Plantation Bay: A Lesson in Customer Service, Business Ethics, and Hiring a Damn Publicist

By now, most netizens are up-to-date on the hot mess that is Cebu’s Plantation Bay and its vile treatment of persons with disabilities (PWDs). It all began when a mother of a PWD child posted a well-deserving negative review on TripAdvisor of her experience at the resort, which prompted an enraged reply from a shareholder of the company, Manny Gonzalez.

We’ve included receipts of the review down below, and it’s a whirlwind.

Not only does the shareholder attempt to “educate” the former guest about autism, he also claimed the mother was lying about her experience or that her child was given an “incorrect diagnosis of autism,” Not to mention the weird obsession with the word “scream,” which appeared 11 times (yes, we counted).

Netizens, PWDs, and anyone with common sense and human compassion were triggered by the issue. Journalist Karen Davila called Plantation Bay a shame on the Filipino tourism industry, and singer Lea Salonga described Gonzalez’ response as “ignorant mansplaining.”

Someone was also able to dig up an old angry statement written by Gonzalez in December 2019 in The Freeman newspaper. It called out another former guest who complained of contracting food poisoning at Plantation Bay. His tone was similar to that of his recent comments, even suggesting that “oral-to-rear-orifice sex with a dirty partner” may be blamed for cases of food poisoning. Yikes.

Gonzalez and Plantation Bay have since apologized via a non-apology statement, which ended with: “A mother’s pride is important, but more important are the lives of the children who come here. Regardless, I handled this case poorly, and apologize to all the parties who felt offended by my reply.”

What a mess.

The controversy and rage surrounding Plantation Bay is a warning to all businesses, whether in tourism or finance, to treat customers fairly and humanely, lest be the target of well-deserved public ire. Here is what we can learn from the Plantation Bay case study:

1| Respect Your Customers

Customers base their knowledge on their experiences, and while they might get facts wrong or make unreasonable demands, all emotions are valid. The service industry is built to cater to emotions, convenience, and comfort.

Unhappy customers are a symptom of something wrong with your service, and your business is then tasked with addressing these pain points. Sometimes the customer is wrong or simply irrational, but even if that’s the case (which it isn’t for this particular controversy), a professional should act, well, professionally. And not take negative reviews personally. Criticism is meant to improve your performance. It’s not a personal attack.

2| Practice Empathy

This is common sense. And basic humane behavior.

In this time of COVID, empathy is necessary now more than ever. Your reputation is built on how you interact with customers, who will certainly not want to be patrons of companies with a reputation for being insensitive or ignorant.

It’s also important to note that businesses do not just exist to create profit. They exist to create employment and support communities. Neither of these goals can be accomplished by marginalizing a group of people.

The irony that Plantation Bay is part of the hospitality industry is not lost on us.

3| Hire a Damn Publicist 

Criticism is inevitable, and the response should be to not become a keyboard warrior. This is why company’s need public relations agencies or publicists to handle the situation, to act as a medium between the audience and the business and offer rational solutions. PR agencies and publicists can also act as the third party, and give you frank advice about how to handle a crisis—like upholding your values, granted that you have some.

Being aggressively defensive will do more harm than good. It’s not just your pride on the line, but your company and employees as well.

Simply put, if you’re a professional, act like one.