Group apologizes for review-bombing a small cafe that reminded its 20 members of staying for over 4 hours
A group apologized to a Taytay-based cafe for review-bombing it after the latter reminded its members that they had been staying in the place for hours.
"Purpose Venture Young Professionals extends its sincerest apologies to The Fifth Coffee and the broader community for any unintended distress caused by our recent actions," it said in a statement on April 1.
"We deeply regret the impact of our reviews and acknowledge that our approach was not the most appropriate or constructive way to express our concerns," it added.
Acknowledging itself as "a Christian organization," Purpose Venture said it recognizes that its actions "did not reflect the values of humility, respect, and kindness that we strive to uphold."
"We deeply regret any offense we have caused and take full responsibility for this misstep," the group said.
As a "practical application" of its "sincere apology," the group said it had asked members to delete its reviews on The Fifth Coffee's Facebook page.
"Additionally, we are in the process of securing a rented space for our future activities and are committed to procuring our own venue in the near future," it continued.
Purpose Venture also apologized to other Christian organizations "that may have been affected by this incident."
"We want to make it clear that our actions do not represent the Christian community as a whole," it said, "and we humbly acknowledge that we should have conducted ourselves in a manner more aligned with our faith."
Purpose Venture noted that as a "group of young individuals, we recognize that we are in a continuous process of learning."
"We acknowledge our mistakes and take all the feedback and comments from the community as valuable lessons for our personal and collective growth," it said. "This experience has given us a deeper understanding of the responsibility we hold, and we are committed to applying these lessons in our future interactions."
In concluding its statement, Purpose Venture called it an "isolated incident," assuring everyone that it has taken the incident as a "valuable learning experience."
"Moving forward, we will be more mindful of our actions, ensuring that they align with the principles we stand for," it said. "We remain committed to fostering goodwill, humility, and mutual respect, and we sincerely hope to rebuild trust with The Fifth Coffee, the community, and our fellow Christian organizations."
'It costs nothing to be kind'
In a viral Facebook post on March 30, The Fifth Coffee shared screenshots of Purpose Venture's review-bombing, including a statement with the caption, "It costs nothing to be kind."
"This is the very first time since opening our doors that we've gotten this kind of comments. We've always treated all our customers equally, and we've always been thankful to everyone who has come to visit us," it said.
The coffee shop pointed out that as a "small establishment" with a capacity of 18 seats, it "could've made better arrangements if there was a reservation, or we were given a heads up prior to showing up."
It added that the group held a meeting for over four hours during the peak hours of its busiest day, reiterating that there was no reservation beforehand.
"Normally, we would require reservations for this kind of arrangement because we have certain requirements, and so that our staff can prepare as well," it said.
In any case, they welcomed the group of 20 people, even turning down other customers.
It also pointed out that it has CCTV footage showing that everything the group ordered was served before they left and that the shop never asked them to leave.
Some of the negative reviews claimed their orders weren't served, if not slow, and that they were sent away.
"We treat our customers with utmost respect," it said. "It is reasonable that after 4 hours, we needed to be informed of how long you were planning to stay for so we can make necessary arrangements for other customers. If we knew initially that you were going to be such a big group, we would have informed you of our policies. But we were unaware because you showed up in small groups of 2-3 people at a time."
The shop lamented that at the time, it had to "suffer the consequences of one-sided reviews... simply because entitled customers refuse to see the kindness you've given them."
"We always welcome and appreciate actual constructive feedback from our customers that would help us improve our products and services," it said, adding that its inbox and ears are open.
Amid the review-bombing, the shop received support from several social media users, who gave positive reviews to offset the then-negative reviews.
