Hey everyone! This is Corey, writing from NYC.
When I tell people I’m a Local Guide for Google, the first question I am often asked is, “why would you do that if they don’t pay you?” I often give different answers and essentially give a spiel about why Local Guides is useful and why they need people like us to rate for them, but I have a few personal reasons for doing this too. My main reason, I’d say, is that I love trying new things and want to open doors for others to feel more comfortable trying new things for themselves. Whether it’s foods from around the world most Americans have never seen, brand new restaurants, or things that are on fire, I want to tell people all about it to help them decide for themselves if they want to try what I did.
I also try to help people find out if certain restaurants resister on their budget radar. That is, sometimes, even when I get a feeling that a place will be both an experience and super well-priced, that might not always be the case. So, I like telling people ahead of time if they should save and go later or spend now to have a new adventure. This can help others avoid spending too much after someone like me has already done it, which I personally find very helpful in reviews that I read.
Probably the most rewarding thing about this is that I get to help new restaurants get noticed (I love this!). Seeing their gratitude and the positive role I can fill in getting a quality business noticed is an amazing feeling.
