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

  • ivanvector@piefed.ca
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    12 hours ago

    This would literally work. If one station has $9.49 (/gal) on its sign and the station across the street is $3.79 (/L), there are absolutely enough dumb Americans who will line up for the more expensive gas with the lower number.

    A&W nearly went bankrupt because Americans couldn’t figure out that 1/3lb is more than 1/4lb. This is a good idea.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      10 hours ago

      A&W nearly went bankrupt because Americans couldn’t figure out that 1/3lb is more than 1/4lb.

      Myth.

      Anyone who had their 1/3lb burger knows why A&W nearly went bankrupt, and it had nothing to do with the size of the patty.

      It was easily the worst burger I’ve ever experienced.

      “Americans don’t understand fractions” is the marketing they used to save face. The reality is that they didn’t have any repeat customers.

      • BigPotato@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        Who went to A&W for anything other than root beer floats and why were they allowed in public while being so wrong?

      • [deleted]@piefed.world
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        9 hours ago

        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.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          3 hours ago

          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.

          • AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            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.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              2 hours 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.

        • spankysalmon@fedinsfw.app
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          4 hours ago

          Focus group is the same group as those that do phone surveys.

          Not representative of the norm, who like to do either about as much as jury duty.

          • Sharkticon@lemmy.zip
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            4 hours ago

            Exactly. To have been confused about the price they’d actually have to have gone there. Which I don’t believe ever happens.