Surge Pricing

[tp4tissue]

Sigh....

Seems like major chain restaurants will be implementing digital signage menu with Dynamic-Pricing, day/day variations.

A burger will infinitely fluctuate in price, day by day, minute by minute, etc.

If you guys remember the characters ordering coffee from the movie "In Time".  Yup, we're there.


Instead of helping the world, this is what they're investing AI technology to do, further rob people. 

[TomahawkLabs]

Sigh....

Seems like major chain restaurants will be implementing digital signage menu with Dynamic-Pricing, day/day variations.

A burger will infinitely fluctuate in price, day by day, minute by minute, etc.

If you guys remember the characters ordering coffee from the movie "In Time".  Yup, we're there.


Instead of helping the world, this is what they're investing AI technology to do, further rob people. 

(Attachment Link)

The only answer is to stop financially supporting these businesses that are trying to Min/Max using their customers as pawns.

[fohat.digs]

The only answer is to stop financially supporting these businesses

This is too true.

Although I believe that Capitalism only works properly when appropriately and consistently regulated, and that we need far more regulation than we currently have, particularly with respect to the environment and with consolidation/monopolies, the free market does need the ability to adjust itself to reality in order to survive.

But we all know that prices go up often, but go down only rarely. Such is life.

[Leslieann]

Make sure while they may be first, they will be the last.

The local Wendy's already ticked me off when they started only making online orders once you arrived...
Why? Because if you (or the Uber/Door Dasher, etc) doesn't show up, they get to keep all the money. You'd be surprised how often this happens, it's obviously enough to be worth pissing off customers. One Chic-Fill-A did this and the number of orders going out of there plummetted, just like the local Wendys, but apparently, it's profitable enough. Now even if you want food delivered, good luck getting a driver to pick it up for you. Short term profits will be the  end of them all.

[TomahawkLabs]

Make sure while they may be first, they will be the last.

The local Wendy's already ticked me off when they started only making online orders once you arrived...
Why? Because if you (or the Uber/Door Dasher, etc) doesn't show up, they get to keep all the money. You'd be surprised how often this happens, it's obviously enough to be worth pissing off customers. One Chic-Fill-A did this and the number of orders going out of there plummetted, just like the local Wendys, but apparently, it's profitable enough. Now even if you want food delivered, good luck getting a driver to pick it up for you. Short term profits will be the  end of them all.

Add the fact that if you want a preferred price you need to use the app for a lot of these places. The price is multiple dollars cheaper if ordered through the app. Makes you wonder why they want you to download an app. What are these restaurants seeing in value to save you multiple dollars per order, just for having the app on the phone?

[fohat.digs]

just for having the app on the phone?

Same reason there are "1st time" discounts on anything.
People usually choose to go back to what is most familiar or convenient.

[Leslieann]

Add the fact that if you want a preferred price you need to use the app for a lot of these places. The price is multiple dollars cheaper if ordered through the app. Makes you wonder why they want you to download an app. What are these restaurants seeing in value to save you multiple dollars per order, just for having the app on the phone?

The app shortcut acts as an advertisement, reminding you to eat there.

More than that though, besides the normal tracking now they can watch your buying habits, from them and others, it also lets them see where people are in relation to stores, allowing easier prediction of where to open new stores.  It's also well known that when you make it super easy to click and buy without thinking, especially when the app is right in your face every time you use the phone that you will tend to use it more and spend more. Same reason stores have "impulse aisles" at the checkout and why Amazon is so popular, it's fast easy and mindless spending.

Basically while each order may have less profit they more than make it up in more frequent purchases, market research and data sales.

[Leslieann]

Well that didn't take long...
The blowback was swift and fierce (as it should be) and Wendy's has already killed this idea.

Frankly whoever proposed it and pushed it through should be fired for doing zero market research, grocery stores talked about doing this YEARS ago and the blowback was insane, they should have known better.  Just because Uber can doesn't mean YOU can. People like knowing what something will cost before they reach their destination, with Uber you can opt out before you buy and without having put any real effort, unlike driving to a Wendy's only to find you've been priced out by 15 minutes.