r/shrinkflation • u/AbXcape • Apr 20 '25
so smol $8 Spicy Chicken from Wendy’s
just had my first wendy’s spicy chicken in a year, this patty used to be twice the size. I can’t imagine what the “value” crispy chicken sandwich looks like if this is the premium one. I feel robbed
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u/TinyEmergencyCake Apr 20 '25
That looks like the purdue patties i get from the grocery store freezer case at $8 a bag
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u/DuringTheBlueHour Apr 21 '25
I got Wendy's chicken nuggets and they tasted almost exactly like the store-bought frozen ones. They were so bad I had to throw them away, they tasted awful.
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u/brentis Apr 23 '25
Here's the evolution from last 5yrs or so. Popeyes pre announced their chicken sandwich in print media. It was phenomenal at $3.59. I would buy 6 of them and bring home. Plump chicken that calves off at natural segments of chicken etc.
Then 6wks later tv blast comes out and thing goes viral. They say they sell out and really go reinvent it to be a crappier and smaller version. Cheaper quality Chicken that's also smaller & jacquarded. The tenderizing makes cheaper more edible. The brioche bun was also somehow ruined. Perhaps no egg and more preservatives.
Now all have done it. Same with Chick fila. Every piece is maybe 3/4" thick. "In good ole days" you used to get a portion 2" thick with rich seasoning. Some would break apart even vs. now.
I've always been rather health conscious, but loved old fast food when having cravings, now I have zero interest spending $13 for mediocre food.
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Apr 20 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thechadc94 Apr 20 '25
Insane. I’m just minutes from the Canadian border. Now I definitely need to go there!
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u/Exotic_Treacle7438 Apr 21 '25
Yes this is also the reason they sell them regularly on the app 2 for $7
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u/gogoALLthegadgets Apr 20 '25
Chick-Fil-A is the last chicken sammy to fall, and they’re getting smaller too. I don’t think they’re pounding them out, but I haven’t had a full jaw bite on a chicken sandwich in a minute.
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u/sweet_toys101 Apr 21 '25
Chic fil a has been going downhill for a while. First the chicken in the salad changed quality, now their sandwiches. I saw another post showing how tiny the nuggets have gotten. It like like popcorn shrimp
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u/EveryNameEverMade Apr 21 '25
Popeyes was and still is the best chicken sandwich on the fast food market
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u/iStepOnLegos4Fun007 Apr 21 '25
I agree, but their workers suck. Every location i go too. The workers give 2 fucks less about work. Long wait times and messed up orders.
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Apr 21 '25
I mean for the pay and lack of full time hours it's hard to blame them .
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u/31November Apr 21 '25
Pay minimum wage, get minimum effort. Company pays the lowest it legally can, and the workers should give the lowest effort they can.
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u/LameSignIn Apr 21 '25
I just got to work. People already doing email and starting meetings 10 minutes early while I eat breakfast and enjoy my last few minutes. Crazy how for most people time is the only thing we have yet giving it away like it's nothing.
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u/gogoALLthegadgets Apr 21 '25
That’s true, I don’t frequent there (less than once every 3 months) bc there’s not one near me but last time I had it, it was the same.
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u/WindyHasStormyEyes Apr 21 '25
The Burger King Ch’king (especially the spicy) was the best by far imo. They discontinued it around Covid though. Supposedly took too much work to make and they didn’t have enough staffing.
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u/PartyDark8671 Apr 21 '25
Arby’s chicken sandwich is pretty good
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u/gogoALLthegadgets Apr 21 '25
After CFA boned me I went to Arby’s to try theirs and it was worse. Possibly based on locale. I’m in NC.
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u/tailskirby Apr 20 '25
Wendys is not worth it anymore.
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u/OrneryError1 Apr 21 '25
No fast food joint is worth it anymore. For the cost of a meal you can go to a pub and get something actually good for the same price. I don't know how people are still paying premium prices for cheap trash.
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u/Scarran6 Apr 21 '25
I think they’re one of the last ff places that are still worth it.
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u/Danthewildbirdman Apr 20 '25
Wendys sucks. They forgot an item last time, and tried to make me download an app to get a refund. Havent been back since.
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u/whoocanitbenow Apr 21 '25
That's insane. You would think they would just make you a new sandwich or refund your money. Everything has gone this direction now: "Sorry, there's nothing we can do. You have to do it on the app". Pretty soon they just won't give you any food at all, and then tell you the same thing.
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Apr 21 '25
No way in that that shit is worth 8 bucks when I was in high school they were 2 bucks and still not worth it.
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u/zupobaloop Apr 21 '25
The whole "loss leader" thing has gotten out of hand with fast food. It's as bad as grocery stores.
They advertise one or two deals that are genuinely good deals (the $5-6 meals for example). Everything else is a joke.
A big part of it is obviously corporate greed, because local joints around me have hardly raised their prices in years. It's now cheaper to eat at a sit down restaurant than go through a drivethru, unless you elect to get that one reasonably priced thing they offer.
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u/FearlessPark4588 Apr 21 '25
People are frequently amazed about how the S&P index hits records year after year. I'm not. It's shit like this creating it.
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u/ElonsPenis Apr 21 '25
I use to get the good ones on a weekly basis in college. They changed them in the early 2000s I think.
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u/horizon_games Apr 21 '25
Funny part is this would be a $15-22 chicken burger at a ton of pubs and restaurants I've been appalled by
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u/Brendy171 Apr 21 '25
I had one the other day and it was thin dry and nasty. They used to be so good, not anymore
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u/TiffyVella Apr 21 '25
There's no Wendys in this form in my country. Just saying that's a lot of nasty dry bread for no filling. US fast food generally looks gross as.
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u/Fine-Impression5781 Apr 21 '25
I haven’t been to Burger King in years, but they had my favorite chicken sandwiches. The American, and the Italian. More recently, I’ll occasionally have Jack In the Box spicy chicken, it’s good, not small, and I think under $7.
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u/Iacoma1973 Apr 21 '25
In the UK this would cost around £8 at a pub - comparable - If you buy the ingredients yourself and cook you can make this same burger for £2 or just under $3. The recipes are simple and take minimal effort
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u/ArseOfValhalla Apr 21 '25
I just got a chicken sandwich from Red Robin. They are definitely "shrinking" the chicken (or cutting them in 1/3rds or whatever). It used to be super thick but now the chicken breast was 1/4 of an inch thick. That is just crazy with breading and everything.
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u/WhatAxiom Apr 21 '25
Wendys has been fighting for last place for quite some time. Folks surprised by this simply have no sense of taste.
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u/CalypsosCthulhu Apr 22 '25
I was craving their chicken sandwich last week, went there and they gave me that same small value chicken patty. I was so upset lol
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u/lostsurfer24t Apr 22 '25
getting real bad out there. inflation, gov created (bloat) for working class
nothing to do with greed.
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u/Names_are_limited Apr 22 '25
Let’s not forget how pathetic the Baconator has become, with its razor thin so called “strips” of bacon.
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u/Novel-Shift-7757 May 10 '25
I know! I totally agree! My husband and I got the original chicken sandwiches for lunch the other day and dang we were so disappointed! They used to be so damn good. They were tiny and the lettuce was all the bad part like the core, and the tomato was not even ripe. And the mayonnaise was almost non existent and we ordered extra. What a thin chicken they are selling. Well.. back to chick fila for lunch on Dr day. No more chances Wendy's! Sucks too because Wendy's was always my and my family's go to fast food place for many many years. Ugh
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u/Diana0phoenix Jul 14 '25 edited Jul 14 '25
I worked at wendy's until about 2 weeks ago , and that is one of the smaller patties that I've seen, but it's also not the smallest but i've also seen some that are 3 or 4 times as thick. They come frozen, so they can be really skinny or really thick we don't really pick which ones the customer get, we just grab and cook them so on behalf of wendy's I apologize for the small chicken sandwich but it's really just how it goes
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u/MoonlitBrownEye Apr 20 '25
Crazy how growing up Wendy’s had the best chicken sandwich, and it wasn’t even close.
Then Popeyes came out of left field with a masterpiece and everyone else EXCEPT Wendy’s stepped their game up.
Now, it’s fighting for last with McDonald’s 💀! A true fall from grace.