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Help improve a new Hours feature

Former Google Contributor

Oct 24 UPDATE: This feature is now also available in: Japan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Qatar

 

We are asking for Local Guides' help to improve a new feature we are rolling out. The next time you visit a place that has its hours on display, snap a picture of the sign AND update the hours the regular, manual way in Google Maps. This will help improve our ability to detect the correct hours from just a photo, making it easier for everyone to contribute (plus, you'll earn TWO points - 1 for correcting the information and 1 for adding a photo of the hours!)

"Suggest an Edit" on a place in Google Maps"Suggest an Edit" on a place in Google MapsTap "Hours" to select days to set hours forTap "Hours" to select days to set hours forSet the opening timeSet the opening timeSet the closing timeSet the closing timeTap "Take Photo of Hours"Tap "Take Photo of Hours"Take a photo of the sign or other place the hours are displayedTake a photo of the sign or other place the hours are displayedPublish to Google Maps (and earn points)Publish to Google Maps (and earn points)

 

 

 

Currently this feature is available for Android users in select countries. This feature is not available in the following countries: China, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Israel, Thailand, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Myanmar, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Laos, Macedonia, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Bangladesh. We will update this post as we open this feature to additional countries.

UPDATE: This feature is now also available in: Japan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Qatar.

 

What do you think of this new way to add or edit hours on Google Maps for Android?

 

Send feedback through the Google Maps app:

  1. Open the Google Maps app Google Maps
  2. Touch the Menu
  3. Touch Send feedback > Send app feedback.

 

You can also shake your phone or tablet to send us feedback. This captures a screenshot of your Google Maps screen to help us understand what is going on. You can remove this screenshot if it's not needed. To turn "shake to send feedback" on or off, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the Google Maps app Google Maps
  2. Touch the menu > Settings.
  3. Check the box or switch on "Shake to send feedback." 

 

Tips for giving good feedback:

  • Be as specific as possible. If you're not sure what something is called, you can describe it instead. The more we know, the more likely we can fix it.
  • Include as much information as you can. Tell us what you were doing, what happened, and what you expected.

 

 

111 Comments
Level 8

That is a good change.  Hopefully, it will accelerate the approval time of business hours edits.

Level 5
Level 5

Great
I do not see my country on the list ...
Any idea when it will be for IOS

@Corrie Wow! This is awesome! Just out of curiosity... We will be training some TensorFlow AI magical enchantments, right? We're living exciting times, and we may yet live to see when Skynet becomes self aware. 

H-Lo
Chronic wanderer of urban spaces
Former Google Contributor

@HLecuanda_H-Lo hahah, I can't comment on that right now, but I for one welcome our new robot overlords. 

 

@Jc If you don't see your country on the list, this feature is already available for you - but only on Android. 

 

@YK1001 Yes, hopefully this improves the review speed 🙂 

Connect Moderator

Just tried this Feature here:

https://goo.gl/maps/cgcgzTTUDQC2

If it works, it will be a nice improvement.

Please mention me with @LudwigGermany on your reply, so I get notified

  Connect Moderator   Maps   Instagram   Twitter 

Level 9

@Corrie and @YK1001

At the moment this will have not so much effect to the review process by Regional Leads.

Most of the reviews will be done in MapMaker and there you cant see the attached photos.

 

And the much bigger problem is that there are too less RL's per country.

Can only speak for Germany.

 

cheers

geo.osm

Level 4

 I was just struggling with correcting the opening hours for a place, then I started to wish: how nice if we could just snap a photo of the door sign and Google will take care of it... then this happened! Google is not just a search engine company anymore, it's a mind reading company!

Level 7

Great feature implementation.  Breaking up the days but making the data structured works very well.

Level 8

Hi @geoosm.  I would like to introduce my random thoughts to you.

Level 7

It sounds great.

 

Level 8

Any news on when this feature will be available for iOS ?

Level 7

Very nice! i hope available for iOS soon...

Pich Viras
Level 10

Nice feature. Eager to test this feature in Nepal..:)

flagnepal acetreks.gif  - Nepal | YouTube
Level 1

 Xin chào, tên của tôi là Nguyễn Ngọc Thu, sính 1972 tại tp HCM , Việt Nam , 700000

Xin các bạn hãy chỉ dẩn cho tôi cách chỉnh sửa tên được hiển thị, không hiểu sao tôi khai tên rất đúng nhưng khi hiển thị lên với mọi người thì tên tôi lại trở thành Ngọc Thun.

Tôi tìm mãi cách chỉnh sửa nhưng vẫn không thấy , tôi thật sự không biết phải làm sao ? 

Xin hãy chỉ dẫn từ bước 1 giúp tôi nhé, bởi tôi tiếp thu rất chậm . 

Xin chân thành cám ơn các bạn thật nhiều.

À, luôn cả mail hiển thị lên cũng sai. Mail chính xác của tôi là nhưng trên Hướng Dẩn Viên Du Lịch thì lại sai.

Level 8

This is something I tend to always overlook (noticing the business hours). I will have to start doing this more often. 

 

I really want to up my "edit" game. 

Level 10

@Corrie while I like the concept, I see two negatives right now.

 

1) Photos currently won't make it into Map Maker for the Regional Leads to review, so we (Regional Leads) are still just stuck with no supporting information.

 

2) What is to prevent another data source, or a Google My Business user (via their dashboard) from reverting these submitted hours? For example, there are a number of United States Post Offices that are currently showing Monday-Sunday 12:01am-11:59pm, as they likely came from a feed from the Postal Service (their website has the same unusal times, and the listings are not claimed). Those hours are for the lobby and self service vending machines, along with Post Office Box access. The staffed, "retail" hours are various hours during the day Monday-Saturday. I have tried changing those hours, only to see them reverted (usually within hours of my correction publishing)

From MapsFrom MapsFrom USPS.COMFrom USPS.COM

M. W. Jones -- Former Map Maker Regional Lead, United States
Level 7

@Corrie excellent feature which will speed up things! I'll start using it imminently.  

 

 P.s. also a quick suggestion for this post and all posts in general. It would be cool to have an option to opt in for notifications by email for (1) Google Moderators, (2) everyone by topic. As at the moment it's easy to miss the latest post, unless you are browsing on the home page every now and then.

Level 7

I like this feature , its very handy specially in the middle east where most of the businesses have break shift working hours. 

this feature just helps google map serachers to see the exact working hours including break times and holidays. 

 

Kudos to that. keep up the good work guys! 

 

regards

Valeed 

Former Google Contributor

@IvanLondon Subscribing to a person is an interesting idea. Let me talk to the team about that functionality. You CAN however subscribe to individual threads and boards though. Just click the three little dots in the very top right hand corner and you will have options to subscribe to the board you are on or the thread.

 

For example, here is how I would subscribe to the Local Guides Challenge board to get notified of every post to that board. 

Screen Shot 2016-10-06 at 10.11.58 AM.png

Level 7

@Corrie brill, thanks a lot for both the follow-up and the tip on how to subscribe to threads 

Level 5

Some places like parks are open "dusk" until "dawn" so the time changes with the season. Also many locations might be open 24 hours, which would be a nice option as well.


Level 3
Level 3

nice view

Level 3

I love it ❤

Level 8

Hello, @Corrie!

There is a big problem with "Opens at"/"Clothes at" hours in Israel (and not only):

Most stores, shopping centers, pharmacies and so on, have different opening / closing on Friday and Saturday, which depends on the starting / ending of Shabbat.

 

Example 1

BROOKLYN - KINGS HIGHWAY | 627 KINGS HIGHWAY - CORNER OF EAST 7TH ST. | BROOKLYN, NY 11223
HOURS: SUN - THUR: 9AM - 2AM | FRIDAY: 9AM - 2.5 HOURS BEFORE SHABBAT | SATURDAY: 90 MIN AFTER ZMAN - 3AM

Example 2

Sat. night: 30 min. after Shabbat - 00:00

 

And it's impossible to set any "average / estimated" time, because the difference (depending on the season) can be up to + -1.5 hours

Maybe someone has already asked a similar question? Is there any solution?

Level 7

@Corrie Hi CorrieD, Happy Friday!

I started to use this new feature.

 

Quick question: if the opening hours are already correct ones on Google Maps page, would it be still helpful to upload a photo as well? Or that photo upload is only helpful for Google Maps when opening hours are typed in at the same time (i.e. only in the instances when opening hours are missing or are incorrect at the moment)?

 

thanks 

Former Google Contributor

@IvanLondon Great question, I will ask the team. It defintiely doesnt hurt to add a photo of the hours (and the menu) though and you can still get a point for adding the photo 🙂

Former Google Contributor

@GeorgyG Perhaps you could include that information in your review of a place 🙂 I would also encourage the business owner to claim their listing on Maps where they can ad special seasonal or holiday hours that should help here. I'll pass along the information/request though to the team. 

 

UPDATE: Please take a photo of these hours and add them to the listing. We don't currently support this kind of description in product, but the photo would be useful (as well as including in your review of a place). 

Level 3

Very helpful and highly appereciated


@CorrieD wrote:

We are asking for Local Guides' help to improve a new feature we are rolling out. The next time you visit a place that has its hours on display, snap a picture of the sign AND update the hours the regular, manual way in Google Maps. This will help improve our ability to detect the correct hours from just a photo, making it easier for everyone to contribute (plus, you'll earn TWO points - 1 for correcting the information and 1 for adding a photo of the hours!)

"Suggest an Edit" on a place in Google Maps"Suggest an Edit" on a place in Google MapsTap "Hours" to select days to set hours forTap "Hours" to select days to set hours forSet the opening timeSet the opening timeSet the closing timeSet the closing timeTap "Take Photo of Hours"Tap "Take Photo of Hours"Take a photo of the sign or other place the hours are displayedTake a photo of the sign or other place the hours are displayedPublish to Google Maps (and earn points)Publish to Google Maps (and earn points)

Currently this feature is available for Android users in select countries. This feature is not available in the following countries: Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Israel, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine, Iran, Armenia, Myanmar, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Laos, Macedonia, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Qatar.

We will update this post as we open this feature to additional countries.

 

What do you think of this new way to add or edit hours on Google Maps for Android?

 

Send feedback through the Google Maps app:

  1. Open the Google Maps app Google Maps
  2. Touch the Menu
  3. Touch Send feedback > Send app feedback.

 

You can also shake your phone or tablet to send us feedback. This captures a screenshot of your Google Maps screen to help us understand what is going on. You can remove this screenshot if it's not needed. To turn "shake to send feedback" on or off, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the Google Maps app Google Maps
  2. Touch the menu > Settings.
  3. Check the box or switch on "Shake to send feedback." 

 

Tips for giving good feedback:

  • Be as specific as possible. If you're not sure what something is called, you can describe it instead. The more we know, the more likely we can fix it.
  • Include as much information as you can. Tell us what you were doing, what happened, and what you expected.

 

 


 

Level 4

I live in Kuwait , and the feature is not showing to me yet , although my Country is not listed in the countries not yet cover?!!!

Level 7

@Corrie thanks CorrieD!

Level 2
Level 2

Great idea with the hours feature,, on many occasions this information has been incorrect on-line.

Level 3

superb

 

Even before this feature, when correcting hours, I would also take a picture of the business hours. My most viewed photo is a picture of the hours on a post office

Level 8

@Corrie one of the issues I faced recently was that a business closes its kitchen during the day and reopens it in the evening. But unfortunatley I couldn't put that into the hours section so I just uploaded a photo of their hours. I know this happens a lot in Italy as well and when I was travelling there it was hard to determine which place would be open especially since I didn't know that was the standard in Italy. So feature request here basically 🙂 - let us input various time buckets for the same day so that people know when a place is actually closed.

 

Here's an example: http://www.plantatoronto.com/

Level 2

I enjoy it and will use it more.

Level 7

@Corrie and @GeorgyG Another fuzzy time frame I see used is open 7pm until Late. I would expect that Google could use the actual visiting times to be able to estimate an average time (or range of times) on any particular day of the week. There is no way of entering imprecise hours like this in mapmaker or as a local guide, so it would be good to have some more options.

 

Another related issue is when a business has set hours that they are definitely open, but may also be open for functions after hours or by appointment. Recently I searched for the location for a function and got the message that the venue might be closed when I arrived.

It would be good for a business owner to be able to check a box that allowed them to indicate whether they are definitely closed outside their stated business hours (which would be typical for businesses such as a bank, a petrol station, a supermarket etc) of if there was still a chance they they might be open for business outside those hours - eg a function centre, a business which has 24 hour on call service, a small business owner willing to work whenever work is available etc.

 

Level 7

@PrachyM  

You can add multiple period of hours which give a break during the day.

 

For the case of Planta, you look at the common groupings.

 

First you enter the morning hours for Mon to Sat (11:30 AM to 3:00PM)

Then you click on Add hours and enter the evening hours (Mon to Sun 5:00PM to late =10PM as per current hours)

Finally you click add hours again and enter the Sunday Morning hours of 10:30 AM to 3:00PM.

 

 

@PrachyM wrote:

@Corrie one of the issues I faced recently was that a business closes its kitchen during the day and reopens it in the evening. But unfortunatley I couldn't put that into the hours section so I just uploaded a photo of their hours. I know this happens a lot in Italy as well and when I was travelling there it was hard to determine which place would be open especially since I didn't know that was the standard in Italy. So feature request here basically 🙂 - let us input various time buckets for the same day so that people know when a place is actually closed.

 

Here's an example: http://www.plantatoronto.com/

 

 


 

Former Google Contributor

@PrachyM as @KevH said, you can enter different sets of hours for each day (it is common for restaurants in New York to be closed for a few hours in the afternoon between lunch and dinner as well). 

 

 

Level 10

Waiting for this feature in Armenia 🙂

Level 8

Thank @KevH for the help!

Level 7

absolutly a tremendous change

Level 9

@Corrie is there any reason that I see a double edit entry in MapMaker, if I add a photo with openning hours and let do Google the rest?

If no other photo is attached to the business, it will used as main photo for the business.

As this is just a help photo I would prefer that these kind of photos will not appear as main photo.

And generally it could be a good idea to use for such photos an extra tab in the photo gallery, like we have for 360 deegree photos.

 

cheers

geo.osm

Former Google Contributor

@geoosm I don't know what you mean by double entry edit in Map Maker. This feature is for Google Maps. 

 

If you are concerned about the photo of the hours being the only photo for that business, please take another photo and add it too 🙂 In some cases, seeing the picture of the hours is helpful to people. Some restaurants for example have hours like "Closed 2.5 hours before Sabbath". 

Level 9

@Corrie all actions in Google Maps to a POI also cause an edit in MapMaker.

Have a look at this POI https://goo.gl/tRqAHT, where I added a photo with the opening hours.

In the History tab you will see that opening hours added twice. Like a double edit.

Maybe its needed because of the kind like the opening hours were added, but at first for it looks like one edit too much.

 

Esp. for the case (Sabbath) you mentioned it could eb an good idea to have a separat tab. If there are 100 or more photos to the POI it could be hard to this one with the opening hours 😉

 

cheers

geo.osm


Former Google Contributor

@geoosm I'll pass your feedback along to the respective teams. 

Level 9

thanks @Corrie

Level 10

Just an Idea..

 

  • Normal Photos in one set (Tab or whatever)
  • 360 Photos in one set (Tab or whatever)
  • Business Timing Photos in one set (Tab or whatever)

Then thatis very easy to get filter the real purpose of adding the timing image separately.

othervise,  it will a just another photo only...

 

Level 7

I agtree with MohomedG (level 5) , for the idea he suggested as below.

 

suggestion 1) 

add more tabs / create categories for photos 

  • Normal Photos 
  • 360 Photos 
  • Business Timing Photos / Special Event  (like Promotions , Launch etc.) Timing Photos 

 

This will help users to identify , if there are any special events for the business / location 

 

Suggestion 2)

create special event date (from date - to date) along with the current hours facility where hours can be extended or reduced

 

by adding the above features it will add value to the map searches where they can see if the location has any special events 

 

hope this helps

 

cheers! 

Valeed 

Level 6

 This is a good facility to include, however there is a limitation which it would be useful to address. 

When asked to update or improve the hours information,  it is only possible to select time periods or 24 hours. There is no faciltity to say not applicable or similar. For example I have twice been requested to update the hours information for:

Edwards, 

Chard Rd
Drimpton
Beaminster DT8 3RF

It correctly states that it is a Dairy Farm. However there is no option to say that it is not open to the public, so in the case of this business the Hours information is not relevant. They open the gate for the milk tanker when necessary, and that is it.

I expect other people will have received requests for Hours information where it is not appropriate or applicable, we need an option added to allow us to say so please.