# Epic facebook meltdown from Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341 "2013-05-14T19:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/201 "2013-05-17T20:41:58Z")
The customer is not always right. That’s true. There’s a whole website devoted to that concept. But what (S)Amy don’t get is that even when the customers aren’t right you have to treat them with respect – and if you’re getting large quantities of unhappy customers, the problem just might not be the customers. One of the first things publishers tell their authors is not to respond to negative reviews. It only makes things worse (as Anne Rice found out). Somebody needs to beat that into (S)Amy’s heads. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Skim the recent five star reviews on their [Yelp page](http://www.yelp.com/biz/amys-baking-company-scottsdale#hrid:c6GfpA9j5HAVJIbK6D50Vw). Some of them are hilarious. Oh, yeah! I am definitely going to get me some of that [pepper encrusted okra pelican corn sweet spicy sour turnip sea snail, totally not shipped from 500 miles away, ravioli](http://www.yelp.com/biz/amys-baking-company-scottsdale#hrid:UszRziYq7zcN0DoWpepp-g). Yum! > [@DCnDC](#): > > There’s an [awesome column about this](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/05/16/amys-baking-company-vs-the-entire-internet/) in yesterday’s Washington Post, complete with venn diagram. The Venn diagram makes the whole article. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/202 "2013-05-17T21:16:31Z")
The BatShitCrazy is strong in Amy. What more can one say? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/203 "2013-05-17T21:41:12Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Correct, it wasn’t mentioned on the show at all, but it was all over their Facebook before they claimed it was hacked. Is “we got hacked” the new “resigning to spend more time with family?” ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/204 "2013-05-17T21:53:00Z")
Or the “going to rehab for exhaustion”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/205 "2013-05-18T03:26:29Z")
Maybe I missed it, but what was the hoopla in 2010 with this restaurant? I was entertaining myself with the Yelp reviews, and found this: > [@](#): > > 8/11/2010 > > Aside from what I’ve read so far about the hoopla… here is my experience. I can definitely say that I was cautious but I was trying to stay open-minded. > > […] > > Samy comes by and starts chatting with us, he says that they have been in business for 3 years, he’s from Israel, how his wife is the chef, etc. etc. It almost seemed surreal since I kept thinking of how they were acting on the news, it was a completely different attitude. > > […] > Do I think the food was terrible? Not by any means, but I only had one dish. I think they were wrong (and definitely hurt themselves, by the way business looks) by lashing out at Joel, but I did feel welcomed while I was there. > > […] > My guess is that ABC has been hurting from all this and is trying to step up their game in customer service, in which I kinda felt bad for them, so I guess this experience was ‘A-OK’. Any background here? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/206 "2013-05-18T03:28:37Z")
Actually, to answer my own question, it looks like it starts from [this review](http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2010/08/ouch_todays_hard_lesson_on_yel.php). Wonder what the news bit was. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/207 "2013-05-18T05:09:50Z")
Crappy audio, but I finally found the [news piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nexQhKIx39Q) from 2010. The crazy is strong in these two. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/208 "2013-05-18T14:35:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wow. It just gets better and better. The owners take the tips? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Anyone know the Arizona law on this? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/209 "2013-05-18T14:45:45Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Anyone know the Arizona law on this? Not entirely sure about Arizona law, but Federal law makes it illegal unless it’s assessed to the customer as some sort of service charge. I would be shocked if Arizona didn’t fall into line with this. Even if there’s a stated no tipping policy, if you want to give somebody money, the owner can’t stop you. Tips given directly to servers are theirs and not the proprietors. The owner needs to know how much only to ensure their staff is being paid at least minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/210 "2013-05-18T15:03:49Z")
Wasn’t there supposed to be a second part to this that aired last night or sometime in the near future? ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/211 "2013-05-18T19:40:52Z")
I’m thinking big picture here. I’m quite curious about the two of them. What his real story is, what her background is. Guessing that VERY FEW people open a restaurant of any size with zero exposure to cooking as well as running a business. Watched the actual episode twice. The person who should have started the restaurant is the server who got quietly tipped by Gordon. SHE knows PoS system, how to run a front of house, etc. If she can’t cook she can find a good chef to run the kitchen. But it sure seems to me that a big part of this train wreck is the seeming fact that neither of them have deep knowledge of or INTEREST IN a service industry. Can Yelp fuck up someone’s shop? Yeah. My Dearly Beloved™ and I dine out frequently and the local places do get a hit or a bump based on the ebb and flow of Yelp and other social network feedback sites. No doubt. It’s the electronic cracker barrel. Lacking face to face, of course, the civility level drops into the sub-basement a lot of the time. I post to Yelp, rarely, if I’ve had a good experience. If I’ve had a lousy one I don’t. Why? Because one lousy moment is rarely indicative of a lousy place. We frequent a place down the block so much that we’ve become friendly with the owner and have plans to dine out with two of the servers who are dating each other. We’re deeply familiar with their menu. For the first time last week, we had a negative experience. ( Not a huge one either ). I can’t imagine running to Yelp to trash this establishment. They have a great track record in service, manners, innovative foodie combinations, style and overall energy. Meh- so we had one bad moment. We’ll live. These two jokers should not be running this place- and I would bet that in 3-4 months when the novelty of going in there and being shit on by Samy has worn off, the place will trickle down and close up shop. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/212 "2013-05-18T20:45:30Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I’m thinking big picture here. I’m quite curious about the two of them. What his real story is, what her background is. Guessing that VERY FEW people open a restaurant of any size with zero exposure to cooking as well as running a business. > . One would THINK that. But I certainly recall episodes where that was exactly the case. Somebody worked a 9 to 5 job working for somebody else, then retired/quite and then invested their life savings/retirement fund/mortgaged the house/sold the kids to the sex slave trade/whatever to start a restaurant. Just because they thought it would be a good idea. And on those shows you could almost see Gordan himself shitting his pants when he heard the horrid details. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/213 "2013-05-18T22:54:19Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Wasn’t there supposed to be a second part to this that aired last night or sometime in the near future? Nope, last night was a new restaurant. KN does do 2-part episodes when they have enough material, but that isn’t what happened. Gordon left before he could do the stuff he normally does in the 2nd half. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/214 "2013-05-18T23:05:33Z")
Actually, last night was a rerun, not a new restaurant. The Amy’s Baking Company episode was the season ender. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/215 "2013-05-19T18:32:12Z")
… and a career ender, IMHO. I give them 6 months before their train wreck jumps out of Scottsdale. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/216 "2013-05-20T02:38:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think they actually _want_ people who don’t respond well to criticism, as it means for a more dramatic show. It’s very typical on the show for the chef/owner to reject Ramsay’s suggestions, even though the restaurant is in trouble and they requested that he come to give them advice. Perhaps, but how many people know that they react poorly to criticism? Nearly everyone thinks they have a REASON to be upset. Only people who are the most self-aware know their own problems like this. Do you think these people are self-aware? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/217 "2013-05-20T03:52:34Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > … and a career ender, IMHO. I give them 6 months before their train wreck jumps out of Scottsdale. What if Alice Cooper becomes a regular patron? Huh? What then, I ask you!?!?! ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/218 "2013-05-20T14:42:27Z")
Surprise, surprise: Amy’s is having their grand re-opening tomorrow… and had to hold a [big job fair over the weekend trying to hire 30 people](http://consumerist.com/2013/05/20/amys-baking-company-needs-to-hire-30-people-held-weekend-job-fair/) in time for the relaunch. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/219 "2013-05-20T19:11:12Z")
This situation called for a Scottsdale-area Doper, a hidden Go-Pro and bit of chutzpah. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341/220 "2013-05-20T20:43:57Z")
Highlights from [http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/dining/articles/20130515kitchen-nightmares-restaurant-how-prevent-fix-crisis.html:](http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/dining/articles/20130515kitchen-nightmares-restaurant-how-prevent-fix-crisis.html:) > [@](#): > > The Scottsdale Police Department confirmed “a report for computer tampering” was taken Tuesday at the restaurant’s address, 7366 E. Shea Blvd., and that the investigation is ongoing. > [@](#): > > Although there is no magic bullet, [public relations firm MMPR Marketing] said that in Amy’s case, crisis management should have been implemented two years ago, when she first made headlines for calling a Yelp reviewer a moron online. > [@](#): > > A person in Dacono, Colo., started a petition on the White House website titled “Have Amy Bouzaglo Committed.” It had several hundred signatures in a few hours. (If it reaches 100,000, the petition would be reviewed by the Obama administration, and a response would be issued.) > > A second petition was filed Wednesday on [Change.org](http://Change.org), asking the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate whether the Bouzaglos took tips from servers. The owners have justified taking tips, saying they pay servers $8 to $14 an hour. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/epic-facebook-meltdown-from-gordon-ramseys-kitchen-nightmares/658341.md?page=12)