As business owners, we’ve all had bad days. Really bad days… but no bad day you’ve had can compare to the epic meltdown that occurred with Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique and Bistro on Facebook after recently appearing on the popular Gordon Ramsey show, Kitchen Nightmares. The couple, Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, of Scottsdale, AZ seem to have gone on a social media bender shortly after their episode aired taking to their Facebook page in a curse-word laden (not for the faint of heart and definitely R-rated) rant which ran the course of several hours.

As the hours went by, and more people fired back comments, the posts grew more and more angry and laced with four letter words.

From there, the couple attempted to Photoshop a comment thread from Reddit claiming police were contacting commenters. Savvy users called them out on the fakery and ignited the couple into a fury. Today, only 24 hours after their social media meltdown they are claiming their Facebook, Yelp page and website were all hacked and have deleted all the posts. Then a new “clean” page was created with another post in the same angry, all-cap style. It only takes watching the episode to realize the posts on Facebook were in the same voice and tone.

So what lessons can we learn from this kerfuffle that go beyond the obvious – don’t use profanity and scream at your customers in social media? We’d inject a few tips to help keep your calm when sh*& hits the fan on social media:

Listen first. Respond second – Amy and Samy participated in a mud slinging back-and-forth unlike one we’ve ever seen outside of the Jerry Springer show. To avoid this, don’t immediately respond. Take a few moments to see what is being said and if it’s just a few people or many. Then calmly respond in a non-defensive and non-judgmental way. Social media is for building relationships, not alienating people.  Amy and Samy kick people out of their restaurant and have fired over 100 servers, so they may have some issues with this one.

Be honest – Connie Moyle, PR Manager advises, “These days, no one cares or believes in ‘official statements’ full of corporate-speak and canned talking points. It’s all about the one-on-one communication that happens with those they trust, and you need to regain that trust. How? By letting them know 1) that you understand why they’re upset, and 2) what you’re doing to resolve the issue. If your company made a mistake, a heartfelt, straightforward apology can go a long way. Don’t over-promise, but do let them know what you’re doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

What other tips would you add to our list?

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