Social Media and Business: Sometimes Silence is Golden

When a friend of mine told me he was considering a restaurant job he saw advertised, the first thing I did was look it up on Facebook and check the reviews. I was shocked to see this:

Click here to see the entire public thread on Facebook.

To be clear; this is the restaurant’s PUBLIC Facebook page. On one hand, I can appreciate that the owner left the post up. On the other hand, her response was beyond awful. I read it, saying out loud, “NOOOooooooo!! Donnnnnnnn’t gooooooo there…” But she did. Boy, did she ever. In her very first sentence, while she critiqued the reviewer/former employee’s use of the English language, she got her own grammar wrong! Then she went on to not only insult this person, she insulted ALL of the “youth of today”! I was awestruck. How could a grown person not know how completely and utterly wrong this was??

I don’t know if this woman is a good manager or not, or how the food in this establishment tastes, but I do know two things:  

1. I would not want to work for someone who behaves this way.
2. I don’t want to eat there.

In her book, Social Media Etiquette for Business: 100 Ways to Communicate with Grace and Class,

Jennifer Kane writes, “You will have greater success, support and longevity in social media if you balance being calculated with being kind. And good etiquette is the key to achieving that balance.” This is wonderful advice in all aspects of life, but especially for businesses engaging in social media activity.

If someone says something to offend you, wait until your temper has calmed down before you react. People will rarely fault you for something you didn't say. Calm down, write a response that says everything you want to say, then burn it. The old adage, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all,” has been around a long time for good reason.