Wendy’s has prided itself on impactful and sometimes snarky marketing, which has resulted in a massive resurgence over the last decade. Using quick wit and capitalizing on “roast” popularity in pop culture, Wendy’s capitalized on it to market their fresh, never-frozen all-beef patties. Now, it turns out that not just the beef is getting that treatment but the prices as well.
In a shocking development on an earnings call, Wendy’s is introducing surge pricing.
Slated to go into effect sometime in 2025, they claimed the company will use “more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and day-part offerings along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling.” Later claiming the company wouldn’t “raise prices when demand is highest at our restaurants,” they attempted to ease concerns following immediate backlash. Adding, “Any features we may test in the future would be designed to benefit our customers.”
The problem is, come 2025, with their use of AI, there likely won’t be anyone there to fix the price. Automation is already being heavily implemented with their reliance on card-only kiosks and decreasing the human element in the Wendy’s business model. The once infamous polite and friendly customer service has been replaced by programmed drive-thru greetings. Tap-to-pay devices and transactions done with less than a dozen words spoken have replaced workers who knew your order and who could count change in their head.
This is just another step towards eliminating the minimum wage positions that are demanding $20 an hour. By reducing the number of people required to operate a location, Wendy’s and their surge pricing will be able to maximize returns while offsetting quality problems and streamlining customer orders.
On the plus side, this will likely do what fast food in general has done over the last decade and encourage people to try someplace less corporate.
