Dear Local Guides,
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a review that left me flabbergasted; it was penned by an eighth-level Local Guide with a whopping 511 reviews under their belt.
Well, this Local Guide has quite the repertoire. I diligently read all 511 reviews (yes, all of them!):
- Over two hundred of these reviews are succinctly positive, with phrases like “Great - 5 stars,” “Yeah!! - 5 stars,” “Good place - 5 stars,” “Beautiful!! - 5 stars,” and so on.
- Around one hundred reviews delve into humorous territory, making jokes about the names of the sites. For instance, there’s commentary (invented to preserve it identity) like “Piazza San Marco: I asked for Marco, but he wasn’t there. Good place. - 5 stars” and “Times Square: I didn’t travel in time, but it’s a good place – 5 stars.”
- Then there’s a plethora of other jests, such as a significant number of gas station reviews like “Petrol too much salty – 5 stars” (yes, this Local Guide insists that petrol tastes salty).
- To top it off, a substantial number of reviews go something like this: “I haven’t been here, but I think it’s a good place – 5 stars.”
I reported two hundred of these reviews, but my hopes are not high. I presume the algorithms that evaluate each report only consider individual reviews in isolation, lacking the ability to recognize patterns and assess the overall contribution of an individual Local Guide within a broader context.
In my view, these types of Local Guides run counter to what Local Guides should represent for our community – a reliable reference and a source of helpful and inspiring recommendations.
On the flip side, such Local Guides are inundating Google Maps with “noise” and “misinformation” since there’s a reasonable doubt about the authenticity of their visits and the experiences they rate.
If you share my concerns, is there any way to report this type of Local Guide?
