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Monday, March 21, 2011
Mathematically illiterate menu pricing
When I see prices for pizza, I always break out my internal calculator. A 14-inch pizza should be priced at twice the price of a 10-inch pizza, since the square of a circle is proportionate to the square of its radius (or diameter). If it’s less, then I order the 14-inch. If it’s more, then I order two 10-inch pizza (with the added advantage that I can garnish each differently, rather than asking for a half-half). Am I the only one out there that does this?
I see some price problems with McDonald’s chicken nuggets. In some places, they have “dollar nuggets”, which is 4 nuggets for a dollar. That makes each nugget 25 cents. The happy meal nuggets are 4 for 3.99 (plus fries and a drink) where I live, and 6 for 4.39, making each extra nugget worth 20 cents, which is a great deal. But, if you order just 6 nuggets and nothing else, it’s 2.69, making each nugget 40 cents. Now, why would you order 6 nuggets when you can order two sets of 4 nuggets and pay less? Indeed, someone at McDonald’s must have noticed this because the dollar nuggets is off the menu in some places, but, if you ask for it, you will get the dollar nuggets.
Levitt notices similar strange pricing patterns.
Please tell me I’m not the only weird person out there like that (not that I’d change my behaviour anyway). Tell me about your pricing conundrums.
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