Online flap embroils Falmouth eatery [Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.]

July 26--FALMOUTH -- The swift and outraged response to a single post on a restaurant's Facebook page about the quality of local bands has become the latest cautionary tale for businesses managing social media.

Casino Wharf FX, a Falmouth Heights restaurant and bar, sparked the furor late Saturday night after a post about a band playing at the bar went up on its Facebook account. According to an image taken of the post, it referred to the restaurant as a place to see "Quality Entertainment from Boston and beyond...not the local crap!"

Angry responses started to pop on the page. The individual using the restaurant's Facebook account responded and continued to write derogatory statements about not only local artists but other businesses and Cape Cod Community College, as well.

Ryan Buckley, a Falmouth resident and drummer in the rock cover band Third Degree, didn't just leave an angry comment. He created a Facebook page titled "Boycott Casino FX in Falmouth" as a way to focus his ire.

"I was just getting home from taking a gig locally, and it smacked me right in the face at 2 a.m.," he said.

Within hours, the boycott page attracted hundreds of people, many of whom posted their own negative comments about Casino Wharf FX.

But the Facebook comments weren't sanctioned, said Tom Paulini, the restaurant's general manager. He believes a former employee who still had access to the page is to blame.

He's got no way to be sure, however, because of what he admits is lax oversight of Casino Wharf FX's online presence.

"The mistake we made was not having a better handle on our Facebook page," he said. "We had four or five people as administrators of the page, and a couple of them don't even work here anymore."

Facebook pages are a way for businesses or groups to have a presence on the social media site. Unlike individual pages, multiple Facebook users can be authorized to post to a business page or otherwise control its content.

From the point of view of the reader, however, there's no way to tell who's posting on the business' page -- all posts come across as if from the institution itself.

An apology was posted on the restaurant's Facebook page, Paulini said, but it was attacked by online critics as quickly as the original post. Eventually the page was deactivated, Paulini said, perhaps for good.

"We are responsible for not policing it. We do have to apologize, that's the way it is," he said. "We are guilty of that, of not being more secure and aware (online). If and when we do put a Facebook page back up, we'll work with someone who's adept in maintaining that thing."

The brouhaha highlights the need for businesses of all sizes to carefully monitor their social media accounts, said Jennifer Edwards of Falmouth. She owns her own company, Media Solutions, and works with several local firms and nonprofit groups on social media marketing.

"I think the most important thing is to limit the number of administrators you have on your page," she said. "When there's turnover ... you have to immediately limit their roles. You just never know."

Edwards also suggested a company's designated social media guru become familiar with the options Facebook gives page administrators, including limiting what comments can be posted by the public and the different levels of access each administrator can be granted to the page.

"(Businesses) can modify each person's role and keep themselves safer" from unauthorized posts, she said.

In recent days, the boycott page has been filled with plugs for local band performances and has largely -- though not completely -- veered away from anti-Casino Wharf FX histrionics.

Steve Moulton, who owns an insurance business in Falmouth, was one of the first people to leave a comment on the original Casino Wharf FX post. Now he's helping Buckley administer the boycott page and transition it into a place where local bands can promote their work.

"After the thing had blown up, we felt we needed to take a different direction with this," he said of the decision to put a more positive spin on the boycott. "There's only so much negativity that one can produce."

Buckley said despite his anger, his intention wasn't to cause the business harm.

"I'm not trying to shut them down, I'm just trying to say have some respect for the community you're operating in," he said. "It's now in their court to see where they go from here."

Paulini said he and his staff are discussing how to make amends for the situation, perhaps by hosting an event in the fall. "I hope people realize that this is not who we are," he said.

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