Best Response to a Bad Review From a Disgruntled Former Employee
I hear complaints from concern owners and marketers all the fourth dimension that the Google My Business organisation guidelines are often ambiguous, and I tend to agree. Information technology tin be piece of cake to read a guideline and interpret it incorrectly.
I have learned that the key to understanding the guidelines is through time and experience. Seeing what Google volition and will not act on tin provide insight into what things they really care well-nigh, and this tin help you read between the lines.
Until recently, I had ever causeless that reviews from former employees were considered to exist in violation of Google My Business organisation guidelines. This was based on the following two passages from their review policies page:
- "Make sure that the reviews on your business listing, or those that you get out at a business you've visited, are honest representations of the customer experience. Those that aren't may exist removed." This is the golden rule at the centre of Google'southward guidelines, which is why the company usually removes peer reviews or reviews you got your friends to write for you. (Note that a reviewer doesn't technically have to exist a customer, just they do need to have had customer intent — for example, if someone leaves y'all a negative review considering you never called them back, that would still be considered a legitimate review because they intended to rent yous and you exhibited poor customer service.)
- "Conflict of interest: Reviews are nearly valuable when they are honest and unbiased. If you ain or work at a place, please don't review your own business organization or employer."
My interpretation hither was that reviews left by whatsoever employee — current or past — would not be in line with Google's review policies. Later on all, how on earth is an employee's bespeak of view an honest representation of a client feel? An employee is not a customer.
However, when I tried to assist business owners in getting negative reviews from erstwhile employees removed earlier this year, I discovered that Google only considered reviews from electric current employees to be against its guidelines.
Stupid, correct? I accept tried to wrap my head around this, and I can't understand what possessed Google to come up with that policy.
Here is a recent case. In this thread on the Google My Business forum, a business possessor was trying to get a review from a former employee removed. They stated that the employee no-showed on her shift three times and was let go. In the review, the user states:
"Yes I am an ex employee. My opinion of [omitted] was the same while I worked there every bit when I stopped working there."
She continues to argue that her opinion is the same as the customers' and starts comparing them to one of their competitors.
In some other example, an ex-employee reviewed a preschool and made negative comments about the business possessor and mentioned that their disability to run the school well is why they tin can't keep staff.
How Google considers these reviews reflective of a customer experience is beyond me. Still in both cases, Google refused to remove the reviews and antiseptic that it'due south not against their guidelines because the employee doesn't currently work at that place.
The expert news, however, is that Google updated their review policies on December 14, 2017, and it looks like reviews from former employees are finally at present able to exist removed. The new guidelines are now in the Maps help center (they used to be under Google My Business organisation), and they notation that "posting negative content about a current or former employment experience" is no longer immune, as it is considered a disharmonize of interest.
If y'all were one of those unfortunate businesses that had experiences like the two examples above, at present is the time to contact Google My Business and ask them to remove the reviews. Hopefully, this time, y'all'll get an advisable response!
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
New on Search Engine State
Most The Author
Joy is the possessor of the Local Search Forum, LocalU, and Sterling Heaven, a Local SEO agency in Canada & the USA. She has been working in the industry since 2006 and enjoys speaking regularly at marketing conferences such as MozCon, LocalU, Pubcon, SearchLove, and State of Search. Yous can discover her on Twitter or volunteering equally a Product Good on the Google My Business Forum.
Source: https://searchengineland.com/negative-reviews-ex-employees-finally-googles-guidelines-288390
0 Response to "Best Response to a Bad Review From a Disgruntled Former Employee"
Post a Comment