peak periods.

I might find it easier to swallow if they offered incentive pricing during off peak hours.

 

[Marlingardener]

If enough customers complained about the "surge pricing", or better yet, just went somewhere else, it would stop soon enough.
I like your idea of incentive pricing!

 

[dragnlaw]

to my way of thinking, it is just plain silly. Sounds like some ad company or bottom-line exec is getting desperate. People go to fast food outlets for basically one reason only - fast food and cheap prices.
If prices mount during peak times they will just go to another place that didn't raise their prices.
It's not like there aren't 15 fast food places in a two block radius!
I'm talking cities, not country corners.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm so sick of living in an economy where growth of sales and profits from one quarter to the next is the only metric of progress. Unfettered capitalism sucks for everyone except the billionaires who waste an incredible amount of resources because they have more than they know what to do with.

/rant

 

[Aunt Bea]

I'm so sick of living in an economy where growth of sales and profits from one quarter to the next is the only metric of progress. Unfettered capitalism sucks for everyone except the billionaires who waste an incredible amount of resources because they have more than they know what to do with.

/rant

I think it has probably always been that way but now we live in a world where the things that used to happen behind closed doors in smoke filled rooms now happen on the internet for all to see.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I think the thing that bothers me is that this feels like another example of the widening gap between the haves and the have nots.

The haves go to the head of the line and get their fill while the have nots wait their turn. Nothing new about that.

or maybe it’s just business and I’m being too sensitive.

 

[mseaglecook]

Surge Pricing --- Well ahhh... NOPE

 

[GotGarlic]

I think it has probably always been that way but now we live in a world where the things that used to happen behind closed doors in smoke filled rooms now happen on the internet for all to see.

There have also always been people who recognized that the needs of the many should outweigh the whims of the few. As you say, the few are much more obvious about it than they used to be able to be.

 

[taxlady]

People are commenting that incentive pricing would work better. But, this surge pricing comes with off peak pricing, which is cheaper than their current fixed pricing.

I kind of like the idea of getting a discount during slow times. I don't too strongly object to surge pricing, as long as there is a reasonable max amount. Uber already does surge pricing when there is a surge. I don't think they have a reasonable maximum.

When I think about it though, those two situations are quite different. Uber isn't just trying to squeeze extra money out of people. They are attracting more drivers by paying them more during those surges.

 

[GotGarlic]

Expansion of the underwater tunnel between my city and the one next door (Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA) is being paid for with tolls. They charge a premium during peak times and less after hours and on the weekends. The problem is that the peak hours they defined make it almost impossible for people who work regular 8-5 or 6 jobs to avoid them, because they stretch for so long. I haven't looked at the hours for this yet, but if peak pricing is from 11 am to 2 pm and, say, 5-8 pm in the afternoon-evening, not many people have the opportunity to get the lower price. It's just a gimmick to make people think it's more fair than it really is.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Expansion of the underwater tunnel between my city and the one next door (Norfolk and Portsmouth, VA) is being paid for with tolls. They charge a premium during peak times and less after hours and on the weekends. The problem is that the peak hours they defined make it almost impossible for people who work regular 8-5 or 6 jobs to avoid them, because they stretch for so long. I haven't looked at the hours for this yet, but if peak pricing is from 11 am to 2 pm and, say, 5-8 pm in the afternoon-evening, not many people have the opportunity to get the lower price. It's just a gimmick to make people think it's more fair than it really is.

It seems like a new tunnel should have the capacity to accommodate peak travel without the need for peak hour pricing.

I understand the idea of using tolls to pay for the project but it seems like it would be better to use public funds which would shift the bulk of the cost to wealthy individual or corporate taxpayers.

 

[Kathleen]

My mother would have taken something like this as a personal challenge. "Okay, girls. If you crave Wendy's, it will be an afterschool snack. For lunch, we will go...."

 

[medtran49]

Nope for me. I'm not going to pay more to sit in a long line, just nope! I'll go elsewhere.

We have several interstate highways and similar type highways that have had express lanes added over the years, one even has a bidirectional east/west function that only goes 1 way in the morning, and the other way in the afternoon, with several hours of complete closure in the interim. All of them have peak/surge sliding scale pricing.

 

[dcSaute]

as many have stated, I will definitely help solve their 'surge' issue - by going somewhere else . . .

 

[medtran49]

Apparently it was a  mistake or misunderstanding . What they  meant was discounted off hour pricing.

 

[dragnlaw]

What the heck does that mean???? hour pricing?? Sounds like the same thing to me.

 

[medtran49]

Off hour pricing, AKA not prime lunch or picking up dinner hours.

 

[dragnlaw]

Guess it just shows I don't eat out much. Wouldn't know if they changed the price from one minute to the next.

 

[taxlady]

Guess it just shows I don't eat out much. Wouldn't know if they changed the price from one minute to the next.

I'm pretty sure that they will put up signs to brag about what they are doing to help out their customers pricewise.

 

[dragnlaw]

Yeah, probably. Just like when someone said "Wow! Look! 7up is now caffeine free!"