The Cracker Barrel Saga – A Lesson in Social Media Crisis Management
David E. Johnson, CEO, Strategic Vision PR Group Social media creates news – both positive and negative. Businesses of all sizes are finding out that social media posts can create a crisis where one did not exist. How a business responds to such a post can determine if it becomes a crisis or not. The saga of Cracker Barrel and Brad’s wife is a vivid example of what not to do when a social media crisis erupts.A Milltown, Indiana man named Bradley Byrd claimed his wife, Nanette, was fired from the Cracker Barrel in Corydon, Indiana on his birthday after 11 years of service. Byrd posted a question on Cracker Barrel's Facebook page asking, "Why did you fire my wife?"From there, the internet took over. Visitors to the Cracker Barrel Facebook page are unable to post on the wall, so they've turned to the company's posts to find out what happened and to show their support for Brad's wife. Some of the comments are quite funny. #JusticeForBradsWife and #BradsWife are trending. The media is reporting on the social media outrage. Yet Cracker Barrel is remaining mum to the growing story both with the traditional media and on social media. While companies will not state why an employee was terminated, Cracker Barrel is not even acknowledging the comments and is acting as if nothing is happening as it continues to post advertisements on social media. That hasn’t stopped the social media outrage or other businesses from jumping in and making use of the tagline Brad’s wife. 
Cracker Barrel is coming across as uncaring, unresponsive, and ridiculous all at the same time. Consumers are angry at a lack of any response or acknowledgement from the company which results in even more outraged posts. That is a place where no business wants to be.So what should Cracker Barrel do?Acknowledge the posts on its Facebook page. A simple statement saying thank you for your post. We appreciate hearing from you and while we value your opinion, employee records are confidential and something we cannot comment on. Such a statement would at least demonstrate that Cracker Barrel is paying attention to what people (many of them customers) are posting. By ignoring them, the company is basically sending the message that it doesn’t care what people (customers) think.
- Post testimonials online from employees on what a great place Cracker Barrel is to work for and how the company cares about its employees.
- Post online how much the company values its customers and their opinions.
- Depending on the reason for the termination, Cracker Barrel should rehire Brad’s wife and even use her in advertising.
What Cracker Barrel is doing is what no company should do when facing a social firestorm – nothing. This allowed the story to go from social media to traditional media, making Cracker Barrel a butt of late night jokes and the object of consumer anger. As a result of not having a crisis management plan in place for a social media crisis, Cracker Barrel has allowed Brad’s wife to get the last laugh and serve as a warning to businesses on what not to do during a crisis. [author] About the Author: David E. Johnson is the CEO of Strategic Vision PR Group, a public relations and branding agency that specializes in crisis communications, branding, and media relations. Additional information on Johnson and Strategic Vision, LLC may be obtained at www.strategicvision.biz.[/author]
