Friendly Italian hired on the spot at pizzeria

Alessandro Fantoni, owner of Gina's Italian Kitchen pictured with waitress Veronica Fioravantie. Photo / Chris Loufte

"At Gina's we love people who say 'hi darling'."

One of Auckland's favourite Italian restaurants has come to the rescue of Luca Cicioni, the Italian tourist who lasted one day in his forklift job after saying "hi darling" to his female boss.

Cicioni, who feared being unable to fund his working holiday in New Zealand, has been made an unconditional offer by Gina's Italian Kitchen after the Herald on Sunday spoke to owner Alessandro Fantoni, pictured with waitress Veronica Fioravantie.

Fantoni, who has owned the fun-loving Symonds St trattoria for 18 years, says it would be "ridiculous" for Cicioni to be out of a job simply for being "a friendly Italian" - and last night offered to hire his countryman on the spot.

"Saying 'hi darling' would be him just being friendly. I like him already," Fantoni said. "Luca seems like a good, nice Italian man and I would love to offer him a job, we would love to have Luca come and work with us. Get him to call me.

"The main reason people come to Gina's, and most of our customers are women, is because we are informal and friendly.

"If that comment was the reason he was fired on his first day, then that's PC gone mad. Where I come from, you look people in the eyes when you talk to them, it's a sign of respect. But if you look some people in the eyes these days, they can take it as you are being aggressive. It's crazy how people take offence at things."

Last night Cicioni told the Herald on Sunday he was shocked and humbled by Fantoni's job offer and called him immediately.

"This makes me feel very emotional, this is a big surprise. Such kindness is not a normal thing to happen," Cicioni said.

The Italian was on his first day working for an Auckland branch of Gerard Roofs when he got lost during his break. Approaching the first person he saw, he greeted her with "hi darling, can you help me?" not knowing she was his manager.

He said she became visibly angry and told him he'd be in trouble with the management. Cicioni believes it was the key reason for his dismissal. His recruiter denied that, but acknowledged the company had complained about the comment and his communication skills.