The local guide program is more than what meets the eye, it has enabled me to be an open book on my passions. To me, it means sharing, appreciating and friendly competition.
A major chunk of my activities on the Google guide program involves taking the time to appreciate wonderful customer services that I get to experience first hand. My traveling nature allows me to visit a variety of new places. I love adding them to the platform and helping out a business to grow and expand its customer network.
One such account is my time at the Fish and Chips Colombo restaurant with a bunch of friends on their opening day. I loved their food and I was the first to share a review on their restaurant. Its owner was very happy and thankful for the feedback. Being on the Google guide program allowed me to appreciate the service and experience that my friends and I loved.
Being a local guide puts me on stage to share my travel experience. As I traveled to Negombo, extending from the beautiful chapels through the ancient Dutch forts and on the Sandy beaches, the heat of the day was takings its’ toll, I was so thirsty and had to look for a fresh juice bar nearby. I couldn’t find any place within walking distance but lucky for me, my friend saw this small shop called Jungle Juice Bar. They had fresh fruits and we got ourselves a watermelon juice. It was so delicious and perfect for the moment, making the experience of travel somewhat a dream. There I sat, sipping on my fresh watermelon, beside the beautiful sandy beaches of Negombo. I decided to add this place onto Google to both help out people like me who could use a drink and for that small business owner to get more customers. And my edit was live instantly, knowing that could help many people makes me want to contribute more and more.
Apart from reviewing and adding photos about my travel journeys, I add photos and reviews to the places I go on my day to day errands. Sometimes I find places that are still not added to maps even in busy towns. So I add places, photos and correct categories as much as I can so that people can find accurate information on maps.
And my monthly summary about the progress I made, "your reviews making a difference ", “thanks for your recent photos” and also the badges makes me happy about these small but worthy contributions. And when I get together with my travel buddies we compare our levels and contributions in a friendly competition. And it happens to be that I have passed the level of my friend who introduced me to local guides. This enthusiasm drives me to unlock more of Google’s targets and badges!