I stopped breathing when I saw this just now.

A restaurant, Pigalle, received a crass review about their Thanksgiving experience on their Facebook Page.

Instead of using even-tempered crisis management techniques, like

• Taking the conversation offline
• Asking for more detailed information so that they could get to the bottom of the issue
• Apologizing
• Offering some enticing, genuine incentive to try them out again
• Expressing regret
• Trying to turn lemons into lemonade

They just ripped the poster a new one, very disgustingly, online. In effect, they committed PR suicide online, for all the world to see and record for all time. Well done, Pigalle. Boston.eater.com has the full story, with the screen shots to prove it. Once I got there all I saw was this, admittedly inflammatory series of posts:

 

This quote alarms me the most: 

In a series of angry responses apparently from Chef/Owner Marc Orfaly, Pigalle opened up with a “hey sandy , go f*** your self! if you have any questions on how to proceed, please call me at 617 *** ****.” It only got better:

“you must enjoy vomit you bitch if you know how much it tastes like. secondly, if you had any clue about eating out, or balls, you would of informed your server you were unhappy with some thing, while at the restaurant , not on face book…………again fuck you, dont come back”

Then Orfaly switched to a mocking offer to give back her money (“sorry if you can’t afford it , and i don’t want your money ”) and ended with a classy fat joke:

“Also Judging by how fat your face looks , you most Likely shouldn’t be eating anymore desserts anyway Sweet pea xo”

After all the interviews, all the research, all the case studies I’ve done for Online Reputation Management For Dummies, this one takes the cake.

Social Media is supposed to be a love fest around shared interests, or at the very least, a place where we can listen to what people are saying about our brands and learn from the experience.

Was Pigalle’s response business suicide or will it be forgotten? Please scroll down to the comments below and share your two cents!

 

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