Fast food chain Wendy's is under fire over comments made by management.Executive Director Kirk Tanner says there is a possibility of moving to digital menu boardsThis allows businesses to adjust their prices depending on the time of day. The usual suspects quickly claimed that Wendy's was attempting to engage in „surge pricing,“ raising prices during peak dining times. The company quickly responded that it would only use this mechanism during off-peak hours..
Of course, many restaurants have traditionally offered „early bird“ or „happy hour“ special menus for those dining during off-peak hours. Similarly, movies and shows often have matinee prices, with tickets for afternoon shows cheaper than evening tickets and tickets for Sunday through Thursday night shows cheaper than Friday or Saturday nights. Become. During the holiday shopping season, many retailers offer lower prices to people who come to the store to make a purchase during store hours on a certain date, and higher prices to people who come to the store afterward. .
The trick for sellers, of course, is that all such time-of-day and day-of-the-week fluctuations need to be branded as cheap time „discounts“ rather than „surges.“ This is commendable. In more expensive times, it would be deprecated. In a similar spirit, gas stations and other retail stores often display „discount prices“ to those paying with cash, but „surge prices“ to those paying with credit card. there is no. Public transport often offers 'discounted' fares for those traveling during off-peak times, but never 'surge' fares for those traveling during peak times. Wendy's CEO committed managerial misconduct by not immediately emphasizing how the company would offer price discounts instead of price gouging.
years ago, I have written about dynamic pricing in various contexts.: A historical episode in which the Coca-Cola Company discussed raising and lowering the price of soft drink vending machines on hot days. If Disneyland or a particular ski area charges higher prices during peak times than during off-peak times. If there is a high demand for rides and the price of ride-sharing services such as Uber increases. When electricity prices are raised during periods of high demand. Toll roads are more expensive when traffic is especially congested. Of course, there are complications in these cases. However, this common sense argument holds that prices generally change across a wide range of conditions, including time of day and day of the week, except that „discounts“ are socially beneficial and „high prices“ are socially harmful. It claims that it should be constant and replaces anger. Today's rhetoric against any attempt to make meaningful distinctions.