This Indiana man’s question for the popular food and retail chain caused a stir online. It created a massive wave of online trolling towards Cracker Barrel.
Most of us are not capable of exceptional commitment to our workplace. As you know, changing jobs every couple of years happens often. However, some people are loyal and committed to their one workplace and that only. One such person is Nanette Byrd. Nanette is her name, but on the internet, people know her as Brad’s wife.
So what happened? Scroll through to read the whole story.
You must have heard about Cracker Barrel. It is a restaurant chain with a Southern country theme. It has been getting a lot of attention on social media, and not for a good reason.
Cracker Barrel once fired a woman who had served for the company for 11 years. The reason for the firing is unknown. Her husband, Bradley Reid Byrd, could not stand the injustice.
On February 27th, 2017, Brad announced that his wife, Nanette, had been fired on his personal Facebook page. He started the post by expressing how angry he felt about the firing.
“After 11 years, those low lives at Cracker Barrel let my wife go.” He wrote. “I would like to know why and those who know me these days know that I WILL find out.
He also asked for support from people to find the reason behind his wife’s job termination. He requested people to go to the company’s Facebook page and ask them.
He went on to criticize that the company did not have a good reason to fire Nanette. He expressed that Nanette worked very hard every day for 11 years, and she did not deserve this treatment. He continued, “..her average week was 50 to 60.”
Brad also threatened to take legal action against the company. He wrote that he would be seeing an attorney soon. He also asked people to suggest him a labor attorney. In the post, Brad also added the name of the person who fired Nanette. “The low life that fired her was Gwen Alexander.” He wrote.
On March 8th, 2017, Brad posted a comment to the Facebook page of Cracker Barrel saying, “Today is my birthday. Why did you fire my wife?” On March 14th, 2017, he posted another comment on the company’s Facebook page asking, “Why did you fire my wife?”
Bradley’s situation caused a significant stir in the virtual world, and internet trolls could not get enough of it.
Hundreds of Internet users started to seek justice for Brad’s wife by trolling Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page.
Many commenters began responding to Cracker Barrel updates with jokes related to Brad’s wife. They would turn every update into a query about Byrd’s wife.
The situation went viral on March 22nd following a Facebook post by comedian Amiri King. He highlighted the case with many screenshots of people trolling the Cracker Barrel.
King’s post got thousands of likes and reactions and a lot of shares. Even mainstream media covered the story. People Magazine, The Washington Post Inc.com, The Mirror, Fortune, The Daily Mail, and more reported the incident.
As you can imagine, the attention that Cracker Barrel was getting was not good at all. The company’s social media activity faced problems because of users mockingly speaking up for Bradley’s wife. Some users also trolled singer Alison Krause because she promoted a TV appearance sponsored by the company.
The situation never seemed to slow down. People started a petition on Change.org demanding justice for Brad’s wife. It received over 20,000 signatures. People even briefly edited The Cracker Barrel Wikipedia page to say ‘70,000 -minus Brad’s wife’ under ‘Number of employees’.
People started to ask why Brad’s wife was fired and began making jokes wherever they had the chance! We hope that Brad and his wife will get an answer from Cracker Barrel soon.
Also, hopefully, your work-life wouldn’t have to end the way it did for Brad’s wife.
So what do you think of the story? Yes, it is hilarious, but it goes beyond just social media trolling. Look at the way the company dealt with the situation. You could say that Cracker Barrel did not handle the trolling well. It was a missed opportunity to connect with the virtual world and its culture.
Missteps are opportunities to show people that you know who they are. They had the chance to turn the negatives into positives and use humor to deal with them. It is essential in promoting your brand, especially in the virtual world.
Cracker Barrel should have acknowledged the posts on the Facebook page.
Them ignoring the comments added fuel to the fire.
They could have said they appreciate customers’ comments and opinions. Also, simply explaining that employee records are confidential, they cannot publish why Nanette got fired.
Such a statement would have shown that Cracker Barrel is paying attention to what people are saying.
By ignoring them, the company implies that it does not care what people think.
Cracker Barrel’s strategy, when faced with this social firestorm, did not benefit them at all. Their ignorance made the story go from social media to traditional media. It made Cracker Barrel look bad and the object of consumer anger.
Meanwhile, Brad realized that he had gone a little too far. So he took to social media to express his thoughts. On his Facebook page, he asked everyone not to harass his local Cracker Barrel. He wrote, “Remember that some very good people work for them.”
Scroll down to check out the hilarious posts.
It all started with a question on Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page.
It escalated hilariously when thousands of commenters started demanding an answer for Brad.
People trolled their Facebook page by poking fun at the company.
Look at all these posts.
Unfortunately, Cracker Barrel ignored all the trolling.
The worst part?
Will Brad and his wife get an answer?
