Golden Corral Dumpster Story Highlights Power Of Social Media [Video, Update]

The Golden Corral dumpster drama that kicked off this week when a Reddit thread highlighting an older YouTube video that appeared to depict questionable food handling practices is a growing issue for large chains, who often learn of adulteration claims through social media buzz.

(Update: After the Golden Corral dumpster story broke this morning, the manager of the restaurant in question was terminated by the chain.)

The Golden Corral dumpster video dates back to June, and an employee of the store films what appears, in part, to be food placed by a dumpster — which was there, he says, to avoid inspection by health officials.

The alleged whistleblower says:

“Apparently, what my company likes to do to get ready for inspections, is put their food by the dumpsters … “I’m an employee here, I’ve been working here for a long time – and I don’t feel that this is right.”

The Reddit thread responsible for blowing up the Golden Corral dumpster videos and pics has gotten approaching 3,000 comments from users, many of whom claim to have worked for the chain in the past.

One said:

“I used to work at a Golden Corral in Kentucky and I can confirm this. Ours never got quite that bad but it was still pretty nasty.”

Reddit thread poster GCWhistleblower commented in the posting, saying:

“This is an average day, not an isolated incident. They never have enough dishwashers because no one wants to get paid minimum wage when it’s only one or two dishwashers for the whole restaurant when there really need to be at least four in order to run things properly. They are understaffed and it’s like this at every local location within 100 miles (I have worked at more than one location), not to mention the dishwasher can quit and go to any other restaurant and earn at least 2-3 more dollars an hour.”

A r/goldencorral subreddit has sprung up in response, and Golden Corral’s dumpster issue has forced the company’s social team into overdrive today, correcting and updating concerned customers.

One frequently reposted response from Golden Corral reads:

In regard to the video that is currently being circulated by an employee of Golden Corral of an isolated incident of improper food handling at our Port Orange, Florida location please note: 1. The food in the video was never served to a single customer. 2. All of the food was thrown away immediately. 3. The employee in the video participated in disposing of the food. 4. The employee in the video – through his father – offered to sell the video. 5. The manager at the restaurant was terminated.

Some customers alleged the chain is deleting negative remarks, with one saying:

“Golden Corral continues to delete negative comments about their brand. I will be contacting the Delaware Department of Health about their practices here because if their happening in California, Florida and Wyoming, there is a good chance it is happening here.”

Do you think videos like the Golden Corral dumpster clip cause brands irreparable damage when posted to social media sites?