Taking a stand

So - I work in Tel Aviv, in an area where there aren't so many restaurants that I like, and that I can afford, so I have been splitting my lunches between two places. The first place makes grilled meat sandwiches (cold cuts on a whole wheat roll, "toasted" and quite yummy). The second place is a small Italian place, where I can get a personal pizza (and whole wheat IS an option). What I like about both of these is that they food is good, whole wheat is a very important option for me, and both places are much less expensive than standard Tel Aviv lunch options.

This week, I was in the Italian place on Monday, and I saw a guy sitting in the kitchen (not preparing food, but in the kitchen anyway) smoking a cigarette. Right after I saw that, the manager came to the table with my food. I said to the manager "Please tell me that I didn't just see somebody smoking in the kitchen". His response was (in Hebrew) "Ein Matzav" - which translates to "Not a chance!". I asked him to please go check, just to make sure. Nothing else was said, nor (so I thought), needed.

I was back on Thursday. This time, while I was eating, I looked towards the kitchen again. The other guy that had been smoking on Monday wasn't there, but the manager (remember him? He's the one whose automatic response whas that there was No Way someone had been smoking in the kitchen!) - that same manager was in the doorway to kitchen - facing in - and smoking a cigarette!

When I finished the pizza and went to the counter, I said to the manager "A couple of days ago, when I asked if it was possible that I saw somebody smoking in the kitchen, you told me that it was not possible at all. Now I see that it is more than possible". He at least had the sense to look embarrassed and not argue with me. I then told him that maybe when I can be sure that people don't smoke in the kitchen where the food is being made then I can come back and eat there again. He said "I promise - it will never happen again!", but unfortunately, I can only believe that it won't happen when he sees that I'm there.

It's very possible that if he had answered differently the first time I saw someone smoking there, that I wouldn't have been so upset and turned off by the place. If he had said on Monday - "You're right - I'll tell him to stop", I could have accepted his a bit more on face value. But when his automatic response was "Ein Matzav!" - as if the concept was completely unthinkable - it made his own doing all the more hypocritical.

Oh well, I'll miss the pizza but not the bullshit...