Shake Shack’s Dollar Dog promo is no substitute for actual Dollar Dog Night

When the Phillies unceremoniously dumped Dollar Dog Night last week in favor of buy-one-get-one dog night, Phillies senior vice president of ticket operations John Weber alluded to dollar-dog misdeeds that spelled the end for the game day special.

“The unfortunate incidents last year of the throwing of the hot dogs plus the feedback from our fans postgame survey, the fans told us that it was time for a change,” Weber said.

Someone at Shake Shack was paying attention. The chain announced its own downtown Philadelphia dollar-dog event this week, referencing the same hot dog-throwing incident.

“We heard that Philly was upset around the end of a certain dollar dog promotion so Shake Shack is stepping up to the plate,” the company’s press release began before outlining the basics of the three-day special.

“Only rule — no throwing,” the Shake Shack communications director signed off before dropping in a densely written paragraph of terms and conditions.

Yes, Dollar Dog Night had in recent years devolved into utter sloppiness. But should that be an allowable excuse for a New York-based international chain to poke fun — to make the downfall of Dollar Dog Night the new throwing snowballs at Santa?

Eat a dollar dog at Shake Shack on March 28, April 2, or April 16 if you want — $1 excluding taxes and service fees, limited four to an order, no add-ons, dine-in or pickup only, with maximum savings to be no more than $13.96 per order, and not to be combined with other offers — but we’ll be going with one of the hot dog deals from Philly’s independently owned small businesses.