Lessons From Amy's Baking Company: Six Things You Should Never Do On Social Media

By now you have likely read or heard about Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro’s “epic” meltdown on Facebook. The restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona is owned by Samy and Amy Bouzaglo, and was recently featured on an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares”. Apparently, the Bouzaglo’s were such a “nightmare” to work with Ramsay fired them. Customers aren’t exactly fond of Amy’s either; reviews on Yelp YELP +0.16% call the restaurant “horrible” and accuse the owners of stealing waitresses’ tips. To make matters even worse, the Bouzaglos are notorious for their outrageous responses to these reviews on Yelp.Yesterday’s incident with Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro has generated a lot of conversation about what not to do on social media as a brand. But underneath the typical commentary about bad brand behavior and reputation management are tips anyone (yes, even you) can takeaway from how the Bouzaglos have handled social media the past few years.
1. Don’t Reply To Everyone
Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro came under fire after Reddit discovered the episode of Amy’s on Kitchen Nightmares and began to lash out at the bakery on Reddit. In the episode the Bouzaglos are seen swearing at customers and staff, and soon the backlash moved to the Bakery’s Facebook FB +0.93% page. The Bouzaglos quickly jumped on Reddit, making fake accounts to reply to nearly every comment about their restaurant, as well as not only responding to comments on their Facebook page. Not only were the responses incredibly defensive, but in all caps, facilitating even more discussion and backlash. Had the Bouzaglos selectively responded to clarify the story (or even firmly defend their actions), there would likely have been much less backlash and aggression as they kept the fire going.
2. Don’t Respond to Trolls

Believe it or not, many people who comment on forums like Reddit or spam Facebook pages are trolls. (I know – this is a bit shocking.) When I first started writing I learned quickly to not “feed the trolls,” as that also adds fuel to the fire. Over the past few days the Bouzaglos made the classic mistake of doing exactly the opposite, which not only facilitated more aggression but also made them look like even easier targets to attack, as they clearly don’t understand social media. Not only is it critical not to reply to everyone (especially those who are critical of your content), but it’s especially important to ignore trolls, as they will – as the Bouzaglos know – only make your life hell.
3. Don’t React Right Away
If you do feel the need to respond to a critical comment – wait. You may be fuming, defensive, and angry that someone has insulted your hard work (or even just your thoughts.) Critical comments are personal and understandably can hurt your feelings – but if you respond when you’re fuming, defensive, and angry you will likely only make the situation worse for your brand (whether that’s your personal brand or your actual business.) Consider waiting 10 minutes, an hour, or even until the next day to respond. In situations where I really don’t know what to say, I like to ask a friend whether my response is appropriate – or if I should even send one at all. In many aggravated situations, silence is severely underrated.
4. Reddit is Not for the Weak
Reddit has become increasingly mainstream – especially after a few recent AMAs with high-profile people, such as the President. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the culture of Reddit conversations and threads. All too often people or business owners will be mentioned (often critically) and feel a need to jump into the conversation to defend their project or brand. This, of course, is a bad idea – that is, unless you have thick skin. As demonstrated by those criticizing Amy’s, Redditors can be brutally honest. (In fact, the original thread about Amy’s was taken down as it escalated to the level of being a “witch hunt” against the owners of Amy’s.) If someone mentions you or your business on Reddit, seriously consider whether you can and want to get involved in the discussion.
5. Don’t Insult People
As all of our mothers said growing up: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Of course, while others on the Internet are being rude, aggressive and critical, it’s hard not to be a jerk, too. But the Bouzaglos often responded to criticism (especially on Yelp) with unnecessary insults and derogatory language. It may be hard to handle feedback about your thoughts or work, but responding with personal attacks is always unprofessional. As any career coach, guidance counselor or even your boss would say now: It’s an important skill in life to be able to process criticism without taking it personally.
6. Learn When To Walk Away
Finally, when facing unwelcome feedback on social media, it’s important to know when to walk away. Not every mention deserves a response, not every blog post about you needs a comment, and not every Reddit thread needs an explanation. Even when there is heated debate about something you or your business did, it’s important to know when to say something (if you say something at all) and when to walk away from the conversation to avoid instigating more backlash. Often, your responses will be the only thing adding fuel to the fire. If you walk away, you’ll be surprised how quickly the negative conversation dies down – and people leave you alone.
Update: 7. Don’t lie
Earlier this afternoon Amy’s updated their Facebook page with the following post: “Obviously our Facebook, YELP, Twitter and Website have been hacked. We are working with the local authorities as well as the FBI computer crimes unit to ensure this does not happen again. We did not post those horrible things. Thank You Amy &Samy”. This not only violates many of the previous things you should not do on social media, but also lends to one last tip: don’t lie. If it’s not already obvious you are lying, it will end up backfiring and ruining your reputation. (That is, if like Amy’s, you haven’t already done so by making the previous social media mistakes.)  ==========================================================================================  Explode Your INCOME. Make more money with a powerful online Home Business. You can earn a Full time Income on a Part Time basis while keeping your current Job. When you Love the Idea of Network Marketing and Residual Income, but HATE Cold Calling & Having to Pitch your Friends and Family... You Earn cash while Surfing the Web. Earn cash for Referrals with Trusted Programs. Check it out:

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