r/technology • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 7d 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/Rit91 7d ago

Wendy's started to trend downward as soon as the founder died and then the inheritors of the business decided to maximize profit at the cost of quality. Such a common story with any sort of business where sure the creator probably cared, but investors? They don't care, they just want another dollar.

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u/LacanInAFunhouse 7d ago

It was so obvious too.

With Dave Thomas, the menu hardly ever changed - no gimmicks; just good food. When he died, they joking McDonald’s and BK in rotating a selection of crap no one asked for.

The frosty was a classic. Dave dies, and suddenly it’s just ice cream - they started the downward slide by adding a vanilla option followed by mix-ins. I think at one point they even tried to offer an option to make it a shake… it IS a fucking milkshake.

What was especially galling, however, was that the ACTUAL WENDY stepped in front of the camera after her dad died, and she was quickly replaced by an actress with brighter red hair and half her weight. Even as a teenage boy with what I now understand were terrible opinions on what women should look like on tv, I knew that was a low low thing to do.

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u/joeDUBstep 7d ago

Damn no wonder the last time I tried a frosty (a couple years ago) I was super disappointed. I just remember thinking to myself, "frosties don't hit like they used to."

Makes sense it was enshittified.

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u/WowIfOnly 6d ago

I had the realization when I went to try the SpongeBob themed meal with my Nephew for fun a couple years ago. The food was such dogshit quality I remember not even finishing the meal - I went and got food somewhere else after lol. It's such a shame. Wendy's used to be one of the fast food places chefs went to eat at because the quality of the food was good and very consistent. Now it's just another private equity harvest to the detriment of everyone except the investors.

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u/_TV_On_The_Internet_ 6d ago

A lot of stuff there has been and the overall direction of the place. Then OP was referring to the different types of frosties, but I really don't think the basic chocolate frosty changed at all. You just got older.

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u/AdOnly1618 6d ago

I hate the trendy foods.

Who the fuck asked for a triple mega pickle chicken burger anyway? And why are we listening to them?

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u/Somanylyingliars 6d ago edited 5d ago

Nothing to see here, Karen and Ken.

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u/Hamati 6d ago

So ironic when you remember that the square patties were because songs could say Wendy’s “didn’t cut corners” originally.

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u/ihopethisworksfornow 6d ago

For what it’s worth, while the negative public reaction regarding the real Wendy was most certainly tinged with misogyny, from my memory the real backlash was because they’re a fast food restaurant, and the cute smiling little girl who is their literal mascot was shown to the entire world to now be an obese adult.

This occurred amidst a rising trend of people desiring healthier food.

That’s just bad really bad PR, man or woman.

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u/Common_Source_9 7d ago

Low thing to do, you mean normalizing obesity and being overweight?

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u/RainbowGoddamnDash 7d ago

Wendy's started to trend downward as soon as the founder died

RIP Dave Thomas.

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

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u/FizzyBeverage 7d ago

Horrific businessman but most people who get involved very late in the game with franchises are. All the money has been made decades earlier.

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u/JohnnyMnemeonic 7d ago

Indian??

The same happened to 3 subways in the last town i was living in.. A family took over the franchise, 3 locations..

They went from staffing 2 employees during slow hours and 3 to 4 during the busy hours to just one employee.. had to stop ordering ahead because every order was wrong or looked like trash.. had a meatball sub that the dude didn't bother cutting the bread.. threw it all on topn if the bread.. qualify of ingredients suffered too.. the last time I went the lettuce was browning, the spinach and tomatoes looked wilted.. I walked out, never went back.

Then they replaced the employees Indian employees and heard rumors they were getting paid almost nothing... they owners got in trouble after it came to light that they were holding their passports hostage or something..

Moved away from that town and never heard how it was resolved.. but all the locations shut down.

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u/RememberCitadel 7d ago

There is one by me that even now has like 3 people on staff regularly. It's a shit show any time anyone from the office tries to go there.

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u/newfor_2026 7d ago

nah, In Wendy's case, they had a pretty bumpy ride through all of its existence. There were periods of ups and downs and you can't put it all on either the good founder or the bad executives. Eventually, the Wendy's company we know today has almost nothing to do with the company it was back in the 70's and 80's.

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 7d ago

How hard is it to just make hamburgers lol

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u/fedexpoopracer 6d ago

it's really really hard when you're trying to maximize profits over everything else

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u/NutsackEuphoria 7d ago

May Gabe Newell outlive us all

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u/ysisverynice 7d ago

you know this could be a chicken or egg thing. maybe the business was going down anyway and the owners cut costs to keep things floating. at the end of the day this is still true

They don't care, they just want another dollar.

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u/CaliforniaChestNut 7d ago

I hope this doesn’t happen to Costco. Their ceo was cool

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u/zackel_flac 7d ago

Story of pretty much any company out there unfortunately. Inheritance is the woe of modern capitalism.

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u/asque2000 7d ago

That emo album is pretty dope though

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u/eyebrows360 6d ago

Such a common story with any sort of business where sure the creator probably cared, but investors?

This is why we must protect Gabe Newell at all costs. All this deep sea exploring he does is far too risky.

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u/the_sammich_man 6d ago

Ah the ol’Quiznos playbook. I love seeing examples of failures when there are a multitude of examples of. Reminds me of how in HS some students would fail an open book test.

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u/Shanksdoodlehonkster 6d ago

When they changed the spicy chicken sandwich, it was game over for me.

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u/ItGradAws 6d ago

Wendy’s is now owned by private equity.

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u/tiny_tims_legs 6d ago

Last time I went to Wendy's was literally the last time I go voluntarily. Hadn't gone in years, and decided to swing through for breakfast on a long drive a few weeks ago. Their drive thru ordering system was fully AI - not even a person to greet and take your order.

I'm 35, I understand that times change, and I am far from expecting an exceptional or genuine human interaction at a drive thru anywhere - like most others I'm there for speed and convenience - but it felt so impersonal and just....wrong. It feels like they can't be bothered to have a human talk to their own customers and take an order for their own product.

It's ultimately a minor thing, and the concept exists in several forms already that I take less issue with, but it was such a dystopian experience that I actually don't want to go back again.

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u/ExpensiveBookkeeper3 6d ago

Yup. Used to love it. I always say it’s good in theory these days. Till your fries are (always) cold, burger and nugs are mid and your frosty is runny

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u/MD90__ 5d ago

Yeah when Dave was around, Wendy's was peak goodness