Another Burn For SAB's?

[Colan Nielsen]

Not sure if this is common knowledge but it looks like the Google Offers feature is not available for SAB's.

Google Offers is not available for businesses like yours. Offers aim to bring customers to your door and since you selected to not show your address on your maps listings this product isn't the right match for you.


​What do you think about that?

 

[Phil Rozek]

Thanks, Colan. That was news to me.

What a paranoid, idiotic policy. Who cares if a business owner has a door? If the people at Google think owners of service-area businesses somehow are more likely to game the system, then Google should make the requirements tougher.

Google Offers suck, though, so at least it's not a big loss for SABs.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Not sure if this is common knowledge but it looks like the Google Offers feature is not available for SAB's.

Google Offers is not available for businesses like yours. Offers aim to bring customers to your door and since you selected to not show your address on your maps listings this product isn't the right match for you.


​What do you think about that?

I agree with Phil. Bad policy. House cleaners, carpet cleaners and plumbing companies as well as many other types of SABs use coupons. It's like the policy makers at Google live in ivory towers and don't live in the real world. Don't they ever need carpets cleaned? Garage doors fixed? Don't they ever shop for services and look for deals? I don't see why SABs should be excluded.

And that wording is a little abrasive to me and shows a clear bias against SABs.

I've seen this policy in Google help docs or somewhere. Was searching Google to try to find it. Found a post at Mikes back in Jan from a SAB that got the exact same message. So it seems to me it's not just one rep having a bad day, but must be company approved messaging. Again I don't work with SABs myself, so am not defending anyone based on any type of personal agenda. It just does not seem quite fair to me.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

I agree with both of you. Totally unfair and out of touch with the real world.

Linda, to get this message you just have to click on the "Offers" tab within the Google Places dashboard of an SAB.

So it seems to me it's not just one rep having a bad day, but must be company approved messaging. Again I don't work with SABs myself, so am not defending anyone based on any type of personal agenda. It just does not seem quite fair to me.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Oh assumed that was support rep email.

That was in-product messaging??? Wow!

Now that messaging sounds even more derogatory and prejudiced.

Comes off sounding like a back-of-the-bus message. "Front seats are not available for 'people like you'. People like you need to sit at the back of the bus."

Why not just say it professionally and to the point?
"Offers is not available for service area businesses with address hidden."

Still do not agree with the policy, but the current wording is just wrong to me.

Plus it's not like they are "choosing" to hide address. In most cases they would rather show it but are being forced to hide it due to Google policy.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Well said Linda. I feel like it's a great opportunity for any business to utilize the offers feature.

I disagree with Phil (for once), and I actually think the Google Offers is a pretty good feature. With the small number of listings we have used them on they have seen some business directly from it.