batibecco 24/07/09

Mio marito is back from his travels. They had fun, but here he is straight back into the latest problem – that we are one waiter down. Although he realises the waiter’s behaviours was completely unacceptable, I sense he is thinking that most of the staff problems are my fault. Our free time in the afternoon is interrupted by a string of texts form the cameriere. The first text said he was so offended at having been spoken to about the smell of beer, and he brought up again the fact that I had said they could only have pasta or salads from the menu to eat before starting work – as if I had made the rule up myself. I was concerned about the wording of mio marito’s reply because I could see that the cameriere was trying to ingratiate himself again with my husband – ‘we can always talk about it tonight’ he had said at the end of the text. Do you think that means the three of us, or just the two of you? I asked my husband ironically. He replied to the text saying it all boiled down to the fact that he didn’t accept that he worked for me as much as for him and that anything I said was for the good of the locale. The waiter replied, of course, we’ll talk later. I have no problem with you or the barman or the kitchen staff or the waiters (er, so that would just leave me ..) and you are one of the most intelligent people I know … talk about sucking up. And how foolish to slag me off to my husband. How could he not see that this would not wash with him. I don’t know when I last had to deal with someone so dim. My husband and I were trying to relax for an hour at the beach, but our peace was punctuated by these sharp epistles from the waiter, depressing us further with each dimwitted reply.

Of course he didn’t show up the coward. He had been thinking of a nice tete a tete with my husband at my expense, what an eejit.

Il barman later asked mio marito what had happened. He had heard that I had had a ‘battibecco’ with il cameriere. What a word, verbal fisticuffs! Mio marito said there had been no such thing, simply that the waiter had not shown up for work and has left us in the lurch just like that, simply because he doesn’t recognise that he works for me, that I am his boss as much as Salvo that we both run the restaurant and we both have equal rights to ask what is required of staff. Mio marito said it was useful to reinforce the point to il barman, who was nodding and taking it all in … the significance won’t have been lost on him.

Lola

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