#twitter – rules to follow      

1) NEVER respond to rudeness with rudeness.
Bad comments about a company are a fact of life. This business owner actually missed a great opportunity here. Instead of replying to the less-than-favored Yelp comment with sarcasm and rudeness, a simple response asking what sort of hours customers would like to see the restaurant open would have done away with the whole situation in one post. Not to mention ingratiate the customer for listening to their woes and wants.

2) Tweeting after business hours is probably not a great idea.
We can all see how this played out. It was late. Drinks we possibly involved. Not exactly the best time to be responding to disgruntled clients no matter what your business. This could have waited ’til the morning when the light of day would have perhaps provided some better clarity about the entire episode.

3) Take a step back and review the situation before replying.
One could argue that in this situation the customer’s comments weren’t negative or rude to begin with. They were pumped about eating at the restaurant, they found it closed, and took to the social networks to express their disappointment. Was the Yelp comment needed? Probably not. Were the comments that ensued from the restaurant necessary? Absolutely not. Taking the time to reflect and recognize that this was a situation best handled positively would have served this restaurant owner well.

source: http://www.talentzoo.com/digital-pivot/blog_news.php?articleID=12576