(Photo courtesy of Bob Sinnott.)
Toasted Coffee + Kitchen owner Bob Sinnott’s social media tirade against a former employee is the latest cautionary tale on the dangers of publicly squabbling online.
The dispute erupted after the employee left a negative review on one of the restaurant’s social media pages, the Fort Worth Weekly reported. The staffer said the eatery was dirty and overpriced. She also accused Sinnott of mistreating workers and failing to pay them.
In the comments, Sinnott responded by calling the employee a “total nut job” and a “spaced-out loser.” His retorts also insulted her artwork and encouraged her to “go do some drugs and traipse through the woods.” The staffer then said her former boss was sexist, delusional and out of touch. But Sinnott got the final word saying, “This has been fun.”
Hundreds of commenters joined the fray, adding their own insults and funny memes that were no doubt truly helpful in defusing the argument.
“Whether it’s fair or not, business owners and public figures are held to a higher standard of online behavior than your average guy or gal,” the Weekly reported. “Sinnott conducted himself like a petulant teenage bully. He was unprofessional, demeaning, mean spirited and arrogant. If this is how he interacts with his staff out in the open, I hate to think what he’s like behind closed doors.”
Sinnott has disputed negative reviews in the past. In 2017, the owner accused Yelp of removing positive reviews from his page because he refused to pay the online review company for advertising. He followed up his complaint by sharing his story on the documentary, “Billion Dollar Bully,” which explores mysterious negative reviews on Yelp.
It seems Sinnott can’t just say, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” and leave it at that. It’s boring, I know. But instead of watching strangers’ drama unfold, there are still plenty of cat videos on the Internet to keep you entertained.
