Thank you for asking for my advice

Murat · May 28, 2025, 9:39pm

I sent my suggestions via email. I am writing my suggestions upon your request.

To help other users, Google maps have the option to answer simple yes/no questions. In this section, a score is given for each question you answer. You should remove this scoring system because there are local guides that reach 7-8 levels without making much contribution.

It is important to pay attention to technology because technology has an important place in today’s world.

You have felt a series of negativities and decided to take steps to eliminate real-time doubts. I especially appreciate your decision to continue monitoring comments to avoid irrelevant content and comments.

When you aim to trust people, it is not difficult to understand that you mean local guides. Trusting people is good, but in Türkiye, local guides have a WhatsApp group in exchange for money or mutual comments. There are also sites on this subject. Yesterday, I refused the money and the offer of free products offered by a business owner who asked me to comment.

You publish comments on Google from sites around the world, but I am sure you are not applying Google policy correctly for users commenting on Google. If I can get my comment published through the center, it means that it does not violate the policy, but that comment can still be removed.

A comment I made about a hotel a month ago was shown to people at the top of 462 people’s comments and received 7 likes in a short time, but the comment was removed today. Even if I contact the center, sometimes comments are not published.

If you send an email to local guides around the world explaining the violation part of the comment and explaining the reason for removing the comment, the person who made the comment may resubmit the comment after editing it.

It’s nice to ensure that local guides receive gift vouchers through the reputation policy, but I think the main problem is not money. Comments that comply with the rules on sites such as Indeed.com are not removed by the site administration.

In Australia, employees post reviews about businesses on a website where job vacancies are posted. When I did the same thing on Google, moderator @Ermest said it was a conflict of interest. The purpose of commenting is to reach people.

NandKK · May 29, 2025, 1:39pm

Hi @Murat

Thanks for sharing your thoughtful feedback. You’ve raised valid concerns about fairness in scoring, misuse of features, and lack of transparency in comment moderation. Your stand against paid reviews is truly admirable.

Clear explanations when comments are removed could definitely help users improve and feel more respected. A fair and consistent application of policy across regions is also essential.

What do you think is the most urgent change Google should make for Local Guides?

Murat · May 30, 2025, 6:53pm

4 months ago, 79 people, 36 of them children, lost their lives in a fire at a hotel where the alarm system did not work due to the incorrect intervention of an employee. The only fire escape located in the interior of the hotel could not be used because it was under smoke due to the pipes laid in it. After the fire, the government abolished the requirement for training in hotels.

The Municipal Fire Department documented that the evacuation exits, light guidance signs, emergency lighting in the building, extinguishing equipment instructions, detection systems, fire alarm, smoke ventilation and evacuation were insufficient in its pre-fire inspection.

The hotel continued to receive customers even though the fire alarm system did not work. It was revealed that the same hotel spent the incentive premium it received from public sources a year and a half ago on luxury investments instead of fire prevention and intervention systems.

A local guide commenting on a different hotel that I noticed a week ago wrote that the smoke detector was turned off in the room of the hotel where he received services. Google, since it shows the comment at the top, found it useful for a reason.

Since honest and objective comments containing criticism have been removed from Google, people have now started commenting on alternative sites. When you write an article on some sites that does not comply with the rules in your comment, the system does not allow you to publish the comment as a matter of policy. If Google had this system, the problem would disappear.