Aussies weigh in on Applebee's situation

US restaurant Applebee's embarrassing Facebook fiasco has become a case study for how to ruin your reputation on social media.

Last month the restaurant fired one of its waitresses after posting the receipt she received from a pastor on which was written her excuse for failing to tip on Facebook: "I give God 10%," she wrote, "why do you get 18?"

(Remember tipping is "compulsory cultural practice" in the US, and the wages are so low that waitresses depend on them to make rent).

Applebee's claimed that the waitress violated the privacy of a customer and violated one of the terms of her contract.

Naturally, social media users did not take kindly to this and many an hour was spent criticising the company, posting comments on its Facebook page and raging about it on Twitter. One lawyer even offered to represent the waitress pro bono for wrongful dismissal.

One user wrote: "What happens on the internet stays on the internet. This was deleted by Applebee's shortly after this disaster went viral."

Another user wrote: "The internet has already recorded that you have no qualms posting the exact same customer information when it is good feedback and not a snide comment by a horrible person. When a lawyer gets wind of this, I would get ready to grab my ankles."

Had Applebee's been wise and kept its mouth shut that's where this may have ended. Well, probably not, but they might have escaped with their reputation not entirely in ruins.

Because on Saturday night it decided to respond to the continuing outrage by commenting on its own Facebook post at 2.53am: "We wish this situation didn't happen…Our franchisee has apologised to the Guest and has taken disciplinary action with the Team Member for violating their Guest's right to privacy".


Applebee's posted this statement on its Facebook. It didn't help things.

As you can imagine, that comment failed to help anything. The outrage grew to blind anger.

One user wrote: "Wow… PR nightmare, what idiot thought posting this contrite Facebook update was a good idea? I think you should consider firing your social media marketing person, too."

More than 10,000 comments had been recorded on Applebee's Facebook page, according to journalist R.L Stoller who has documented the entire fiasco on his blog.

The comments pointed to the fact that it was more than a little bit hypocritical for Applebee's to fire the waitress who posted the photo of the receipt on her Facebook page, considering that it had itself posted a receipt in which a patron's full name was put on display less than a month earlier.

Let me repeat this: Applebee's fired a waitress for allegedly violating a guests' privacy, less than a month after it had done the same, publicly, on Facebook.


The image to the right that was posted by Applebee's disappeared around the time they fired the waitress. Thankfully, the internet took screenshots for posterity.

After firing the waitress, the company conveniently decided to delete the photo. Clearly, they didn't consider that someone had already taken a screenshot of the image, which you can find below, courtesy of blog, "If You Can't Afford To Tip".

It was also discovered that Applebee's had hidden or deleted negative user comments, but it seemed there were so many it simply couldn't keep up. Users upset at having their criticisms censored continued posting on the Applebee's Facebook page.

It gets worse. For some reason whoever was administrating Applebee's Facebook account decided it would be a good idea to respond to people's complaints. At 3am.

First the administrator tried to defend the company's decision by posting a lengthy explanation for what happened and why it was justified to fire the waitress in question. Then they decided to copy and paste the explanation over, and over and over again in a fervent attempt to reply to every single person who criticised them publicly on Facebook.

Naturally, users started to show off their copy and paste prowess by continually pasting the same complains over and over again on its page.

Then it started to pick fights with people publicly on Facebook.

"People can say a lot but it doesn't mean its true," the Applebee's representative wrote in response to a user's post. "I really do understand why you're upset, Manuel, I'm upset over the situation too. Sometimes it hard to let people know just how much you really care behind a computer screen in a Facebook comment, [sic]. Thanks again for caring so much about Applebee's workers."

"No one's asking me to comment at 5am," Applebee's wrote in response to another post. "I am because I care, we care. I totally understand why you're upset and hate that I can't fix it."

After that Applebee's turned the comment it had posted on its own update into an actual status update, presumably in an attempt to have the final word and hoping in vain that everyone would just shut up and go away.

The hostility by now is at an all time high.

Hundreds of thousands of comments criticising Applebee's followed. At some time between then and 9.00am yesterday Applebee's had deleted its original post, once again ignoring the possibility that somebody might have saved it for posterity.

It then lied about deleting any posts, writing: "no posts have been deleted". It was also still picking fights with users.

As of 10.25pm last night, more than 35,000 comments about the incident have amassed on the page, mostly negative.

One of the latest comments on the page reads: "I for one am enjoying Applebee's PR suicide."

Touche.

Applebee's is humiliated, and hundreds of thousands of people are threatening to boycott the brand. Hundreds of pages have been set up in support of the waitress including "Like us if you pledge to take your business to whoever hires [name omitted]" and "boycott Applebee's".

The worst part about all of this is Applebee's doesn't seem to realise how bad it is making things for itself.

Businesses take heed. Read Applebee's Facebook page and do the exact opposite.

http://www.news.com.au

Comments

[The Last Archimedean]

It's never the initial crime that gets you, it's the cover up afterwards. Don't take MY word for it, ask Richard M. Nixon.

Applebee's best move at this point would be to publicly hire back the waitress and give her a raise, then let this whole mess sit until it becomes old news.

[Dhamp]

They were right to fire her, given what they have said.

She breached her contract, end of discussion.

However, every thing else they've done is godawful.

[Fluttershy]

This is the Media spokesperson's own Retail Hell. They can't agree with the majority, they have to give cupcakey answers.

I would HATE to be in their shoes right now

[Larry Berry]

"They were right to fire her, given what they have said.

She breached her contract, end of discussion."

It would be if they hadn't done the same thing themselves previously with good tips/complimentary customers. If they were indeed right to fire her, they would show that they fired everyone that posted pics of the good tips/complimentary ones.

[The Last Archimedean]

They were very wrong to fire her. I've heard 3 different explanations of why they did it, none of which hold up. They weren't obligated to fire her, it states clearly in the rules that she could have been let off with a warning.

And since many other waitresses had done similar things and hadn't been fired, you have to go by precendent. If the other waitresses weren't fired for the same thing, you can't single this one out.

The person who should have been fired is Pastor Bell. Whatever church she's with should disown her.

[Nomnom]

Perhaps Applebee's will learn that it shouldn't have sided with asshole customers like Alois Bell. Also they should fire the dumbass who is charge of their Facebook page.

This is so brilliant. I'm glad it's blowing up in their faces. Sad that I am missing it.

[Quartz]

The sad thing is, boycotting Applebees won't do a thing to their bottom profit line. Boycotting them just impacts their employees for the worst. If you impact their profit margin, guess who will lose their jobs, the waiters and waitresses who work there.

I don't know what the right answer is, since boycotting won't punish the people (Alois and the Applebees management at that branch and the idiot executives that stood in support of firing the girl).

It does show consumer opinion, and if Applebees is smart enough to be receptive to that, then the boycott will be a good thing, but if they're stubborn and stupid as they have already shown themselves to be, those who are punished by the boycott will be the ones who least deserve and can least afford that punishment.

[Chicajojobe]

@Quartz,

First of all Applebee's sucks donkey dick, and I suspect donkey dick would taste better than what I ate the last them I went in 2005. One of their Bowl Creations or whatever they were calling them. Anyway it was awful.

Secondly, the same argument was made against calls for boycotts to the restaurants who took part in the Obamacare douchebaggery, and in fact they did have an impact:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100280693/ObamacareBashing_Hurts_Papa_John039s_Applebee039s

Bottomline, I feel for the employees but that doesn't obligate me to continue to monetarily support a business whose way of conducting business disgusts me.

[Nomnom]

The other problem with the boycott is that Applebee's is a franchise, and I don't think it would really be fair to other franchise owners to boycott all Applebee's - just the ones owned by the Applebee's in question. It's kind of like during the BP Oil Spill all the BP gas stations started seeing drops in sales even though they aren't affiliated with BP Oil.

I do wish there was some way to punish Alois Bell that isn't illegal, though. >_>

[Perky]

Personally it is no trouble for me to boycott Applebee's since I don't really like there food and the only time I have been has been when going out with friends and that is what the group has decided on. But I know many of the ladies who I go out with on Ladies night out--we probably wont be going back for a long time.

[Sandman2010]

I can't remember the last time I ate at an Applebees, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one here on the East Coast. I'll take my money, and waitress/waiter's tip, elsewhere.

[Quartz]

@ Chicajojobe,

Yes. I'm not sure how anything I said contradicts what you said. I was just stating the reality of the situation, and as I acknowledged in my previous post, sometimes boycotts do have a positive effect.

[Ted the 'flayer]

My dad and I went to an applebee's one time. The waittress kept refusing to take my order (when she was taking my dad's order right beside me), wouldn't refill my drink, and wouldn't interact with me in any way. I don't know what that was about.

[LegendaryOdin]

It's all well and good that they are committing PR suicide and whatnot. My only problem is that all the people who intend to boycott the brand may very well cost more good employees their positions. Hopefully it doesn't get that far : (

[Skittles]

@Dhamp they were wrong to fire her the contracts legality is questionable at best and would likely fall apart in court. Why you seem to think playing devil's advocate makes you look smart I don't know, but no doubt Applebee's will be looking for a new PR guy soon enough.