From social media outrage to irony. Victor Lab, the restaurant on Viale Ceccarini in Riccione that found itself at the centre of controversy over an order slip bearing an offensive remark about a customer, has decided to respond with a video posted on social media. At the same time, it has opened a sort of poll on the future of the 17-year-old waiter responsible for the comment.
The controversy erupted after a family from Florence sat down for breakfast. Alongside the request for well-done eggs and no salad, the order slip carried the phrase: «This one’s really pissed me off, burn the eggs and spit in them». The slip made it to the table and was photographed by the customers, quickly going viral online.
The restaurant’s management had apologised for the incident and dismissed the young waiter. According to reports, the young man later expressed regret and apologised to his colleagues as well.
Now Victor Lab is trying to lighten the mood. In the video posted on Instagram, a customer sits down at a table and turns down a series of dishes offered to him, from avocado toast to Caesar salad, explaining that he specifically wants «that» dish that has now become famous: the well-done eggs. At that point, the manager delivers the punchline: «With spit or without?». A deliberately tongue-in-cheek jab, delivered with a smile and a clear note that it’s all meant as a joke.
But the video also becomes an opportunity to address the question still hanging in the air: what should be done with the 17-year-old? Should he be brought back, or is his employment over for good?
The restaurant decided to put the question to its followers, and a debate immediately broke out on social media. Some believe what was written on the order slip was too serious an offence and that the young man should not return to work; others, taking into account his age and the apology he offered, argue he deserves a second chance.
Within just a few hours, more than a hundred comments had poured in. The final decision, of course, will rest with the restaurant’s owner, but the affair sparked by a note on an order slip continues to generate discussion — this time with Victor Lab choosing to step directly into the online conversation.
