Amy's Baking Company crashes and burns on Facebook after Kitchen Nightmares show
Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique and Bistro leapt to defend its brand. And it failed spectacularly.
Chef Gordon Ramsay was asked in to help Sam and Amy Bouzaglos save their failing business, and the advice was filmed for his show Kitchen Nightmares, airing last Friday.
Unusually for Ramsay, he quit the show, saying that he could not help the two owners because they were "incapable of listening".
The couple took to Facebook to respond to criticism and comments that appeared on the company's Facebook Page. Unfortunately, their comments elicited more negative feedback and derision, comments on Reddit, and negative reviews on Yelp.
The original comments and responses to criticism have now been removed from the Facebook page.
However, the Buzzfeed post gives you a good idea of the tone and manner of the original posts. Many comments are trolling messages that should not have been responded to on a public forum such as Facebook or Reddit.
What made things worse for the Bouzaglos was their response to the criticism levelled against them. The company Facebook page was filled with equally critical and abusive language directed at the commentators.
Amy and Sam took to Facebook yesterday to declare that their Facebook, Yelp, Twitter account, and website had been hacked.
In an attempt to disassociate itself from the abuse, the restaurant opened another "clean" Facebook page and posted this update. (Update follows)
There are updates and activity over on the new Facebook page from the owners. Unfortunately, some of the latest posts seem to be crafted to further encourage the trolls.
“WE ARE NOT CRAZY! YOU ARE ALL THE CRAZY ONES! We are beautiful, sane people who have all of our dreams right here accomplished in this business. NOT YOU NOT GORDON RAMSAY NOT ANYONE CAN CALL ME CRAZY! You are all little internet punks who don't know what good food is!! YOU DONT NOW (sic) HOW TO EAT!”
Interestingly enough, the language used on the new "clean" Facebook page uses exactly the same language, grammar, and use of upper-case letters as the "hacked" comments on the original page, which have now been removed.
Social media users can sniff out a lie as soon as it is posted. In a forum as public as this, silence might be the best option at the moment until the dust settles in Scottsdale, Arizona.
All of this negative feedback, action, and reaction has done one positive thing for the brand's original Facebook page. Its Facebook Likes have zoomed up from 2,800 to over 51,500.
Perhaps there truly is no such thing as bad publicity.
Update: The new Facebook page has been removed and updates on the original page point to a grand reopening and response to criticism leveled at it.