“For years we have been denouncing the poor quality of food and service in the face of costs that have increased, especially following the return from the pandemic.” Alessandra Precelong-time trade unionist, Uilpa national coordinator and employee of the Ministry of Education, is not surprised by the phone call from Ross shrimpor, as if he expected that sooner or later someone would call to listen to the voice of those who work within that ministry. And who probably used the canteen, which appeared on the list of places under investigation for having used it fake extra virgin olive oil.
How have you eaten in recent years?
The quality of service and food has changed a lot especially since the return period after the pandemic. Let’s say from 2021. The quality of the food and service in general had dropped.
Even the service?
To give an example, I like to eat well and at a certain point I found myself having to eat lunch on an aperitif plate where all the chosen dishes were mixed together. In the past this was not the case. Obviously this also meant a reduction in the amount of food served.
Did the workers not notice anything during this period?
Apart from these shortcomings I mentioned, no one obviously suspected oil fraud of this type. But, well, let’s say that they all agreed on the decline in quality, so much so that we had alerted the ministry to issue a new call for assignments.
And was it done?
Yes, last year a new tender was announced following the investigations that were being carried out. In fact, from Friday (10 May, ed), the new company that has taken over the management of the refreshment point spaces is operational.
Why do you call it a refreshment point? Isn’t it a full-fledged canteen?
In reality, no, because the ministry chose not to have the canteen with all the fixed costs it implies and preferred to have the presence of this cafeteria where the meal vouchers that the ministry provides to employees can be spent.
How’s it going with the new management?
Unfortunately I wasn’t there for family reasons, but some colleagues told me that before the lunch break someone jokingly said “And now who’s going to be the guinea pig?”. But these were just jokes, personally I haven’t tried it yet.
In recent years, have you had the opportunity to meet the owner of the company that managed the bar?
Yes, in particular there had been meetings before the lockdown in which the problem of closing the offices and all in-person activities arose. He was very worried and said that he didn’t think he should close anything.
Many restaurant businesses have suffered during the pandemic.
There is also another aspect to analyze. In the past we had a thousand employees, but with the lack of turnover we reached around 600 and this certainly also had an impact on the revenue of the internal refreshment point we have. To this, however, I would add that they have done nothing to build customer loyalty and to give some quality to the service. So much so that until now many employees have brought lunch from home or otherwise organized themselves to eat.
How long does the new company’s contract last?
Usually tenders of this type last 3+3 years, also because the companies that enter then assume the responsibility of carrying out works before being operational and therefore ask for contracts of such duration that allow them to recover the expenses incurred. As per practice, there is a “testing commission” which gave the final approval to the contract with the new company.
Has anyone ever felt sick after having lunch at a bar?
I can’t be sure of this. Maybe someone was there, but no reports were received.
