Dear Wendy’s: Redditors Are Begging For These Changes

Okay, so just to state the obvious for a sec: Social media hasn’t been a force for universal good. In fact, it’s arguably caused way more problems than it’s solved in today’s world. What it has been useful for, though, is for giving people a platform to come together from around the country – and the world – to discuss what they like and dislike about the places they spend their money. And this, if wielded correctly, can lead to those places getting better.

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Today, it’s Wendy’s turn to reflect. Over on Reddit, a recent post asked commenters to name something that Wendy’s needs to do to turn itself around. The answers ranged from small tweaks to huge overhauls. Here’s what they want.

No More Shredded Lettuce

Starting on the small side: It’s pretty wild how much lettuce can change a sandwich, and Wendy’s customers feel that deeply. “No more SHREDDED!” said one person, who was met with a chorus of agreement. 

Instead, Wendy’s customers want the restaurant to revert to the so-called lilypad lettuce that it used before. Is that really so hard to do? C’mon; the people are begging for it. 

More Personality, Please

The aesthetic of its restaurants also received criticism in the Reddit thread, with one person saying that its “locations all look sterile now.” They’re not the only person to think that. There’s a feeling that Wendy’s has trimmed itself of what makes it feel good to eat in, beyond its food. 

And you know one way they could do that easily? By bringing back the yellow. Wendy’s customers loved the yellow color scheme of its former packaging, and it would be an easy win for the company. Here’s looking at you, Wendy’s. 

Bring Back The Old Classic Recipes

This one might come as no surprise, given that people always want fast food chains to bring back former menu items. But at Wendy’s, there are some things that people clearly want to see again. The original Spicy Chicken Sandwich is one of them: Wendy’s recently gave this sandwich a makeover, but it hasn’t been received well, and the former one still has people’s hearts. 

Elsewhere, people are begging for its honey chicken biscuit to be made the way it used to be, with the old chicken meat, and for its Cobb salad to go back to its old recipe. Basically, don’t fix what’s not broken. 

Go Back To Basics

Which brings us to the final, and clearly most popular change: Just do things the way they used to be done. “Do it Dave’s way,” says the top-voted comment. The Wendy’s founder advocated (and wrote a book on) building a successful business founded on honesty, quality, and a person-centric approach. 
Sadly, many customers clearly feel that way has been lost, and instead, Wendy’s has declined in quality and gone for a lower-end approach, to its own detriment. “Trying to grow market share at the bottom isn’t a strategy to save Wendy’s. It’s a strategy to fail,” says one especially damning comment. That’s not what people want.