Competitor Maltese Ice Cream Van Tailgates Until you enter TM
In the latest installment of an ongoing sticky saga, a Maltese ice-cream truck has been caught tailgating and giving a local competitor the middle finger as the traditional ice-cream tune ends with a bang.
Stef Debattista, who owns ‘The Little Dessert Van’, went live on Facebook yesterday around noon, with the video already getting over 3,000 views, as he seemed to be being chased by another ice cream truck.
“I was being brought and followed from Mistra Beach to Mellieħa Beach – he was grabbing me in a dangerous way and putting his ice cream music on full volume constantly,” said Debattista to Lovin Malta.
“He was coming to Mistra as I was leaving Mistra already by selling some ice creams. He said, ‘Don’t go anywhere’ and I thought he was joking and laughed. It is clear that he was angry,” Debattista said.
“Thankfully a Transport Malta officer pulled us over to see what was happening if it wasn’t for the TM officer who was following me all day I think.”
“He was acting crazy, not how you should act as an ice cream man who serves children,” he said, with the man also heard calling him.
The moment that a TM officer pulled over the two vans was also captured in Debattista’s live stream, as the officer tried to mediate the situation.
“The only reason for this is because I am his competitor. I have soft ice cream from the machine with three flavors and also a slush machine, and I change my menu regularly to keep it up to date,” he said.
On the live video, ‘La Gelateria Tanti’, which is the company that owns the van that was driving behind Debattista, is also seen leaving middle finger emojis as comments.
Lovin Malta spoke to Alex Tanti from Renato Tanti, who claimed that while he was not the one driving the van, there is more to the story than what the video shows.
“We have been having this fight with him for more than seven years, there was more to the story than that video shows,” said Tanti to Lovin Malta.
“My worker has been with him for a year and a half. He tries to scare my workers and they end up not wanting to work,” explained Tanti, who suggested that more happened before the live stream started.
“He is trying to give us a bad name, but it will not affect us because we have been here for 120 years, everyone knows what kind of people we are,” said Tanti to Lovin Malta.
“This is all childish to me, he is desperate to keep up with competitors like us,” he said.
Tanti also claimed that Debattista often tried to chase them and pass to give them the middle finger.
What do you make of this sticky situation?