Wendy’s sales rose 31% in just a year after the fast-food chain’s first “Where’s the beef?” ad aired in 1984, and catapulted the 4-foot 10-inch Chicagoan Clara Peller to fame.
To celebrate the commercial’s 40th anniversary, Wendy’s offered free cheeseburgers with any purchase for a week earlier this month.
What Wendy’s reportedly had it store for 2025 wasn’t as much of a mouth-watering perk. Recent headlines about the Ohio-based business’ plans to introduce surge pricing had customers seeing red and it had nothing to with meat.
“We will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offering, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling,” CEO Kirk Tanner said during a Feb. 15 investor call.
Wendy’s said the news articles in response to Tanner’s comments were just nothingburgers, maintaining it would never increase prices during peak times. The company went on to blame media outlets for misconstruing the purpose of its forthcoming $20 million digital menu board initiative. Digital menu boards will actually facilitate access to bargains, as restaurants would be able to change the menu throughout the day and render discounts and value offers when it gets slow, Wendy’s said in a statement earlier this week.
Wendy’s could have flipped on its burger-pricing scheme after consumers took to the internet to air out their beef. Or maybe Tanner didn’t fully comprehend the full meaning of “dynamic pricing.” But while it is unclear whether Wendy’s backtracked, or its top leader unintentionally used the wrong terminology, surge pricing has no place in any restaurant, let alone fast-food establishments.
Americans certainly don’t need more encouragement to eat fast food. Roughly 36% of adults consumed fast food on a given day between 2013 and 2016, according to a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over-reliance on these quick meals that typically lack nutrients is dangerous, as it can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health problems. (Remember the 2004 documentary “Super Size Me” and the health problems caused by a 30-day fast food diet?)
But sometimes fast food is the only convenient — and time-saving — option during a family road trip or an extremely busy work day. And who hasn’t had the occasional craving for a cheap, greasy burger? With crispy hot fries, please.
Fast food is designed to be simple. Patrons are even saved from doing the math as tips aren’t expected and even prohibited. The only thing they should be scratching their heads over is what they’ll order and what type of condiments they’d like. They shouldn’t have to be left wondering if they’ll have to shell out more cash.
Wendy’s “dynamic pricing” kerfuffle should serve as a reminder that when it comes to fast food, surge pricing is in bad taste.
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