Don’t Worry – Wendy’s Won’t Raise Prices In New York State

When your stomach is growling after a long day, a quick trip through the closest drive-thru could be your savior from a hangry drive home. 

Imagine pulling up to your go-to fast food joint, rolling down your window, and seeing that the burger and fries you always order is more expensive than it was the day before - what’s up with that?

That’s exactly what thousands of Wendy’s customers across New York State were picturing when it was announced that the chain would be implementing “dynamic pricing,” and it sure didn’t sit well with most of them. 

Where Did The Hate For Wendy’s Come From?

The backlash began when Wendy’s new CEO announced in an earnings call that the chain would be putting millions of dollars into “digital menu boards,” enabling them to test “more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling.”

To many, the term “dynamic pricing” is synonymous with “surge pricing,” a tactic used by companies like Uber to increase prices during peak times. Naturally, this caused Wendy’s fans to freak out. 

Relax - Wendy’s Won’t Be Raising Prices

After the Internet started losing its mind at the idea of surge pricing their favorite fast food, Wendy’s clarified what their CEO actually meant in the call. 

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A Wendy’s spokesperson told NBC news, 

“To clarify, Wendy’s will not implement surge pricing, which is the practice of raising prices when demand is highest. We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice.”

Read More: This Is The Fastest Drive-Thru In New York State

This caused customers to breathe a sigh of relief, but the damage had already been done. 

National Chains Hilariously Goof On Wendy’s

After their PR disaster, fellow chain restaurants Burger King and Chili’s couldn’t help but rib Wendy’s on social media.

Chili’s approach was to create a “fast food support group,” while Burger King’s approach was to offer their patrons free food.

We’re sure that sometime in the future, we’ll see prices increase not just at Wendy’s, but at restaurants all over New York. But for now, we won’t have to worry about them randomly changing on a whim.