In a recent post What is the Best Practice" when a business name changes? @tony_b raised an interesting issue regarding how to handle situations when a business name changes. As you will see in my reply here, other than in an exceptional case of a Law firm, if the existing owners change the name of their business then my practice is to simply to change the name of the listing on Maps. Simple! However, if the there is both a business name change and a change in owners then I would close the original business listing and add a new listing for the business.
However, this got me thinking. What would one do if there is no change in the name of a business but a change in the owner(s)? For a claimed business I think it’s up to the new business owner(s) to request ownership of the respective Business Profile, and there is support for this in Google Business Profile. This begs the question, would all the reviews, star rating and photos stick with the business? I guess they would!
But what if the business is unclaimed? From a Local Guide’s point of view, is it right that the new owner(s) of a business retain all the reviews and star rating (good or bad) of the the previous business/owner(s)? My thinking is that this is not right! For example, will the new owner(s) provide the same quality of product and/or level of service? In this case I think it makes sense that the new business/owner(s) need to earn their own reviews and star rating however I haven’t as yet faced this scenario so not at all sure if one could close the business listing and re-add it as a new listing. What do you think?
In this scenario @AdamGT , I suspect a large percentage of the general population might not even be aware of the change of ownership, so I wouldn’t interfere. If a potential customer searches for the POI on Google Maps, he isn’t looking for ownership information.
But I agree with @Annaelisa about the reviews. If the product or service changes significantly, it would eventually be noticed in the newer reviews as compared to the older ones.
One would hope that you are right @Annaelisa and that based on the quality of product and/or level of service given by the new owners, in time the reviews and rating would hone in on the correct situation for the business. As I mentioned, while @tony_b 's post prodded my mind to think about this scenario I haven’t yet had to face it.
While they can be rather vague, a common practice here @tony_b is that when a business has new owners a sign is posted on the premises along the lines of “Under new management” and is used to let the public know that either or both the business has a new manager in charge or a new owner. I did see a more precise way of doing this on a trip to Queensland when I saw a sign at a restaurant taken over by a husband and wife - “New chef in the kitchen” lol. The name of the business is not changed perhaps because it has become so well known.
I have had this happen a lot and it’s a great question. I have gone in and spoken with managers and asked if any of the info will change, like a phone number, etc.
As for doing another review it gets complicated. For example, one time believe it or not the couple retired and the new owners kept the same main chef. Lol.
I think photos are good tho since most likely things like the menu will change.
I guess that’s what one would expect @tony_b but could early customers be deceived! For example, if past customers gave bad reviews and rated the food at a restaurant badly, would current and future potential customers be put off and opt not to try the restaurant?
Yes good points you make @StevenBerlin and excellent to hear that you have gone to the trouble to speak with the new owners to ask if any of their details like phone numbers have changed although I would think from a business point of view they would not want to change the numbers. I do however think that menus could change in the case of new chefs etc.
Certainly doing another review gets complicated and the best that one could do is edit their earlier review and update it for the new situation and experience. I have done this myself. However, as you say, taking new photos is always an available option.
Yes indeed @tony_b , a good place could quite easily turn bad under new management and as you say, it’s scenarios like this that can lead to more questions than answers so in such situations I stand back and try to respond in the best interest of the customer/Map user.
@AdamGT I had this situation at connect and I raised a question but it was bit different. It was what if the business shifted to next lane or slightly different address. What should one do ? Because we all know under edit info we have option of relocation isn’t it quite simple but thing is lots of such edits get rejected. Then I was told its better to close that one and create a new POI. However this one goes thorough easily. However business owner might not find this option a best one if he had a good reputation for old POI. So it’s a 3rd scenario here. Owner and Business remain same but location change. I’m sure many would so just relocate the business. But I think it’s not easily for such edits to get approved easily.
@Trail_blazer how far away do you mean by “next lane or slightly different address”.
I had a bank move out of a shared building to its own new premises just around the corner. Tried to drag the pin to the new location but it took a while before it got approved. I don’t remember all the details of my efforts, but it is correct now.
Then there was a Sports Bar whose owner was evicted for nonpayment of rent. He eventually opened the same business many months later at a new location about a mile away. Due to the lapse of time, and the greater distance of the move, I marked the old location as closed, considering the new location to be a fresh beginning.
@tony_b I tried looking for that comment and post but I can’t find it. Much of the location movement is dependent on the business if it’s claimed or not. I think in mh case everything was right just the location was wrong while at connect I found that you need to lit more than just updating the location to get it approved. Once the changes get rejected chance of subsequent rejections increase so I just move on.
Firstly, yes you raise yet another interesting scenario @Trail_blazer . Closing the business at one location and recreating it at another can as you mention have major consequences on the business in terms of loss of reviews and contributed media etc. Quite simply, in such cases my approach has been to correct the pin location and/or the address if known and if the Edit is rejected, I just move on. I just don’t have time to do otherwise!
