Bizarre, Justice

NYC Vendor In Hot Water Over Selling $30 Hot Dogs–Grilled By Media Then Fired By Boss

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Hot Dog with MustardOur host wrote earlier of the row over a WTC hotdog vendor accused of fleecing unsuspecting tourists by charging up to thirty dollars per hot dog. Now, the vendor has been terminated by his employer.

It is believed he took advantage of foreign tourists unfamiliar with the exchange rates of U.S. currency by failing to post actual prices then naming a price that was up to ten times the actual market rate.

Pariah Hot Dog Vendor Ahmed Mohammed also is accused by his boss Abdelalim Abdelbaky of pocketing the extra money and proffering he sold the dogs for two dollars each. Reportedly, Abdelbaky’s family will assume the hundreds of dollars in fines the city levied against Mohammed for failing to post his prices–in violation of municipal code.

After WNBC broadcast its investigation, the city served Mohammed with three citations and Abdelbaky fired him.

Tourists and Hot Dog connoisseurs can now relish in justice being served.

By Darren Smith

Source: Fox News

The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.

13 thoughts on “NYC Vendor In Hot Water Over Selling $30 Hot Dogs–Grilled By Media Then Fired By Boss”

  1. Karl Denniger had a really good point about this, which is “Why are we sooo irate about a hot dog vendor doing this, when doctors and hospitals do it all the time’???

    So Hot Dog Vendors Aren’t Hospitals?

    Hmmm….

    Meet Ahmed Mohammed. He might be the most expensive hot dog vendor in New York, especially if he thinks you’re a tourist.

    NBC 4 New York cameras recently captured him trying to charge a man named David $15 for a hot dog and a pretzel near the World Trade Center.

    What he does is charge you based on who he thinks you are and what you can pay. He also doesn’t tell you in advance what the charge will be.

    The hospital down the street does this every day. In fact virtually every single doctor and hospital in the country does this; they do not post prices, they figure out what to charge you after you’ve consumed the service or good, and what they charge has no bearing on the actual good or service delivered — people are often charged 10 or 100x as much as someone else for the same thing!

    NY’s Consumer Protection people are after Mohammed despite the fact that Mohammed appears to be willing to negotiate a price with you if you ask him first before you accept the hot dog. Most hospitals and doctors won’t even give you a price if you ask.

    Just a short distance away and all over NY the exact same practice for goods and services that are far more important to life than a street-vendor’s hot dog is not only common it is nearly universal.

    Can someone explain why NY’s Consumer Protection jackals haven’t shut down every doctor and hospital in the city?

    I’m waiting for your answer you corrupt pieces of crap……

    http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=3379171

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

    1. Squeeky wrote: “Why are we sooo irate about a hot dog vendor doing this, when doctors and hospitals do it all the time’???”

      Excellent point!

  4. Here is another example of why business owners need the right to fire employees for cause.

    Exchange rates can be tricky, especially in the first few days in a new country. I feel bad for the tourists affected. I’ve enjoyed the kindness of strangers in foreign countries, and wish travelers to the US the same experience.

  5. This story reminds me of the company that decided to market a hot dog where one end of the hot dog was made of meat and the other end was made of soybeans. They ended up filing for bankruptcy because they couldn’t make both ends meat.

  7. It’s amazing what people won’t do for money!!! I’m not surprised anymore.

  8. One has to wonder how many he actually sold for $30 instead of the intended $2. And since he was fired for cause, he won’t get unemployment insurance. He will be added to the uninsured unemployed.

  10. Hot digitty dog! I lived in Cincinnati for two years with its largely German-American population and Octobestfests that went on for weeks. Don’t ask for a ” hot dog” – they will look at you like you’re totally uncouth. It’s a brat or met or some of the other types I no longer recall. Served on a steamed bun with course-ground mustard and warm kraut. And of course die bier! OMG, so good!

  11. So justice will “catchup” with the fraudulent hot dog vendor after all. Thanks for reporting on this, Darren.

    (I’m reading this while enjoying two 60-cent smoked sausage dogs I cooked myself. Amazing all the cheap food you can get when you don’t rely on crooked vendors to supply your meals.)

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