Sebastian, Hot Dogs on the Run or whatever he goes by - The hot dog cart maker who is so easy going on the phone and assures you that he can make what you need and it will be no problem - right there is the crux. Yes, the punch line is it is farthest from the truth. I gave him a design for a cart that I wanted built. He then built me a piece of junk! I asked that my cart be built to code, and his reply was the health department wont worry about that - don't worry. But he got his money and now I have spent thousands correcting his mistakes. Firstly, I asked that the cart be made with sturdy stainless steel. He built my cart with flimsy stainless steel. I should have ran when I saw it and not given him a damn penny! Other examples - (1) Condiment box - he used two shelve holders to attach the condiment tray - so weak and flimsy it took one day in use for them to break off and then I had to have it built the way I wanted with a piece of stainless steel with a bend to hold in IE one on the cart facing up and one on the tray facing down so when the tray is put in it lays there and is solid. (2) Water tanks - tanks per code are supposed to have a water level visible, but lets not even talk about the tanks they are made from 1/2 pans screwed into the frame, again, not the 5 gallon requirement by health departments. (3) I asked that the cart have pneumatic wheels on it, but he said because of the length of the cart it would work better with a trailer jack with a wheel that would swivel up and down. My jack broke after 2 days, and I had to pay for the pneumatic wheels to be installed. (4) The steam table was an absolute joke. No pilot for the burners, cause according to him its easier without it (UNTRUE - try grabbing hot pans to move them if your burner goes out.) Then the burners wouldn't stay lit cause the burners are so big he didn't account for the air that is required for the propane to burn. I had to reconfigure the steam table and again, spend more money. (5) Propane tank designed by me for 2 tanks to feed off each other. He put in a space for two tanks, but said it was easier to work with one tank and then change the line when you run out - not so easy to do if your busy and and need to sell. (6) The grill was supposed to have a tempered glass frame to it. He didn't complete it in time, and told me he overnight mailed it to me countless times. I needed to pass inspection, so I had to spend more money to get that built. (7) I asked for my pans to be custom made with hinges to make it easier on the operator. He said he would do it but when I got there, he told me its so much easier to just use the lids that come with the pans - which again is farthest from the truth. He says he has been in the business for many years but I think he is just a scam artist (8) The cart looks like it was built by a shoemaker. The rivets he used are weak, and about 1/3 of them have popped and broke. The only thing that appears to be solid is the chassis, which of course he purchased - he didn't build it. Everything about this guy is a joke. He is a smooth talker, says he will do things but never follows through. And when you call him, you either get voice mail or he picks up and says he needs to call you back cause hes busy and either way he NEVER calls back. Bottom line - everyone should be wary of this man and stay away. The best part about it is I gave him the design for this cart, and he now has pictures of my cart on ebay, named it "the limo" and is marketing my design. I hope no one buys that cart cause they are in for a big problem. My cost to date just in fixing the stuff he didn't do or did wrong is well over three thousand dollars, not including the 6000 I paid him. And lets not even talk about the credit card charge he ran on my credit card for "authorizations purposes only" The agreement was I would pay full balance in cash, but he needed a credit card in case I never showed. He actually ran the charge - yes I found out from my credit card statement about 3 weeks later ofcourse after I paid him in cash, never told me he ran the card and when I asked for a refund he told me he wouldn't refund me anything and I got a very good deal on a cart that is worth much more than what I paid. When I told him the cart he built was junk he hung up on me. Bad bad bad stay away!
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