Unhealthy practice of showing as permanently closed by someone for a running business.

[jojo522]

Many discussions were being made regarding the ethics and morale required by Local Guide controlled mainly by guidelines.and double checked by 'Check the facts' by familiar concerned Local Guides. Still noticed some business showing permanent closed. I do not think such running business will be marked as permanently closed by any genuine Local Guest by which nothing is gained or may be for getting points. The possibility is it may be done by some rival competitors.Since i know being close to me i can edit it. But it will be a loosing business for the business owner. Can Google map can do something to control it.

https://goo.gl/maps/Zv5YdwpVpQo

[GenerolHavoc]

Hello @jojo522

They could by making it a 3 vote system , 2 votes wins so not just one Local guide can stuff up a POI.

I made changes to a number of POI to fix them and add their shop numbers and remove stuff that shouldn't be on their address.

60% of them were not applied, most likely bad Local guides or Local guides whom don't know their stuff.

Hope this helps

Regards

GH

[ErmesT]

Hi @jojo522, @GenerolHavoc

For this reason I submitted an idea, for being: Prompted for "fact checking" if you contributed to a place with photos / review.

This would help (I hope) a legitimate POI to remain in place, and not to be removed due to wrong modifications made by others

[jojo522]

@ErmesT@GenerolHavoc@StephenAbrahamThanks. Genuine and Loyal  Local Guest only can contribute for the success. .Although feed back are useful to an extend how can we depend on a Local Guest who can just give feedback without checking or for getting points?. Here comes the need of majority voting system.which are also not reliable.I suggest it must be supported by current reviews or photos or physical checking being only reliable and genuine source.

[PaulPavlinovich]

The best think you can do @jojo522 since you're local is to talk to the business owner/manager about claiming their business. Once claimed its not so easy for a Local Guide to affect the business entry.

If you think you have a particular issue that needs deeper investigation then post a message with the topic "I want to report a Local Guide please contact me" and a Googler will reach out to you privately for more information.

Regards Paul

[jojo522]

@PaulPavlinovich Agreed.Such a collective commitments will make Google Map ideal. Suspecting any locating somebody from community and reporting is rather difficult. Motivating and following morale and ethics are the only solution.

[RoySteele]

Reporting a business as closed can create problems. This comes up often, and I find it frustrating. It's a pet peeve of mine and I've given up. 

When a hotel changes their name and the business remains open, local guides will report the hotel as permanently closed. The hotel employees are the same, the housekeeping staff is the same, and the level of service is the same, the decor is the same. The only change is the sign in front of the hotel. When a local guide reports the business as closed, all the prior reviews and photos and information disappears unnecessarily. It makes no sense and it happens all the time.

I have tried to reverse this a few times, and had photos to support my position, and my edits were rejected.

A hotel went from being a Quality Inn to a Travelodge, and everything about the business was the same. Some sort of checks should be put in place to prevent this and to preserve the integrity of the Google Maps product imho.

Roy Steele

[PaulPavlinovich]

Hi @RoySteele if the business only changed its name then the name of the Maps entry can be changed. If the business was sold or consumed into another business then closing it is the right thing to do as it is not the same business.

As examples, a local cafe near me changed its name because it was too close to one used by a major corporate and they were forced to change as the corporate had a trademark on the name. In that case I changed the name on Maps because it was exactly the same business.

In the case where a hotel is taken over, for example when a chain buys out an independent or buys another chain e.g. when Wyndam took over Hawthorn Suites it became a totally new business in the same buildings likely with (most) of the same staff but new management practices and new corporate requirements. This is a new business and it should be closed and opened as a new business.

I follow a simple rule of thumb, if the owner changed, or the management changed then it is a new business because it will be different to the former business. 

Regards Paul

[RoySteele]

Hi @PaulPavlinovich!

Thanks for your reply - I really appreciate it! Though...I disagree with you 100%. 

For example, every three years independently owned hotels choose whether to continue their franchise affiliation with Choice Hotels, Wyndham, IHG, or another hotel group. Depending on the contract, the hotel group might be managing the hotel, or providing CRS services. 

Let's say a local hotel called the Quality Inn Anytown decided not to renew their contract with Choice Hotels. They become the Travelodge Anytown by Wyndham. The sign in front of the hotel changed. The same personnel are managing the hotel. The same family owns the hotel. Ownership of the hotel did not change. The same housekeepers clean the room, same front desk staff check guests in, and the same furniture decorates the room, the same ice machines churn out ice.

I think it's a disservice to guests and the public to permanently close Quality Inn Anytown, and report Travelodge Anytown by Wyndham as a newly opened business. 

Another situation I encountered recently. A Starbucks moved across the street to a larger space. Same personnel, same company, same menu, same coffee. It was reported permanently closed, and the new location was reported as a newly opened business. 

I disagree with how both situations were handled. The owner did NOT change, and management did NOT change, and yet the businesses were reported permanently closed. As a local guide, we don't have the tools to challenge how these situations are handled. 

It's a complex issue that doesn't have a one-size fits all solution, and each case has to be evaluated carefully. It requires more than a drive-by assessment, and more than a cursory knowledge of business. 

Roy Steele

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[PaulPavlinovich]

Hi @RoySteele interestingly you disagree then give several examples that completely support my point.

The hotel - by my rule of thumb the ownership did not change therefore you rename the business.

The Starbucks - same - the owner did not change, it should have been closed it should have been moved. To fix this I would report the closed one as a duplicate of the open one then the reviews will get merged.

So if you follow my rule of thumb - owner/manager did not change - rename or move the business as appropriate. The owner/manager did change close the business and open a new one.

Regards Paul