Wall Street, the world’s largest stock exchange, is where you need to visit at least once in your lifetime to feel and experience the true meaning of money making. Every day, hundreds of billions of dollars changes hands. It could be due to this powerful influence that Ahmed Mohammed got inspired.
Ahmed, a food cart vendor near the World Trade Center, is making insane profit selling hot dogs and pretzels and drinks. He could easily enter Guinness Record as Manhattan’s richest cart vendor, for selling the priciest hot dog. But here’s the problem. He preys on tourists, or anyone he considered as tourists simply because he thought non-New Yorkers could be ripped off.
Just like the New York Stock Exchange, the price of his hot dog fluctuates violently every minute. From as low as US$3 (£1.92, RM10.80) to as high as US$30 (£19.20, RM108) a piece, or even higher, Mr Ahmed has attracted tons of angry customers. Ben from New Jersey asked for a hot dog and a Dr. Pepper and was charged US$30. Outrages, he left his bitten hot dog behind.
Jessica Lappin of the Alliance for Downtown New York, was ripped off when the greedy Ahmed charged her US$35 for a hot dog and a pretzel. In an exchange captured on video, the vendor tried to charge a man named David US$15 for a hot dog and pretzel, because the customer spoke with a French accent, victims whom fit his target list.
NBC 4 New York secretly filmed Ahmed Mohammed charging up to US$30 for a hot dog, but when a reporter asked him the price of a hot dog, the price suddenly dropped to US$3, a wild swing that put NYSE shares to shame. When asked why the price changes, he claimed and pretended not to speak English, despite video evidence that he speaks and understands English just fine.
Not only the hot dog seller blatantly overcharging customers he thought were tourists worth ripping off, he also has a reputation for shortchanging customers. When a Daily News reporter bought a US$2 hot dog from him, Ahmed tried to pocket an extra buck in change. But when confronted, he claimed the hot dog was actually US$3 and refused to give the money back.
Mr Ahmed was smart though – he didn’t post any price list, as required by the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs. While street vendors can set their own prices, they have to clearly post them on their carts. As comparison, another vendor operating around the corner sells hot dogs for just US$1, with prices posted.
After the 9/11 site “tourist trap” was exposed by NBC News, the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs swung into action. While the authorities are investigating, the heat on the hot dog stall was so hot that Ahmed Mohammed put NBC I-Team on the phone with his boss, Mr Abdul, who claimed he owns the cart and told reporters that Ahmed is new at the job.
That’s an impressive justification, or rather excuse, if you choose to believe big boss Abdul. Now, with the new price of his dog posted at US$2.50 a pop, you can bet business savvy Ahmed Mohammed won’t be the same person again – he won’t smile as much as before. Still, he needs to sell 100 hot dogs a day to pay a penalty of US$250 for every day he doesn’t put on the price tag, if the authorities found he should be punished.
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May 21st, 2015 by financetwitter
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