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Preparation of a sandwich (symbolic image): How much can special requests cost?
Photo: Trevor Williams / Getty Images
A vegetarian sandwich for 7.50 euros, cola for 3.50 euros, water for 1.50 euros, espresso for 1.20 euros – cut in half: two euros: This item on the receipt of a restaurant on Lake Como has caused a stir and outrage. The customer published a photo of the receipt on the TripAdvisor rating portal and gave only one of five possible points.
She and her companion had wanted to share the sandwich at the table, the woman writes: "We have to pay for dividing the sandwich into two parts? Unbelievable, but true...«, the review continues. The client remains anonymous, according to her profile she is from Milan and is between 50 and 64 years old.
Cristina Biacchi, who runs Bar Pace with her husband, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that she wondered why the customer hadn't voiced her concerns before paying the bill.
"None of this would have happened"
"We would have explained that any additional service would have to be paid for," she said. "We had to use two plates instead of one, and the time for washing up doubled, and then two placemats." The halving also took "some time" and the work had to be paid for.
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However, Biacchi admits, she would not have insisted on the fee if the customer had challenged her. "None of that would have happened." She is probably also referring to the bad reviews that the restaurant had received in the aftermath, according to media reports – apparently also from people who had never been there before.
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