Carousell gains PR points for showing sympathy towards jilted groom-to-be

Carousell and Marina Mandarin Singapore have come into the spotlight following a Carousell posting, which saw a jilted groom-to-be attempting to sell off a hefty wedding banquet package, going viral.Following the fall-through of his wedding, the groom-to-be had his friend post a Carousell listing, in a bid to sell off a wedding banquet package purchased at hotel Marina Mandarin Singapore. The listing went viral for its description of the events which unfolded, and garnered sympathy from netizens online, and praise for the groom’s generosity and good spirit.Taking this opportunity to show its humane side, Carousell reached out to the owner of the listing and offered to send something to the heartbroken groom. The move garnered praise from netizens.[gallery link="file" ids="191368,191363"]In a conversation with Marketing, a Carousell spokesperson said that the team sent a care package along with a note of support for the former groom-to-be. This included messages of affirmation and support from its community.“We hope this small gift will go some way in helping him move on to better things in life,” the spokesperson added.The spokesperson further explained that the Carousell community is one which is active and on a daily basis, it recognised that many users find meaningful experiences when using the platform.“While we were quite saddened by this particular man’s story and plight, we were equally inspired by the outpouring of support for this man from our community,” the Carousell spokesperson said.Meanwhile, Marina Mandarin Singapore also came into the limelight when one user made a comment that the hotel had requested for the listing to be removed. A check by Marketing showed that the comment has since been deleted.Nonetheless, many fellow Carousell users expressed surprise that the hotel did not use this as an opportunity to garner more publicity. When contacted by Marketing, a Marina Mandarin Singapore spokesperson simply said:“We are looking into the matter and hope to continue working this out directly with the groom-to-be, so that both parties can come to a fair and reasonable outcome.”In an follow up statement explaining the exchange, the spokesperson confirmed that the wedding dinner was booked for 13 October 2017 at Marina Mandarin Singapore.Clarifying the series of events, the statement said that a tasting was conducted with the groom-to-be on 16 August 2017, which went smoothly with no mention of major issues regarding the wedding dinner. The next day, the hotel was informed of the groom-to-be's intention to cancel the wedding dinner altogether."We therefore did not expect the posting on Carousell on 17 August by a third party unknown to us, as we were already in talks with the client himself to resolve the situation," the spokesperson said.Currently, the price of a wedding dinner package at Marina Mandarin Singapore starts from over SG$900, and is not transferable as per contract."Nonetheless, understanding the situation and being sympathetic to his plight, the hotel was agreeable to review his case and assist him through this difficult period," the spokesperson added.