Wendy?s Acts to Bypass City Order on Calories

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Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
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Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Amused
It's absurd to put calorie info in such a limited MARKETING space

You could say the same about nutritional information on any product (look at the side of a cereal box opposite the nutritional information - it's all marketing). Why should the foods that are actually WORSE for you get a pass?

on items that are wildly customizable, and put the calories for every option available.

That's a red herring Wendy's is using to avoid looking bad. Every menu item has a "default" set of ingredients. You put the calorie count for that. The only exception to that (that I'm aware of) is Subway, where there is no default set of ingredients for a sandwich other than the meats.

Wendy's, McDonald's and most other fast food places have their nutritional info available in MANY forms, and easy for the customer to access. From wall hangers, to online, to tray inserts, to pamphlets at the counter. Hell, many have ALL of these.

Sometimes. Sometimes you have to seek it out - i.e. on the Internet, which isn't all that easy to access in a Wendy's restaurant. Like the nutritional information on any product you buy in a grocery store, isn't it better when it's right there in front of you?

To ask them to put it on the menu board is absurd. The menu board is for marketing items to the consumer. Marketing research shows the more cluttered a menu board, the more confused and frustrated a customer is. If you haven't noticed, menu boards have become more and more simple over the years for this very reason.

This is why I think they should be allowed to use smaller text for the calorie count.

If you're too gawd damned stupid to get the info from the easily available means, you're too gawd damned stupid to be able to do anything constructive with the info.

I don't agree with this at all.

A menu board is VERY different from a 6 sided box. After that, there really is no point in arguing further.

And yes, if you cannot be bothered to pick up a pamphlet or waddle your fat, stupid ass over to the wall hanger and read the nutritional info, a calorie count on the menu board is pointless. Wendy's has their nutritional info readily available in every store. You don't even have to ask for it.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,262
146
Originally posted by: TheAdvocate
Originally posted by: Amused

A warning: Being an ideologue with an overzealous fanaticism to a twisted ideology to the point that it makes me argue with everyone just for the sake of arguing and gets me owned every time.

This has nothing to do with libertarianism and everything to do with me being a corporate shill under the guise of actually caring about the rights and lives of individuals. It's all about the $$ yo.

Fixed.

Now, do you have anything substantive to offer, or can we look forward to more of your empty ideologue diatribes?

You hate being told what to do, but damn do you love telling everyone else what they should and shouldn't be doing. It's fun to watch you twist yourself into a spastic tizzy over this stuff.

Wow, that hard-on must be VERY impressive.

Telling other people what to do? Please, point out a thread in which I try to make the government force other people to do ANYTHING.

OOPS!

Good gawd you're an idiot. The only ideologue here is you. A silly little socialist who never saw an intrusive nanny-state law he didn't like. And the punchline is you tried to claim you were libertarian.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
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Originally posted by: Amused

A menu board is VERY different from a 6 sided box. After that, there really is no point in arguing further.

You're right, it is. A meal off that menu board can contain more fat and calories than the entire box of cereal I have sitting on my desk.

And yes, if you cannot be bothered to pick up a pamphlet or waddle your fat, stupid ass over to the wall hanger and read the nutritional info, a calorie count on the menu board is pointless. Wendy's has their nutritional info readily available in every store. You don't even have to ask for it.

Saying something with more emphasis doesn't make it any more right.


Edit: If you consider this to be a nanny state law, then there is no way you can be in support of the law requiring nutrition facts and ingredients on the products you buy in a grocery store. You can't use "marketing space" to argue that this is a nanny state law.

There is a big difference between the trans-fat law and this one. They're just requiring that information be disseminated in a clear and easily accessible way.
 

TheAdvocate

Platinum Member
Mar 7, 2005
2,561
7
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Originally posted by: Amused
Telling other people what to do? Please, point out a thread in which I try to make the government force other people to do ANYTHING.

Who needs the government, oh "president and dictator for life"?

(I don't think there enough eye rolling emoticons on the internet to convey the sentiment here)

This from a guy who stretches out every one of his threads to 10+ pages, based on his 5 post per page output.

This just in Amused - every thread on ATOT is *NOT* an opportunity for you to regurgitate your own cliff notes version of your favorite 57 pages of Atlas Shrugged.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,408
8,596
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Originally posted by: mugs
They're just requiring that information be disseminated in a clear and easily accessible way.

it already is. when was the last time you went to a wendy's and the info wasn't right next to the registers on a wall hanger? and try cramming all that info onto the menu board, 15 feet away.

if they really cared about people then other restaurants would have to do the same. they don't. this is merely NYC trying to make it harder for chains to operate in NYC. gee, what a surprise.
 

glutenberg

Golden Member
Sep 2, 2004
1,941
0
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Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: mugs
They're just requiring that information be disseminated in a clear and easily accessible way.

it already is. when was the last time you went to a wendy's and the info wasn't right next to the registers on a wall hanger? and try cramming all that info onto the menu board, 15 feet away.

if they really cared about people then other restaurants would have to do the same. they don't. this is merely NYC trying to make it harder for chains to operate in NYC. gee, what a surprise.


I for one look forward to the new, ginormous menu boards at these fast food chains. I'll be able to order food 50 feet away with mass amounts of data assaulting me.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
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Originally posted by: ElFenix
Originally posted by: mugs
They're just requiring that information be disseminated in a clear and easily accessible way.

it already is. when was the last time you went to a wendy's and the info wasn't right next to the registers on a wall hanger? and try cramming all that info onto the menu board, 15 feet away.

I don't eat at Wendy's. I do recall being in a fast food restaurant recently (probably a KFC) and being unable to find nutritional information. Many fast food places do have the information on the wall. Some do not. The information is not so accessible when you go through the drive through.

The law only applies to calorie counts, nothing else. 3 (or 4 :Q ) numbers and 1-3 letters.

I don't think Wendy's is concerned that people will come into their restaurants and be overwhelmed by their cluttered menu boards. I think Wendy's is concerned that people will come into their restaurants, see the calorie counts, and not order anything.

if they really cared about people then other restaurants would have to do the same. they don't. this is merely NYC trying to make it harder for chains to operate in NYC. gee, what a surprise.

The law does target chains, but it would create a huge burden for the thousands of restaurants in New York that only have one location. It's a much smaller burden for restaurants that already have the information.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
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www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: glutenberg
it's amazing how off-topic this thread went. Good for you Amused on your success, by the way. It's nice to see that hard work can still pay dividends.

Thank you.

BTW, It's not that I have never failed... because I have. It's that I never gave up because I failed. The most successful people have failed many times, sometimes far more than most people.

Again, luck has nothing to do with it.

It's not luck but timing. Timing can truly make or break a business.

Exactly, timing is luck. That's all I was saying.

I didn't say anything about not having to do hard work.
 

sixone

Lifer
May 3, 2004
25,030
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Nice headline. Of course, Wendy's is acting within the law, but somehow they're "bypassing" the law at the same time. :roll:
 
May 31, 2001
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Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: TheAdvocate
Originally posted by: Amused
Dave, it's called saving, and getting a small business loan.


To get your Subway shop, perhaps, but I know for a fact that in the mid-90's you would not even be considered for a McDonald's franchise without a $1m equity investment. That cannot be borrowed money. So, you did get lucky finding a successful franchise opportunity that would let you borrow your "equity" portion. Subway took off. Others like Schlotsky's have died off, or didnt even see 3 years of operation.

Don't just glaze over what the Taco Bell guy above said - the proven franchises require substantial financial clout to land. And the operating agreements are viciously territorial.

If you want a larger franchise, you work your way up to it by owning smaller businesses and making investments.

I'm not glazing over anything. It's hard work and you have to learn to live well below your means for years so you can reinvest your income into the business. But to claim one has to start rich is absurd.

Could I own McDonald's stores now if I wanted to? Yes. But I had to work hard to get here. There are many smaller franchise and business opportunities you can start with.

People's problem is this: They all see the end result and want to start there.

Exactly. Most of the people I know of that have owned franchises, or any business for that matter, started out doing all of the manager duties themselves, not to mention pretty much everything else at that job one time or another. None of them started out paying someone to manage the place, they did it themselves and were usually on-site at least twelve hours a day.

To get their loans they had to have a comprehensive business plan, plus they had done reasearch into the demand for their type of business in the location they wanted to have it. If there was any possible question the bank could ask them during the loan evaluation process, they wanted to be able to answer it with confidence.

They don't just open the business, hire some people to work there, then sit on their arse while the money rolls in.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: Amused

Like I said earlier in the thread:

It's absurd to put calorie info in such a limited MARKETING space on items that are wildly customizable, and put the calories for every option available.

Wendy's, McDonald's and most other fast food places have their nutritional info available in MANY forms, and easy for the customer to access. From wall hangers, to online, to tray inserts, to pamphlets at the counter. Hell, many have ALL of these.

To ask them to put it on the menu board is absurd.

The menu board is for marketing items to the consumer.

Marketing research shows the more cluttered a menu board, the more confused and frustrated a customer is.

If you haven't noticed, menu boards have become more and more simple over the years for this very reason.

If you're too gawd damned stupid to get the info from the easily available means, you're too gawd damned stupid to be able to do anything constructive with the info.

I agree, a simple one sentence saying nutrition information is available at www.blahblah and a small phamphlet holder on the wall should be perfectly sufficient.

I hate clutter too.
 
May 31, 2001
15,326
2
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Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: glutenberg
it's amazing how off-topic this thread went. Good for you Amused on your success, by the way. It's nice to see that hard work can still pay dividends.

Thank you.

BTW, It's not that I have never failed... because I have. It's that I never gave up because I failed. The most successful people have failed many times, sometimes far more than most people.

Again, luck has nothing to do with it.

That's usually because they try more than most people. ;) So many aren't even willing to try or take a risk even once.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: TheAdvocate
Originally posted by: Amused

A warning: Being an ideologue with an overzealous fanaticism to a twisted ideology to the point that it makes me argue with everyone just for the sake of arguing and gets me owned every time.

This has nothing to do with libertarianism and everything to do with me being a corporate shill under the guise of actually caring about the rights and lives of individuals. It's all about the $$ yo.

Fixed.

Now, do you have anything substantive to offer, or can we look forward to more of your empty ideologue diatribes?

You hate being told what to do, but damn do you love telling everyone else what they should and shouldn't be doing. It's fun to watch you twist yourself into a spastic tizzy over this stuff.

Wow, that hard-on must be VERY impressive.

Telling other people what to do? Please, point out a thread in which I try to make the government force other people to do ANYTHING.

OOPS!

Good gawd you're an idiot. The only ideologue here is you. A silly little socialist who never saw an intrusive nanny-state law he didn't like. And the punchline is you tried to claim you were libertarian.

So sad to see so many people claim to be Americans when it is so clear they hate America.

Why are they here Amused??? Why?
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
So sad to see so many people claim to be Americans when it is so clear they hate America.

Oh shut up. Don't you realize you hurt your own cause every time you say something?

Originally posted by: sixone
Nice headline. Of course, Wendy's is acting within the law, but somehow they're "bypassing" the law at the same time. :roll:

Now that's the strangest thing I've seen someone object to in this thread... They're acting with the admitted purpose of being excluded by the law. I'd say "bypass" is an appropriate term.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
If it's already on the wall right next to the register, why does it need to be on the menu? Stupid law.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
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I don't blame Wendy's.

why should htey have have it posted for every way you can make a sandwich?
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
So sad to see so many people claim to be Americans when it is so clear they hate America.
Oh shut up. Don't you realize you hurt your own cause every time you say something?
Got your America hating butt in a tizzy.

To borrow from our greatest President ever in your eyes "Mission Accomplished" :laugh:
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
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Originally posted by: waggy
I don't blame Wendy's.

why should htey have have it posted for every way you can make a sandwich?

Their red herring is working.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/dining/13calo.html

Mr. Batali will not have to list calorie amounts on his menus at Babbo or Del Posto. Virtually every high-end restaurant in New York is exempt. The rule applies only to restaurants that have standardized recipes and that have made nutrition information publicly available on the Internet, printed brochures or other methods as of March 2007.

If the law only applies to restaurants with standardized recipes, why would they have to list the calories for every combination a customer could request? They'd just have to list the calories for the standard recipe.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
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Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
So sad to see so many people claim to be Americans when it is so clear they hate America.
Oh shut up. Don't you realize you hurt your own cause every time you say something?
Got your America hating butt in a tizzy.

To borrow from our greatest President ever in your eyes "Mission Accomplished" :laugh:

Do you seriously think I like President Bush? :confused:
 

glutenberg

Golden Member
Sep 2, 2004
1,941
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Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Exactly, timing is luck. That's all I was saying.

I didn't say anything about not having to do hard work.

Timing and luck may coincide but timing isn't purely determined by luck. Timing comes with research and understanding the business you're in or trying to start.
 

glutenberg

Golden Member
Sep 2, 2004
1,941
0
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Originally posted by: BoberFett
If it's already on the wall right next to the register, why does it need to be on the menu? Stupid law.

The problem is more along the lines that it's not always on the wall right next to where you order. In fact, I've only seen a select handful of fast food restaurants that have it listed somewhere that you'll notice if at all.
 

glutenberg

Golden Member
Sep 2, 2004
1,941
0
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Originally posted by: waggy
I don't blame Wendy's.

why should htey have have it posted for every way you can make a sandwich?

That's Wendy's claim for not posting up the calories. The city order doesn't say they have to post a caloric count for every formulation of the food. In fact, I'd venture to say that if we saw the order that it would be mainly for standardized foods similar to what fast food chains offer. There are only so many ways to make a burger.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,547
20,262
146
Originally posted by: TheAdvocate
Originally posted by: Amused
Telling other people what to do? Please, point out a thread in which I try to make the government force other people to do ANYTHING.

Who needs the government, oh "president and dictator for life"?

(I don't think there enough eye rolling emoticons on the internet to convey the sentiment here)

This from a guy who stretches out every one of his threads to 10+ pages, based on his 5 post per page output.

This just in Amused - every thread on ATOT is *NOT* an opportunity for you to regurgitate your own cliff notes version of your favorite 57 pages of Atlas Shrugged.

It gets more impressive with every post...

In which thread did I oppose having a government?

The funniest part still is your extremely dubious claim to be a "libertarian" when I haven't seen a regulation you oppose. You think I oppose business regulations for money... when in reality businesses are nothing more than people. Individuals who deserve no more, or less freedom than you. A very libertarian ideal you'd have no clue about, because you have no clue about libertarianism, or freedom for that matter.

There is one common theme in my threads and posts, Advocate: Freedom.

All you have to ask yourself is why do you have so much against freedom? Why does it scare you? And why does that fear make you go out of your way to attack me?
 

TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
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People are so stupid and clueless about nutrition and calories that we need posters up all over the place to tell us that french fries and Big Macs are bad for us?? I like to check out the websites for fat content, etc once in a while, but this is getting ridonkulous. People are the worst.