What is the most interesting thing you’ve done as a Local Guide?
As a Google Local Guide you have direct influence to the changes businesses make. I experienced this in both ways: Promoting good, friendly, modern businesses and criticizing awful businesses. First the negative example, because it has the greater effect.
When I urgently needed important papers from an authority, I called there. After being redirected three times, I was told that the forms I needed could be found on the website.
When I informed the employee that I had already checked but the forms were not in my language, I was told that I was wrong. I then went to the correct subpage with the instructions from the employee, where the documents should be. Furthermore - everything in the wrong language.
The agency was unreasonable, outdated and inflexible. So I submitted a Google rating and explained my problem. I was very surprised to receive a notification a few weeks later that my review was marked as one of the most helpful. It showed me that I was not alone in my assessment and that for others similar problems also occurred. So I could definitely save a lot of time for some people who would otherwise have tackled the same annoying search. A great example of how a negative review - with a little explanation - can save a lot of people’s work.
The positive example is clear - through my photos and videos I was able to better represent numerous places online. The number of clicks of the views speak for themselves - other users are happy about the content! It’s just fun when you can bring a restaurant or a small shop forward with a good rating, a photo and a video.