[lmkg]

The difference is that early-bird pricing is transparent and predictable. There is a written, known policy of $X discount during specific hours. You can plan for it. It's never a surprise.

Dynamic pricing means sometimes you go there, and Wendy's decides on the fly whether you get a lower price and how much. It gives Wendy's the option to pinch pennies how they see fit for their own benefit, rather than offering a deal which you can choose to accept.

[crazygringo]

I can't tell if you're implying that Wendy's was going to offer different prices to different customers "on the fly", but that wasn't the case.

It was store-wide with updated prices shown clearly. Yes it could change on a daily basis, but you would also expect it to be roughly predictable because the whole point is to get more people to come in when it's cheaper.

Saying that Wendy's is "pinching pennies" doesn't make any sense.

[chowells]

So... you just apparate at Wendy's instantly without cost when you decide to go? Most of us aren't so lucky. We need to travel there, which takes time and resources. Sometimes we decide to go through the drive-through and there are 5 cars in front of us and soon 3 more behind us blocking us in. When prices are 20% higher than you expected when you finally get to order, do you leave and waste all that time? Do you pay 20% extra, giving them money for nothing? Economically, both of those options are losses.

(Yes, I understand that Wendy's claimed it was only ever going to be used for discounts. But frankly, I don't believe them. The temptation to increase prices is just too powerful to ignore for a profit-maximizing MBA.)

[crazygringo]

I genuinely don't know what you're talking about.

I mean, I go to a place like McDonald's probably once a week when I'm starving and it's convenient. Their prices change all the time. The item that had a big promotion last week no longer has one this week. On the other hand, there is a new item on the menu that has a big promotion this week. And because I went to a different McDonald's today than I did last week, the prices are all different anyways, often by as much as two dollars.

You seem to be assuming that fast food prices are already known and predictable when they're not. What you usually do is decide you're in the mood for Wendy's, go there, look at the different prices and different promotions and decide what will most satisfy you while being the cheapest. Maybe you were in the mood for a bacon cheeseburger but they have a promotion where double cheeseburgers are 40% off so you get that instead.

Why you are bringing in travel time doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. And the whole point of dynamic pricing is that they want it to be somewhat predictable, so you know that if you show up at 3:30 p.m. you're going to save a couple of bucks compared to if you show up at 12:15 p.m. Like, it's not rocket science to figure out at what times a restaurant is going to be less busy.

[chowells]

You've never had to budget tightly, then? When I was in college, I knew what my typical order at every restaurant near campus would cost me, to the cent. It was a big deal in how I planned my days. Something costing $1 more could blow my budget for the month - and did, a few times. I can't imagine how miserable it would have been trying to balance all the various factors if prices were basically randomized.

I know a fair number of people who still have to plan to that degree. It's not a foreign idea for them. It's their daily life.

[clawr]

I'd begrudgingly pay the extra dollar and stop going for lunch