On Tuesday, Aug. 8, a wildfire began wreaking havoc on the picturesque Lahaina in West Maui, and as all natural disasters come to do, it completely broke apart a realm that once held beautiful memories, hope, and life for the residents lucky enough to call it home. The entire situation is made more heartbreaking because a warning was not provided for those in Maui; no sirens, alarms, or evacuation notices were given.
Maui’s devastation is still only in the early stages of being fully realized, and when it seems like the world might have a reason to come together to offer understanding, compassion, and a heart for those currently trying to continue living, working, and helping those around them, a voicemail to a high-end resort on the island has made its way to TikTok.
Now, don’t go getting too hopeful that it was kind or generous — we hate to ruin it for you, but it’s the complete opposite. In fact, it’s garnered a sense of disdain in our hearts for the person responsible for leaving the message in the first place — and we’re being kind in saying “disdain.”
A would-be resort guest named Greg called to inquire about an arrival time for a luau set to happen at the Maui property, but it was soon apparent that the real reason he called was to air his grievances and berate whoever was unlucky enough to be the one tasked with listening to the voicemail.
“You’re a high-end resort; get enough people to work there to answer the friggin’ phones,” are actually words that came out of his mouth. They’re a set of words he deemed valuable enough to leave on the voicemail of an employee in an area that wildfires have ravaged, and we think it goes without saying that the tone in which he said those words was less-than-stellar.
Sorry about your frustration, Greg, but as the video says, anyone with a grasp on what’s happening in Maui could safely assume that despite being high-end, the resort is short-staffed. Many guests there are either FEMA or government employees sent to the area to help.
Government employees who were sent to help; if anything needs reiteration — it’s that. This is an area ravaged by crisis, turmoil, and devastation — not to mention the countless lives lost and those who survived but lost everything in the process; Maui isn’t a top tourist destination right now. Very few (read also: one or two) comments offered a bit of sympathy to Greg; perhaps he was unaware of what was going on in Maui, but we think it would be hard to be tuned into the world at all and not know about the wildfires.
Other comments were more on board with what we’re feeling about Greg, many offering to call him back as an “acting agent” of sorts to help handle an influx of calls. Others said that Greg sounded a lot like he wanted to cancel his reservation on that message, while some said they hope he gets exactly the kind of vacation he deserves — and we agree with that.
As of three hours ago, at the time of this publishing, CNN shared that the death toll in Maui was up to 111; and as is to be expected, many are still holding out hope that they can even find enough of their loved ones to identify them and give them a proper ceremony and burial.
In addition to hoping against hope, those in Maui are helping against all odds; as people witnessed their own homes burning, they volunteered their time to neighbors, attempting to help anyone with a chance to salvage anything they could. It’s not just firefighters going around and doing their jobs; it’s everyone in the community banding together to stand against a natural disaster and offer hope, love, and compassion to one another.
Despite the presence of the Gregs of the world, that’s what is worth focusing on.