When I moved to a new city Bangalore from Mumbai , I faced a lot of challenges initially as I didn’t know the local language like paying more than double for vegetables, auto rides (when not using apps like OLA\UBER ) , etc. It took some time and then I figured out the right shops who honestly sell at same price for everyone and I began to share this information with new neighbors , colleagues , whoever faced this challenges. Intent was that the others should not face the similar hardship and should not give up on the city immediately due to unpleasant experiences, something personally I was on verge of. To share these experiences and save time of new comers in localities , I was searching for a platform and came across Google Guides.
I was happy as I never knew I could sign up and contribute to a Google Product, I thought this gave me a chance to not only be connected to Google in a small way but also helps me connect with people and save their time by going through the recommendations \ reviews provided.
Earlier I just used to provide reviews for the restaurants I really liked by giving the stars,slowly afterwards I started giving more descriptions like what made it stand out, how was the taste , how much was the quantity (sufficient for 1 person\2 persons : as I hate to waste food and always wish that restaurants provide an idea on how much is going to be there in one serving) , later I also started giving pictures as I understood that what appears good to me may not be good for other person as they may have experienced that earlier , so providing a visual cue also equips the person to make an informed choice if they want to visit that place or not. For example a full plate in a hotel in Assam was sufficient for 3 people! Where as a full plate in Bangalore is often sufficient or less for 1 person in Bangalore.
Similarly I noticed that the new tech savy restaurant owners often request to provide a review on google \ zomato \ swiggy \ etc. However the local and old generation who serve same or even better quality but are not technologically equipped do not know about this and hence except for patrons or word of mouth they are not their on google maps, so I started putting these genuine hotels\ shops I found deserving on the local maps as many tourists like me who visit a place for short time and want to make maximum of the amount of time see if the place has reviews on Google Maps if not that choice is skipped.
Similarly I have realised often the rooms that we book in Hotel , when we view online its beautifully denoted , but often in reality the place is cramped up no walking space, so I tend to take pictures of the walking space available in the room and upload that in Google Maps so that the next visitors have a better and clear picture of what they are going to walk into if they do decide to go for the hotel booking.
Over the last years I have realized its actually local Guide program which has benefited me, it has enhanced my perspectives as whenever I visit a new place I start looking for if it has parking area, if the name is visible from main road , what is the meaning\history behind the name of place, does it have strollers , does it have accessible parking , as these are the questions I know I need to answer as a responsible local Guide ?
