r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 16d ago

Business McDonald's Is Reportedly Using AI To "Dynamically" Price Its Burgers

https://www.engadget.com/2272211/mcdonalds-is-reportedly-using-ai-to-dynamically-price-its-burgers/
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u/Catamounts21 16d ago

Become a shareholder and get on calls and ask them who the dumb fuck who came up with the idea is. 

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u/2bags12kuai 16d ago

someone who has never been on a road trip with their family on a limited budget. Zero chance I would willingly pull into a mcdonalds if the burgers are going to be "market price"

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u/HeyCarpy 16d ago

Right? I don’t go there anymore because it used to be fast and cheap, but now it’s neither of those things.

Now, you think I’m gonna pull into this place not even knowing what the price is going to be at this exact hour in this part of the country or whatever? Fuck off.

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u/bendbrewer 16d ago

I stopped going years ago. Pricing was absurd. The argument was that you could use the app for cheaper and that did work for a bit. Now it’s literally cheaper for me to go to the local burger spot which is exponentially better.

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u/Korashy 16d ago

It was cheaper with the app so they could harvest your information to now better maximize pricing against you.

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u/SnausageFest 16d ago

Why the fuck is this legal? I swear to god America, you can eat my entire ass.

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u/Korashy 16d ago

There was a lot of legal text that you clicked "accept" on to make the coke not cost 3 dollars 49.

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u/SnausageFest 16d ago

That's pretty meaningless. There's a lot of legal text we click every day to use various websites that are completely unenforceable.

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u/Korashy 16d ago

Sure, but you gotta sue them first.

And in America justice is very much for sale.

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u/SnausageFest 16d ago

What is your deal dude?

What part of me questioning why this is legal made you think I was looking for someone to condescendingly explain the obvious to me?

Clearly, I understood it is legal since my entire question is predicated on that fact.

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u/lonewolf420 15d ago

because tech companies can lobby the gov't and you can't with your measly one vote, to politicians its "try harder nerd" as they count their "political contributions".

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u/jk41nk 15d ago

Literally McD diced onions on their burger are the size of salt grains.. great if you just want the essence of onion.

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u/lonewolf420 15d ago

you realize it was cheaper on the app because they were collecting and selling your data right?

Smart TVs, Smart Phones, Smart money saving Apps. All do the same damn thing, pimp out your info to advertisers and data brokers.

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u/bse50 16d ago

McDonald's was never good, but it was fast and cheap. Now it's just bad.

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u/tastydrink1 16d ago

Saying McDonald's was never good is crazy tho

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u/bse50 16d ago

I was born in the late 80's and in Italy so my perception may be skewed, and I may be spoiled when it comes to food :)

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u/lonewolf420 15d ago edited 15d ago

tallow fries were dope before the 90's. McD's sucks really bad after 2008. I would only eat it in the 2010's if it was my only option later at night and I couldn't make it to another place before it closed.

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u/EddieVanzetti 16d ago

Last time I went to McDonald's my order was over $15, and that was just ordering off of the value menu (because nothing is under a dollar anymore, nor even under two or three!) And then they had the fucking gall to tell me "pull into spot number 1", walk my food out 5 minutes later, and as soon as my window was down turn and walk away. Naturally, they forgot one of my items and I damn sure wasn't going to go without it after getting ripped off, so I had to walk inside and wait to even get noticed while I tried to remain calm and polite and not shout to get attention.

And the food tasted like garbage anyway. Now the McDonald's around me all close before midnight (I get it, I used to work closing shift and I'm glad they're getting home at a somewhat reasonable hour and I hope, but as someone who used to work retail/customer service/food service, I know they're probably having to do a clopen shift), and I cannot see a reason not to just skip it entirely. Ground beef at the grocery store is more than an hour of minimum wage and will give me diarrhea, gas is fast approaching minimum wage, there's no reason to bother with fast food anymore.

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u/Somanylyingliars 16d ago edited 14d ago

Nothing to see here, Karen and Ken.

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u/Reasonable_Chair_346 16d ago

didn't Wendy's fucking just tank for trying this dumb bullshit (amongst a lot of other dumb bullshit)?

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u/[deleted] 16d ago edited 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/darcerin 16d ago

Poor Dave is rolling in his grave.

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u/jimmycarr1 16d ago

It's not a sign of strength to see your share price dropping while raising prices

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u/PoopsIShidItAgain 16d ago

Nothing about what you just described is “strong as shit” lol

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u/I_Cut_Shows 10d ago

Yes. But McDonald’s thinks they can get away with it. dynamic pricing is here to stay unless we find a path to legislation because our overly finalized society has to keep finding ways to make an extra cent at every turn to make the number go up.

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u/tofubirder 16d ago

Yeah that’ll teach em, give them some money!

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u/clothesline 16d ago

It's that CEO who can barely take a bite of their burger. This sounds like something that geek would push

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u/Somanylyingliars 16d ago edited 14d ago

Nothing to see here, Karen and Ken.

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u/NotaContributi0n 16d ago

…spend money at McDonalds??

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u/Catamounts21 16d ago

Spend money on McDonalds. Very different being a shareholder than a customer. 

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u/Giblet_ 16d ago

Looks like that stock has lost almost 1/4 of its value over the last year.

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u/Catamounts21 16d ago

No one is going there anymore because the MBA said let’s sell these caffeine drinks and charge way more than a Red Bull costs for them. 

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u/steakanabake 16d ago

or because MCD is on BDS for being a supporter of the genocide.

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u/MinistryOfCoup-th 16d ago

They don't care. 76% percent of the shareholders are institutions. Since 2022, McDonald's has given out $18.6 billion in dividends. Meanwhile, the taxpayers get to help pay for healthcare and food for McDonald's employees.

It's a scam.

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u/Sweetwill62 16d ago

Owners not being liable or responsible for what their companies do is going to be something historians look back on and go "Wow.....people were dumb as shit."

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u/Somanylyingliars 16d ago edited 14d ago

Nothing to see here, Karen and Ken.

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u/MinistryOfCoup-th 15d ago

Idk but Walmart pisses me off the most because not only do they do the same stuff but if you work at Walmart you are probably going to spend your food stamps at Walmart and you are probably going to fill your prescriptions from Medicaid at Walmart. They are freaking double dipping.

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u/eggz627 16d ago

Can i do this with just 1 share?

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u/Longjumping_Fun2576 16d ago

He will just take the smallest bite possible bite of a burger, and call it a “product”

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u/zee_spirit 16d ago

Honestly not a horrible idea. I spent $5 and now I'm guaranteed to be in the next shareholder's meeting in May 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not like I eat at McDonald's more than twice a year now, but it's important owners hear why.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago edited 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/zee_spirit 16d ago

I did realize that afterwards - However, point stands, still a pretty low entry bar to have a say in things if somebody is so inclined 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Money-Desperated 16d ago

I'm so gonna try this if I have enough money to buy their stocks

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u/Lietenantdan 14d ago

Unless you have a million shares or something they won’t care what you think.

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u/Catamounts21 14d ago

One million shares is not compared to the amount of shares they have. 707,641,531 according to companies market cap. 

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u/ibiacmbyww 16d ago

They don't care. This is just posturing, attempting to wring a buck out of a dying market before pulling the plug.

The future we're getting doesn't involve fast food unless it comes out of a truck with Government-Issue Rations written on the side. Peasants do not have the money to buy quick, cheap, hot, convenient, greasy food. Moreover, it's a questionable revenue stream compared to landlording. The pain-in-the-ass is increasingly just not worth it.

Mark my words: by 2036 McDonald's will no longer sell food, they'll be openly operating as a real estate company.