By james art Calgary business owner Bryce Gilbert is frustrated and looking for answers after Google removed his business profile without warning, resulting in lost bookings and damage to his company’s reputation.
Mr. Steam Calgary provides carpet cleaning, upholstery and auto detailing services.
Gilbert says he created a Google business account when he started Mr. Steam in 2019, and has worked hard to earn a 4.9-star reputation with around 130 positive Google reviews from customers.
Gilbert said he had never had any issues noted by Google, so he was shocked and confused to receive an email on Oct. 8 indicating that his account had been restricted.
“It’s kind of emotional,” he said. “I just woke up and it said my whole account was suspended and now when you google me I’m not there. Looks like I hung up or something.
“I’ve had a lot of customers say, ‘Oh, I thought you were closed,’ which is definitely not the case.”
Gilbert’s email from Google stated that Mr. Steam’s business account had been suspended for a policy violation, but did not specify what policy was violated.
“Whatever it is, it’s a super minor thing that I don’t think warrants taking me out of the public eye for two weeks now,” he said.
“I’ve been working on this for five years. It was really important to me to make sure my customers were treated perfectly so I could earn those five-star reviews.”
Gilbert thought it might be an accident or a misunderstanding, so he appealed the suspension and filed for his business license.
To his dismay, his appeal was rejected a week later, with Google citing “content that violates our deceptive content policies.”
Gilbert said he’s read the rules and made slight changes to his hours to see if that would help, but says that because Google has an automated system, he’s had a hard time figuring out what it would take to return your business profile online.
Since being taken down, Gilbert says he’s gone from booking about three jobs four or five days a week to no new bookings, which he says has already cost him thousands of dollars.
“It’s brutal, I have a six-month-old baby at home, my wife is on maternity leave and that’s how we pay for our house. The truck is about $800 a month for the truck payment. It’s terrible .. I mean I worked through COVID-19 and it was tough – but this is worse,” he said.
Gilbert also worries about his company’s reputation.
“Financially, obviously it’s a big deal, but it’s also a matter of pride, right? Five years of building your reputation and you find that Google owns it and you find that some automated system has taken it down without the respect or decency to contact you about what problem they have with you.
“People go there to find information about businesses, and if they can’t find it, they assume you’re not real, and they’d also assume if you’re taken down, it’s for a legitimate reason.”
Thomas Keenan, professor at the University of Calgary and author of Technocreep: The Abandonment of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacysays stories like Gilbert’s have contributed to a landmark lawsuit against Google by the US Department of Justice over its advertising practices and allegations that the company is anti-competitive.
“It really feels like a David and Goliath situation,” Keenan said. “You have this company that makes hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising, they stop this little guy and then they won’t explain themselves.
“I looked into their policies and they’re kind of vague. For example, even a duplicate listing can be enough to get you banned.”
Keenan said there is little recourse for small business owners in these situations other than to share their stories online and through the media.
Gilbert said he’s heard from other companies who’ve been through the same situation, and he’s sharing his story in hopes of restoring his profile, but also raising awareness among other business owners about how much power Google has over them.
“They just don’t care about the damage they’re doing to the business. I will do my best to make my profile compatible, but so far they haven’t told me what I need to change.
Gilbert said he has since tried to create other accounts, but they have also been blocked.
Google responds
In a statement sent to CTV News, Google said merchants of all sizes use the search engine to manage how their business is displayed online.
“We take this responsibility very seriously,” a spokesman said.
“We have reviewed this case in detail and are working with the business to help them make any necessary edits to their profile. We strive to resolve issues in a helpful and timely manner, and we are constantly improving the way we do it.”
According to Google, it has policies and controls in place to protect users and prevent businesses from misleading or taking advantage of users seeking information, including policies for presenting the services they offer in policies for service-based businesses.
It also offers guidelines for service businesses that outline how they should present their operations to Google.