Once there will be no more digits to use for displaying price per gallon they will be forced to display price per liter as it still could fit

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[–] 18 points 1 week ago (14 children)

The firm eventually conducted a focus group to discover the truth: participants were concerned about the price of the burger. "Why should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat?" they asked.

It turns out the majority of participants incorrectly believed one-third of a pound was actually smaller than a quarter of a pound.

https://awrestaurants.com/blog/memories-history/the-truth-about-aws-third-pound-burger-and-the-major-math-mix-up/

They didn't almost go bankrupt, but yes they did have a focus group where the majority of people did not understand fractions.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    That literally only comes from A&W themselves, and the first mention of it was in the memoir of the former CEO at the time.

    After he released his memoir trying to rehabilitate his image after being released from prison for fraud.

    Not exactly a reliable account. There are zero other sources for the myth than the chain itself.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (7 children)

    Focus groups commissioned by the company get the results that the company wants. That is the entire point.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago* (6 children)

    Are you saying the company wanted results saying people didn't understand 1/3 is more than 1/4?

    That would be stupid.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (3 children)

    It would be a way to hide the quality problems with the burger.

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  • [–] -1 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Yes, that is exactly what they wanted.

    Ever hear the phrase "couldn't sell water in a desert"? A damning claim of incompetence, right?

    The A&W marketing team couldn't sell a hamburger to Americans.

    Americans.

    They couldn't figure out how to sell this hamburger. To Americans.

    Americans aren't particularly known for their rejection of fast food burgers, but here is a fast food burger, and here are Americans, noses upturned at the prospect of ordering it.

    A&W desperately needed a scapegoat, and "Our customers are stupid" was easier to swallow than their nasty-ass burgers.

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  • [+] -6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    When you order one turd sandwich from my restaurant and never come back for another, the problem isn't that you think my 1/3 lb turds are smaller than BKs 1/4lb patties.

    The focus group did not capture the reason why the people who did buy it didn't become repeat customers. It was a fucking awful burger.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Are you serious dude? If i went to a restaurant, and thought I was paying MORE money for LESS food i would never go back. But go on your rant about how much you hate A&W or whatever.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 week ago

    And I'm betting if you went to a restaurant and the food was absolutely terrible, you wouldn't go back either, or at least wouldn't order that same, terrible meal.

    A&W is great. They're one of the last drive-in restaurants in my area. I have coney dogs and root beer floats every time I go. But their 1/3lb burgers were so complete shit that I won't even try their burgers now. Their burgers were worse than DQ's. Worse than cafeteria burgers. They could have made them twice as large, and they still wouldn't have sold, because they were utter shit.

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