Amy’s Baking Company And Its Reputation Management

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If you’ve been browsing our site and have read our latest articles, then you are aware of the Kitchen Nightmares Season 6 finale that focused on Amy’s Baking Company; a locally owned Scottsdale, Arizona eatery. Even TV viewers who normally don’t tune in to cooking shows seem to have been drawn to the drama laden episode which showed flaws and highly questionable management tactics by the diner’s two owners: Samy and Amy Bouzaglo.

Following a debacle that highlighted everything from store-bought frozen food (that was advertised as “fresh”) to wait staff not receiving the tips that customers left, it seemed that the future of ABC would be short lived. In case you haven’t heard of the scenario, here’s a screenshot (taken from Friday, June 14th) of Google News Search Results for Amy’s Baking Company.

Amys Baking Company Google News Query

Kitchen Nightmares Season 6 Finale

From the beginning of the final episode of this year’s Kitchen Nightmares featuring Gordon Ramsay, the owners stated they had been plagued by negative online reviews from “haters” and bloggers who had criticized the diner’s food as well as the owner’s treatment of customers. When Ramsay entered the restaurant and took a look at the desserts on offer, he was genuinely impressed. Another rare moment for the series came when the chef inspected the on-site refrigeration area; noticing that everything was stored securely and properly labeled. However, the wheels started coming off once he tasted the restaurant’s main dishes, which he described as undercooked (pizza dough) and not good.

By the time the episode had concluded, the husband and wife who own Amy’s Baking Company had completely come off as inept and unable to absorb any type of criticism. For the first time in the show’s six years, Ramsay decided to give up on attempting to save the diner and ordered his crew to remove all the video recording equipment that is typically set up for the week-long visit in which the chef usually invests quite a bit of time and money into a struggling business in order to save it.

ABC’s Reputation Management

As soon as the show aired last month, news stories and blog posts from around the world surfaced on the Internet; criticizing the company and its methods. Due to an onslaught of negative publicity, ABC decided to temporarily close its doors as it focused on re-branding its food and image. Ironically, bookings soared after the season finale was televised, as customers were eager to dine at the restaurant just to verify for themselves if it was as bad as it appeared on TV (or to witness one of the owners’ meltdowns in person).

After a short commercial was released to the public (ABC hired a PR firm for this), the owners may have thought everything would work itself out and that the flow of customers would continue to be steady, but overnight fame (or infamy in this case) can only peak customers’ curiosity for so long; then you are stuck with the same issues you had prior to so much exposure.

Unfortunately, that’s where Amy’s Baking Company seems to be now – somewhere near the end of an unsuccessful attempt to explain away video footage that is highly conclusive and tends to affirm a viewer’s long-term opinion instantly.

Sadly, the latest queries for Google News show that the most viable option for the company now may be to sign a contract for its own reality show. Due to how many networks focus on drama and problematic situations, the deal could result in the restaurant (and its owners) maintaining their bad habits in order to satisfy a segment of viewers who enjoy watching disorder, yelling, and outlandish behavior regardless of whether it pertains to the food industry.

Only time will tell when it comes to whether Amy’s Baking Company will make a comeback. In this particular situation – with so many members of the public already aware of the restaurant’s actions – it will likely take a long-term effort in order to save the business.

Dealing With Negative Online Reviews

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Ever since opinion based journalism has existed, negative reviews have haunted businesses in small to large markets who have had to deal with the eventual repercussions of a less than impressive customer experience being laid bare. With the invention of the Internet and particularly social media, this danger has increased significantly due to the amount of online readers who often check out review sites before engaging in business; regardless of whether it’s related to deciding on one’s next cable provider or dining out. The age of social media has made it possible for non-journalists to have a massive influence (which at times can be even greater than well regarded “critics”) on how public perception is swayed.

Hire A Reputation Management Company?

If you’re a public relations officer for a large corporation, then chances are you’ve dealt with a reputation management company in some form as a part of your duties. While going this route can offer some support and peace of mind in receiving qualified assistance, it’s by far the least effective way of dealing with negative online reviews for businesses that don’t have the luxury of a large budget; not to mention that many of the steps reputation management companies take can be performed by the individual or business at a significantly reduced cost.

One of the main issues with hiring someone else to deal with your online problems is precisely that; it promotes a hands-off approach while giving the reigns to a representative who is often more interested in charging an hourly rate than actually dealing with and solving the issue at hand.

Address The Problem

Assuming a negative review is receiving attention and making its way toward the first page of search engine results, one of the most straight forward methods of dealing with the review is to address the problem directly. For example, a company could directly reply to the reviewer and offer a solution to the problem or address events that transpired along with a new approach that will be taken in the future to avoid a recurrence of the situation. For minor issues, this can generally be an effective method for diffusing a negative review and getting public perception back on your side.

Search Engine Blues

Although not quite as common in 2013 as it has been in years past, a company’s reputation can sometimes be sidetracked by a single inflammatory article, review or rant that may be completely irrelevant and even false. What’s worse is that depending on where the review was published and related keywords, your company or service could find its way at the very top of search engines regardless of whether there is actual validity to the negative claim. There are few things on the Internet that are more intimidating with the potential of damaging your business than fabricated criticism.

In these cases, the first step toward getting back on your feet may be to solicit a recall or complete removal of the article/review in question. However, this approach will sometimes prove fruitless due to a website’s internal policy, so the next logical move is to begin getting your name or company reputation back in good graces by ensuring there is alternative, more informative content available for readers. This does not mean that a false review should be published, but rather that keywords that were used to get the negative criticism to rank so highly should be targeted in order to move previously published content or new write-ups toward the top of online search queries.

It is definitely tough to deal with all negative feedback and each circumstance should be evaluated on a case by case basis. However, with the proper tools and a good amount of prudence, negative online feedback can be successfully addressed and even result in a long term positive boost for your business if handled correctly.

Introduction To Reputation Management

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In the old days, when bad news came out about an individual or business, resources on how to deal with the problem or “get the word out” were limited. In most cases, the specific problem could be localized and dealt with on a word of mouth basis and/or by a gradual rectification of previous actions. However, today’s virtual world is much different, with even the most minute of circumstances finding themselves communicated in real time across the Internet. Regardless of whether you represent a large firm or are simply the victim of a rumor, social media websites, live television, search engines and other outlets can significantly harm your reputation and make it difficult for you to conduct business or even improve personal relationships. Here at Reputable.com, our aim is to provide readers with relevant content on different situations that are a direct result of reputation sabotage, useful tools to assist you in dealing with problems, and create an open line of communication with our readership.

What Is Reputation Management?

According to the official Wikipedia site, “Reputation management is the understanding or influencing of an individual’s or business’s reputation. It was originally coined as a public relations term, but advancement in computing, the internet and social media made it primarily an issue of search results. Although it is often associated with ethical grey areas, such as astroturfing review sites, censoring negative complaints or using SEO tactics to game the system and influence results, there are also ethical forms of reputation management, such as responding to customer complaints, asking sites to take down incorrect information and using online feedback to influence product development.”

Often, it is best to be open and responsive whenever possible; as this can be the best way to get your own message across while increasing exposure for your business. Personally, I have a friend who is in charge of a local restaurant and received a high profile negative review that was posted (and later re-posted) on several social media websites. Before she knew it, diner levels had dropped while even the most loyal regulars inquired about the reason behind the “poor service.” Rather than getting upset about the criticism, she took it to heart, offered an apology to the reviewer, met with staff, and implemented changes before the situation got out of hand. Unfortunately this resulted in one long-time waiter losing his job, but it turned out the experience wasn’t isolated to a single reviewer and that customers had been “putting up with the bad attitude for years.” By acknowledging a problem, the restaurant owner was able to quickly assuage the hurt feelings of returning diners and even attracted new business thanks to time-tested menu selections.

The Individual

But what should be done in cases where social media and other methods are used to ruin an individual’s reputation? Believe it or not, this happens for reasons that many of us would not deem pertinent. For example, “x-person” offended someone else through written or verbal words, or another person may get the royal negative treatment for actions that may not have been initially thought of as harmful. When these circumstances arise, seeing your name at the top of search engines tagged along with negative feedback can go a long way to damaging one’s self esteem and can even ruin a career.

So from this point forward, our aim here will be to publish content on turning a negative into a positive – for both corporate and personal situations. Although some go as far as to hire expensive consulting services to mend fences, proper measures can often be taken with little or even no overhead.

Thanks for taking the time to read through our introductory article. We look forward to communicating more of our insight and knowledge here at Reputable.com.

Why Reputation Management Matters

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During the days when the internet was just getting traction, a company’s reputation usually relied on word of referrals, press releases, coverage from newspapers and rating agencies like the Better Business Bureau. At the time, it was normal only for large companies with deep pockets to hire their own PR staff or employ expensive public relations firms to manage their public opinion. Now that the internet has been widely adopted by the public, large corporations, small businesses and even individuals are quickly realizing that they are being forced to manage their online reputation or risk face an internet backlash.

Small business owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo know this all too well. The couple, who own Amy’s Baking Company, recently appeared on the popular TV show, “Kitchen Nightmares”, starring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey. After being uncooperative on the show, Mr. Ramsey “fired” the two owners amid the drama.

A decade ago, the Bouzaglo’s TV escapades may have simply ended the next day around the company water cooler. Unfortunately for the couple, with the new internet paradigm, the unscripted TV drama quickly escalated to the internet, after fans of the show began posting on the company’s website. Rather than trying to de-escalate the situation, the Bouzaglos began attacking the posters, which in turn drew a larger counter-attack and spiraled into a vicious cycle that eventually resulted in a full public relations meltdown for the restaurant owners. A post-mortem shows their Yelp listing decimated with hundreds of 1-star reviews, a play-by-play analysis on the evening news and a case study in what happens when reputation management goes wrong.

Though the Bouzaglo’s are an extreme example, restaurant owners and small business owners for years have started feeling the heat of managing their reputation. One nasty review left on a review site or any number of consumer complaint boards such as Rip Off Report can directly affect how a customer views that company and may lead business elsewhere. With market data showing that the large majority of consumers to Google a company before utilizing their product or services, it has become imperative for businesses to control how they are seen by both existing and potential customers. Even an individual with an unfortunate same name as a convicted felon (think Bernie Madoff) may find themselves the poor recipient of unwanted attention.

Reputation management is essentially dictating how companies and individuals want to be seen by others on the internet. The task of doing so has often been mystifying, often with references to search engine optimization and social media. The truth is that anyone with time and effort is capable of learning how to manage their search engine results.

Here at Reputable.com, our engineers have been working with search engines since the early days of Google and understand search better than most. While we can tell you that total control of search results may be unrealistic, it is possible to manage your results and reputation so that you can put your best foot forward.

We’re looking forward to showing you how.