Rome is Where You Pay More

I don't really have the will to cook for myself or the money to go to nice restaurants often. Instead, I go to "fast food" places for dinner a few times a week. On these front lines, I've been seeing a steady downturn in the quality of service, let alone the quality of food. It's a good example of why these places should raise wages. They might be able to get better employees. Or maybe, they would have a reason to automate some of the processes hampered by the human touch.

What's unique to Rome is the strange ways I'm being overcharged for items. McDonald's offers an egg and cheese biscuit now, sans meat. It's on the Rome menu for $2.19. In New Hartford, I didn't see it on the menu board, but I got one for only $1.99. I guess I can chalk that up to pricing schemes.

What's really interesting to me now is Wendy's offers value meals for a relatively low price. A meal with 2 juniors, fries and a drink is listed on the menu board for $3.99 and that's what I pay in New Hartford. Not so in Rome. I noticed they didn't ring up a combo, but have a note on the wall to apply a different discount. I haven't gotten up the courage to ask what the issue is, since it appears to be that store's policy. Luckily, they read a coupon wrong and I got a pretty substantial discount. Right now, it evens out.

I've found it somewhat empowering to use Twitter and online surveys to voice my concerns. Sometimes, I get a sandwich out of it. My sister made the point that if more of us made these complaints, the stores might have to look seriously at improvements. Sometimes I just want what I order, not find a way to get a discount on the next one.