Pet Resort Accommodation for Dogs and Cats providing super premium food and great value packages. Owned & Operated by Industry Professionals, where our exacting standards are always maintained for the exclusive benefit of our VIP’s.
The following is our general (including Facebook) social media comment rules & policy including email, phone & general communications * @WhitsundayPetResort . Comment is also provided on our Customer Service Policy, Our Booking Inquiry preference - i.e. http://www.whitsundaypetresort.com.au/bookings/booking-inquiry.aspx, Pet Welfare Checks, Wednesday appointments, Non-relevant post comment, Relevant courteous comments only, Our Photographs / Videos, Complaints, Feedback, Negative Comments, Customer experience, Level of engagement expected, Negative Reviews, Trolling comments, Debate, Defamation matters including useful references and perhaps where appropriate, ‘the apology’.
We welcome all appropriate & the social media platforms traditional communication methods, including RELEVANT social media comments including to our Whitsunday Pet Resort page. We also sincerely thank you for your time to provide them. We mostly regard all communications mediums; as an opportunity to review and improve our business; as we endeavour to provide the best possible experience to both you and your Very Important Pet (VIP). This site and other mediums of communication intends to inform and engage with the fans, friends, family members and other businesses, entities, or interested persons of Whitsunday Pet Resort. IMPORTANT: - For reasons of time management - the * news blog of our website, www.whitsundaypetresort.com.au * is currently a 1st choice source of our most important updates (e.g. weather events) as well as general information (e.g. around peak periods of occupancy).
CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY: Our customer service policy is at all times based on RESPECT & COURTESY to others. In return we only ask that YOU RECIPROCATE and treat the owner operators, staff, other customers, our policies and procedures, in a similar fashion. If unable to do so; then regardless of reason or excuse; any curt, rude, insulting, abusive, abrupt, excessive entitlement and similar action or behaviour may equal at best: - No Respect. “No Respect = No Entry”.
BOOKING INQUIRIES/PET WELFARE CHECKS/WEDNESDAY APPOINTMENTS: For a variety of reasons, including processing efficiency, we DO NOT take BOOKING INQUIRIES, booking inquiry follow up, or WELFARE checks on our in house VIP’s, via ‘general comment on other posts’, already published on our FB page. Please use the ‘BOOK NOW’ tab, located top right hand corner of page. WELFARE checks, please email us and we thank you in advance for your patience, as our office is closed between business hours, on public holidays and perhaps on a Wednesday. Wednesday is our APPOINTMENT DAY, where we currently operate our office & any appointments made that day, during our normal business hours. ( If very few OR no Wed. appointments, then our office may be closed in the morning, the afternoon OR occasionally ALL DAY on a Wed.)
NON RELEVANT POST COMMENT: Despite what may be your best intentions :-), any non relevant comment, inquiry; or what could be viewed as a post hijacking; is subject to being hidden, removed and or blocked.
RELEVANT COURTEOUS COMMENTS ONLY:
You are encouraged to only submit relevant, balanced, reasonable and courteous comments to posts made. Any questions, and concerns, please email us directly. Other posts made are automatically reviewed before their publication. This is a moderated site and NOT intented to be used as a public forum. # Moderation of this page is always on a part time basis only and during those busier times; may take up to 48-72 hours plus, to moderate your post or comment, as we naturally prioritise our focus on your VIP’s.
OUR PHOTOGRAPHS / VIDEOS: Our photographs are complimentary and we certainly encourage you to share them privately, as long as you kindly acknowledge the source. Typically not every pet will be photographed and certainly not on every visit. Surprisingly 😃 not every pet will co-operate to ‘publication standard’ in a photo shoot. That does sounds professional doesn't it 🤔😉. During busy periods; and we get a few of them in the beautiful Whitsundays we may not take any photos at all; as our priority is naturally to our VIP’s. A higher photographic priority is always given to those VIP’s on packages, although even then, a) they 😇 still need to co-operate🤞🙏 AND b) they may not be next on the publication queue. Lastly we would like you to consider, that a photograph of someone else's pet having a good time, is representative of what is happening with yours. All in all a huge thank you, for your understanding & patience!
The following DOES NOT begin to apply to the majority of our ‘WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL CUSTOMERS’, but sadly needs to be addressed for those special few in the community:
Once posted, tweeted, published or emailed #, Whitsunday Pet Resort reserves the right to assess, edit and or delete submissions or not respond to content that contain: vulgar language, personal attacks of any kind, or comments that we deem to be rude or abusive, insulting, offensive, derogatory or disparaging, or those intending to discriminate or vilify.
Further to the above, Whitsunday Pet Resort also reserves the right to delete comments, posts, tweets, any published material or emails that:
• Contain spam, advertising, solicitations or include links to other sites;
• Are clearly off topic or disruptive;
• Are obscene, vulgar or sexually explicit. This includes masked words (***), acronyms and abbreviations;
• Are chain letters, pyramid schemes;
• Promote particular services, products or political organisations or campaigns;
• Infringe on copyrights or trademarks;
• Advocate illegal activity;
• Violate or contradict any terms conditions or policies of Whitsunday Pet Resort;
• Damage our business or reputation or make hurtful comments and cause others to think less of us;
• Contain defamatory material that is or are shared, e.g. re-posted, re-tweeted, or otherwise hosted or published; even if you are not the original author;
IMPORTANT: Please note that the comments expressed on this site or page, do not reflect the opinions and official position of Whitsunday Pet Resort.
COMPLAINTS / FEEDBACK and/or NEGATIVE COMMENTS:
Subject to the preceding policy and following comment, we take negative comments and or feedback seriously, as naturally we would like to resolve and rectify any reasonable situation that you may have identified, subject to our terms, conditions and policies. Constructive feedback is clearly always welcome.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: We certainly strive for the best possible customer experience for both you and your Very Important Pet (VIP) that were applicable, must always consider other in house guests. We most certainly apologise in advance should your complaint be well founded. As a first step in resolution we certainly encourage you to email us directly in the first instance, in a polite and respectful manner, as we seek to find a solution.
LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT EXPECTED: An inability for whatever reason, resistance or refusal to reasonably understand or a failure to read, engage with or ignorance of the content of any correspondence, terms, conditions or policy, does not by itself, provide a right to publish or post damaging, posts, comments or reviews. At this point, you should first seek legal advice.
NEGATIVE REVIEWS:
Prior to posting a negative review for example, it is a condition that you please give us the opportunity to provide some explanatory balance or reasoning behind any decision or policy that is always based on the best possible experience for both you, your VIP’s, that must naturally consider the welfare, comfort, health and safety of our other in house guests and that of our staff. You are also encouraged to refer to our FAQ’s or thoroughly re-read any previous correspondence received from us, to perhaps provide you with a quick alternative source of explanation. Should it be found; during private discussion or correspondence, that for whatever reason you in fact had no basis for complaint, for e.g. you didn’t agree with a policy, terms or condition, that perhaps you have already previously signed & acknowledged, and then you still decide to publish in any forum of the world wide web, a negative post comment or review that may cause others to think less of us or our business, then please read on:
TROLLING COMMENTS:
Typically those who inappropriately rant including all caps, screaming, or consistently engage in unfounded bashing of our brand will not be dignified with a response. Your comments may be deleted and or blocked. Your comments if found to be defamatory in nature; probably a good chance; are always subject to legal action. Please refer to Defamation comments below.
DEBATE:
We will generally stay out of debates, unless blatantly inaccurate facts are posted. If such debates become personal or offensive then they may also be subject to deletion and blocking.
DEFAMATION:
Regardless of whether we delete or block comments; those comments that we, or our legal advisors may view as defamatory in nature; are always and for the next 12 months, subject to further legal action. That always remains our right. The longer the comment remains posted generally the larger the publication / proportionate damage. Agreed you may be entitled to express an honest good faith reasonable opinion. Defamation though, is based on publication of harmful, damaging or incorrect statements that are viewed as damaging to person or persons including a businesses’ reputation OR simply those comments that make another or others think less of that business.
The above and following also includes any publications or posts to any official sites AND unclaimed site that represents the business. Persons who host, share or re-tweet defamatory material; even if not the original author; can also be found liable and guilty of defamation. Serious defamation can also be prosecuted as a criminal offence. Perhaps you could look at it this way. If you were assaulted or someone threw a stone through your house window, then you may make a complaint to the courts. If you unreasonably or in bad faith punch a business in the face or throw a rock at them, then that business may not tolerate that and may certainly strongly consider taking legal action against you. As a typical small business is often very busy and often have other priorities, please do not think that if legal action is not taken immediately, that the action wont be taken, subject to usual time limitations of proceedings.
Reference link for consideration:
https://www.slatergordon.com.au/blog/5-things-know-about-social-media-defamationfactual
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AS WPR’S GENUINE WAY OF STILL TRYING TO GENUINELY HELP YOU OUT, THE LAST OPPORTUNITY PERHAPS, TO LESSEN THE IMPACT / POTENTIAL LEGAL & FINANCIAL IMPACT TO US/YOURSELF:
What can I do?
I may have posted something I now regret OR;
My post has been removed or I have been blocked, what can I do?
You realise you have made a mistake, you have possibly acted on emotion, I will get square you think, you may have in fact wilfully distorted the facts, cunningly constructed a scenario, perhaps lied, misrepresented and then published hurtful damaging comment far and wide; that is potentially in breach of our communication policy or far worse, potentially subjected yourself to both civil and or criminal action via defamation proceedings.
Suggestion:
1. Post and / or publish and; privately email; a genuine apology immediately.
THE APOLOGY:
1. An ‘email apology alone’ is certainly not sufficient, if you have previously published the subject comment to any social media outlets, sites, various feedback sites or business advertising sites of the world wide web, and /or by via social media.
2. The apology post should refer to the offending post “word for word” you made. If you intend to first delete, then you may first need to copy and paste the offending post into your apology.
3. Your apology needs to be similarly published in ALL the forums you previously used; for a time period, that reasonably compares with the length of time your offending publication has been made public; AND for a minimum period of 28 days.
4. You can then un-publish / remove your original post and the apology.
5. The apology should contain i) what you are apologising for and ii) should adequately address each previous hurtful untrue, offending or damaging statement/s you have made.
6. We may also republish your apology, as when required to those customers who may have missed it or rightfully need an explanation.
7. We may accept your apology or we may not.
8. Once such an apology is posted you may also be blocked from further comment with the post subsequently removed in its entirety, and again when we see fit.
9. Important: Regardless of an apology being provided, it does not in itself prevent defamation proceedings from being commenced. It may just lessen the potential damage and damages that could be potentially awarded, that will naturally include an application for ALL legal costs.
10. Your apology needs to be very convincing.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
John Mulholland
Director
John & Linda Mulholland
Owners – Whitsunday Pet Resort Pty Ltd t/a Whitsunday Pet Resort
ACN 163 053 110
ABN 90 160 560 260
References acknowledged:
• Material from Rodney Hess Practical Ecommerce 28/7/15, How to deal with negative comments on Facebook.
• Slater & Gordon Lawyers 17/12/14 - 5 things you should know about social media defamation.
