A Bury business owner has warned other small businesses to keep a close eye on their Google accounts after his company was removed from Google Maps despite remaining open for business.
Business removed after false closure report
Jay, who runs The PC Guy, said he discovered that his Google Business Profile had been disabled after someone suggested to Google that his long-established business had permanently closed. The computer specialist, who has been working in the industry for more than 20 years and opened his Bury office in 2013, said the removal had already started to affect the number of calls coming into the business.
In a post on social media, Jay hit out at whoever had reported the business, writing: “The PC Guy is no longer listed on Google Maps.” He added that the loss of visibility was not only affecting him but could ultimately have consequences for his staff. “If this continues for eight weeks, 10 weeks, I may not be able to have any work for them to come in and do,” he said.
Spam folder hides Google warning
Jay said he believes the incident may have been the result of someone with a grievance against him, although he does not know who made the report. “I think personally it could have been a customer,” he said. “I don't know who's done it. Google doesn't give you the name of anybody who's reported.”
He said the problem came to light when he went to update his Google profile and discovered that it had been disabled. Google had previously contacted him about the listing, but Jay said the email had ended up buried among thousands of messages in his spam folder. By the time he discovered it, he said the four-day window he had been given to challenge the closure had passed and the listing had been removed.
“I think it was something like 3,000 spam emails to literally find this report from Google to say it had been suggested that I was closed,” he said. “I ended up working late last night.”
Appeal and impact on reviews
Jay has now appealed to Google and is supplying documentation including licences, insurance certificates and photographs to prove that the business remains open. However, he said he has been warned the review process could take up to eight weeks.
The biggest concern for him is the potential loss of more than 200 Google reviews, which he says have played an important role in attracting customers from across the region. “Over 200 reviews to lose is a massive amount,” he said. “It basically doesn't put me back to square one as such, but my online presence with Google… I'm hoping it won't, but it could well disappear, and I've got to start on the bottom of them.”
Jay said customers have travelled significant distances to use his services after finding the business through its online reviews, including customers from Leeds. He also said the removal could make it harder for people searching online for services such as laptop repairs in Bury to find The PC Guy. “If anyone types in now ‘laptop repairs in Bury’, they're not going to see my name,” he said. “They're going to see other competitors.”
Warning to other businesses
Despite the setback, Jay remains determined to keep the business going and says the incident has prompted him to reassess how he manages his online presence. He believes the experience should serve as a warning to other small businesses to check their emails and spam folders regularly.
“It's just a massive warning,” he said. “Keep an eye on your social and the emails that you write, your Google profiles, check your spam emails as well.”
Jay also believes more should be done to prevent people from anonymously making potentially damaging reports about businesses online. “I think that when it comes to something like this, when it involves a business and how it can affect a business, that's where the rules need to change,” he said.
He argued that online platforms should do more to establish the identities of people creating accounts, while acknowledging that privacy online remains important.
For Jay, the issue is particularly frustrating because he says he has spent more than two decades building up a reputation in the local community. “I've worked incredibly hard to try and be the best for everybody,” he said. “People know me in the area. People know me from Ramsbottom, Edenfield, even as far as Salford.”
And despite the disruption, he says he has no intention of letting the incident stop him. “If someone's out there trying to teach me a lesson, it's not going to work,” he said. “I am going to continue to be the best. I'm going to continue to, hopefully, win awards. And I am going to continue to serve the people.”
The PC Guy remains open for business while Jay waits for Google's appeal process to be completed. He says if someone has a problem, he'd prefer for them to speak directly to him.
“Just come in and say ‘I don't like what you've done. What have I done wrong? Let's talk about it. Let's chat.’”
For now, he says the experience has been a setback, but also an opportunity to look at how he manages the business. “It's been a bit of a setback,” he said. “But it just gives me a reason to look and review the way that I do things on a day-to-day basis.”
