Can't reply to reviews

[richardwaine]

Hey all,

I have had an issue replying to reviews on my Google Business Profile for around 6 months. Each time I attempt to reply to a review, the dialogue box pops up telling me that it was posted. Upon refreshing the screen, the review disappears. I have been engaged with Google for 6 months in an effort to have them fix this. Customer support has been relatively useless, as they ask for patience and understanding, and tell me that Google reserves the right to disable certain functions on profiles.

I have asked them why Google would disable my ability to reply to reviews. No answer. I ask them when I can expect a fix. No idea. Basically, the needle hasn't moved in 6 months.

But, the kicker here is that not being able to reply to reviews is not the only issue. I'm also completely unable to create a new update/post on my GBP either. The system marks everything (with a photo, without a photo, literally everything) as spam and rejects it. No solutions there either.

Does anyone have a contact at Google Business Profile who can actually do something? Playing with customer support for 6 months has not been enjoyable, and it hasn't been productive either. I need some real help on these issues.

Thank you so much in advance!

Rich
info@richardwaine.com

 

[JS Girard]

I'm not sure I have a solution, but I assume you're not in a weird vertical (e.g. some, but not all education categories) were reviews might be (in theory) prevented entirely?

 

[richardwaine]

I'm not sure I have a solution, but I assume you're not in a weird vertical (e.g. some, but not all education categories) were reviews might be (in theory) prevented entirely?

Thanks so much for your reply!

I don't think so. I'm a professional headshot photographer by trade. I do my own SEO and web dev. To date, I have accumulated more than 500 reviews, and up until about 6 months ago, I had no problem responding to reviews. Around the time that Google killed the stand-alone GMB app, folded everything into search and maps, and then released the helpful content update, review replies and updates/posts stopped working properly.

As mentioned in my original post, I have been back and forth with customer support. They acknowledge the issue, but nothing more. No one has stepped up to the plate to actually provide a real solution.

I appreciate any and all help I can get.

Many thanks!

 

[JS Girard]

I can tell you keep a close look on this. I've had times in the past where the problem was fixed and I was not told about it. Has support actually stated that engineering is on the issue?

 

[richardwaine]

I can tell you keep a close look on this. I've had times in the past where the problem was fixed and I was not told about it. Has support actually stated that engineering is on the issue?

I do keep a close eye on my GBP. I try to make an update post once per week. Can't do it.
I try to reply to reviews within 24 hrs of receiving them. Can't do it.

They have informed me that the issue was passed up the chain ("escalated").
I have no idea if engineering even knows there is an issue.

From what I have heard, no one else seems to have these problems, which is strange, to say the least.

The support team reinstated reviews that their filters removed and tried to pass it off as a win in regards to this particular set of issues. And, while I was thrilled to have some of my reviews back, the issues have not been resolved.

The Google team makes it incredibly difficult to get ANYTHING done. More often than not, I'm emailing with someone on the other side of the world. No one gets on the telephone anymore. And, anyone with any sort of clout at the company won't / hasn't gotten involved... at least not yet.

I would love it if they would. This issue has been ongoing for far too long.

I do appreciate the reply and feedback. I certainly don't mean to use this platform as a sounding board. But I would love a speedy and proper solution to my issues. Thanks again!

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

I'm also considering the possibility that you/your google account has been "silently banned" from responding to reviews. Perhaps you unknowingly did "something" that made the algorithm alert (the algorithm often works incorrectly).

Try adding another user to your profile and see if they can respond to the review that you were unable to respond to.

If the other person succeeds, there may be a problem with your account and you can talk to support about it - if I can help with it.

 

[richardwaine]

I'm also considering the possibility that you/your google account has been "silently banned" from responding to reviews. Perhaps you unknowingly did "something" that made the algorithm alert (the algorithm often works incorrectly).

Try adding another user to your profile and see if they can respond to the review that you were unable to respond to.

If the other person succeeds, there may be a problem with your account and you can talk to support about it - if I can help with it.

That's a great thought!

Wouldn't google's support team just outright tell me that something I did caused that kind of a "silent ban"? Wouldn't they alert me to the kind of behavior that caused that?

Should I use another one of my email addresses?

I'll give your idea a shot and report back!

Many thanks for the feedback!

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

That's a great thought!

Wouldn't google's support team just outright tell me that something I did caused that kind of a "silent ban"? Wouldn't they alert me to the kind of behavior that caused that?

Should I use another one of my email addresses?

I'll give your idea a shot and report back!

Many thanks for the feedback!

Unfortunately, as you noticed, the support team is not always helpful There are many "silent bans" and you often have to find them yourself and then fix them by reporting them to support.

 

[richardwaine]

Unfortunately, as you noticed, the support team is not always helpful There are many "silent bans" and you often have to find them yourself and then fix them by reporting them to support.

Just a brief update:

On Oct 11th I attempted to add one of my secondary emails to my GBP in order to test the theory that my primary email address was being "silently banned."

It is currently October 14, and I have yet to even receive an email invite to my own GBP. I'll wait a few more days, but I don't have much hope.

I have emailed support once again to ask them to remove whatever "silent bans" exist and informed them that no one has cited any violations on my part. However, since I have been so frustrated with support in general, I had asked to be put in touch with a supervisor. Now, the only response I have been given says:

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I identify your need for a quick resolution. I would like to request your kind patience till a supervisor gets in touch with you.​

​

Customer satisfaction is our primary goal & your association with Google is highly cherished.​

​

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! For help with other issues, you can always reach us via our Help Center."​

​

In all honesty, if customer satisfaction was their primary goal, I wouldn't be going through this 6 months after the issue began, and I wouldn't have needed to request help from a supervisor.

So... does anyone actually know someone who works AT Google, specifically in the GBP department?
Dealing with customer support via email is exceptionally frustrating.

Thanks again!

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

Just a brief update:

On Oct 11th I attempted to add one of my secondary emails to my GBP in order to test the theory that my primary email address was being "silently banned."

It is currently October 14, and I have yet to even receive an email invite to my own GBP. I'll wait a few more days, but I don't have much hope.

I have emailed support once again to ask them to remove whatever "silent bans" exist and informed them that no one has cited any violations on my part. However, since I have been so frustrated with support in general, I had asked to be put in touch with a supervisor. Now, the only response I have been given says:

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I identify your need for a quick resolution. I would like to request your kind patience till a supervisor gets in touch with you.​

​

Customer satisfaction is our primary goal & your association with Google is highly cherished.​

​

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! For help with other issues, you can always reach us via our Help Center."​

​

In all honesty, if customer satisfaction was their primary goal, I wouldn't be going through this 6 months after the issue began, and I wouldn't have needed to request help from a supervisor.

So... does anyone actually know someone who works AT Google, specifically in the GBP department?
Dealing with customer support via email is exceptionally frustrating.

Thanks again!

I keep my fingers crossed that it will work.
True, e-mails with invitations may sometimes not arrive. You can test, for example, with a friend - it will be a quick test.

I was a bit surprised by the answer you received, because I doubt your supervisor contacted you, but I could be wrong. Typically, the support team doesn't do things like this.

Write an update in some time.

 

[bluetech2003]

Just a brief update:

On Oct 11th I attempted to add one of my secondary emails to my GBP in order to test the theory that my primary email address was being "silently banned."

It is currently October 14, and I have yet to even receive an email invite to my own GBP. I'll wait a few more days, but I don't have much hope.

I have emailed support once again to ask them to remove whatever "silent bans" exist and informed them that no one has cited any violations on my part. However, since I have been so frustrated with support in general, I had asked to be put in touch with a supervisor. Now, the only response I have been given says:

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I identify your need for a quick resolution. I would like to request your kind patience till a supervisor gets in touch with you.​

​

Customer satisfaction is our primary goal & your association with Google is highly cherished.​

​

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! For help with other issues, you can always reach us via our Help Center."​

​

In all honesty, if customer satisfaction was their primary goal, I wouldn't be going through this 6 months after the issue began, and I wouldn't have needed to request help from a supervisor.

So... does anyone actually know someone who works AT Google, specifically in the GBP department?
Dealing with customer support via email is exceptionally frustrating.

Thanks again!

Just a thought...
Instead of adding a user, maybe Either transfer ownership to a 'fresh' vetted account, or have this new account claim the profile from a different device.

The problem could only come from 2 things:

1. your primary account / email.

2. or google bug

But its google, who knows..

 

[richardwaine]

Just a thought...
Instead of adding a user, maybe Either transfer ownership to a 'fresh' vetted account, or have this new account claim the profile from a different device.

The problem could only come from 2 things:

1. your primary account / email.

2. or google bug

But its google, who knows..

If it is a Google Bug, 6 months should have been more than enough time to rectify the issue... but again, support hasn't been so "supportive." They just ask for patience and understanding... but no results.

With so many people using Google products, I find it odd that I am the only one who has this issue.

I'm feeling like changing my user account, while a potential solution, is straying very far away from where I want to be. I don't want to have to change anything... as I have committed no violations, and don't want to amend my contact information simply because Google can't figure out which end is up.

After 6 months of back and forth with support, I would really love if anyone has a direct link to a real human being at google who can help?

 

[bluetech2003]

If it is a Google Bug, 6 months should have been more than enough time to rectify the issue... but again, support hasn't been so "supportive." They just ask for patience and understanding... but no results.

With so many people using Google products, I find it odd that I am the only one who has this issue.

I'm feeling like changing my user account, while a potential solution, is straying very far away from where I want to be. I don't want to have to change anything... as I have committed no violations, and don't want to amend my contact information simply because Google can't figure out which end is up.

After 6 months of back and forth with support, I would really love if anyone has a direct link to a real human being at google who can help?

Are you now able to respond to reviews?

We had a client having issues with their profile, but support got it fixed close to 7 months..

 

[richardwaine]

Are you now able to respond to reviews?

We had a client having issues with their profile, but support got it fixed close to 7 months..

Unfortunately, I still cannot reply to reviews.

I did have a conversation with a Google support supervisor. Yes, they actually called me!
It seems that the supervisor will be taking over my case. In and of itself, that is meaningless, since the issues rest in the hands of the engineers. However, this guy won't just BS me and tell me that they appreciate my patience and understanding.

Google knows that I've been waiting for solutions for way too long. However, they have also mentioned that the issues I have (not being able to respond to reviews and not being able to make an update/post due to instant rejection regardless of type, content, or photo), are not unique to me and that MANY other profiles are experiencing the same things I am.

I think that is their idea of letting me know that they have a bug in their systems. Why they have a bug and how they are fixing things is unclear. As I know more, I'll continue to post here.

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

The fact itself is interesting that after reporting to support, your supervisor contacted you. However, I am not surprised by the attitude that they do not know what is not working, how and when they will fix it.

 

[richardwaine]

The fact itself is interesting that after reporting to support, your supervisor contacted you. However, I am not surprised by the attitude that they do not know what is not working, how and when they will fix it.

It's not all that interesting. If you've been following along with my post, then you know I requested to speak with the supervisor. After getting nowhere after 6 months with the regular support person, I got tired of the excuses.

The really interesting part is that they recognize there are bugs in their software. It is not likely that a solution will be available overnight, but I promise to be enough of a thorn in their side that they take notice and get things resolved.

 

[bluetech2003]

Unfortunately, I still cannot reply to reviews.

I did have a conversation with a Google support supervisor. Yes, they actually called me!
It seems that the supervisor will be taking over my case. In and of itself, that is meaningless, since the issues rest in the hands of the engineers. However, this guy won't just BS me and tell me that they appreciate my patience and understanding.

Google knows that I've been waiting for solutions for way too long. However, they have also mentioned that the issues I have (not being able to respond to reviews and not being able to make an update/post due to instant rejection regardless of type, content, or photo), are not unique to me and that MANY other profiles are experiencing the same things I am.

I think that is their idea of letting me know that they have a bug in their systems. Why they have a bug and how they are fixing things is unclear. As I know more, I'll continue to post here.

Great google superv reached out to you!

You might want to try this:
Edit your last review response that google accepted and is showing up; if you're able to edit that, update with a couple words etc.. then repost it, see if the edit sticks, if it does, try responding to the next oldest review.

 

[NevenaIvanova]

Hey Rich,

We are together in this situation, as I manage around 8 businesses that were silently banned from utilizing the channels to communicate with the customers.

The good news is that at some point they remove the restriction without any explanation why. The bad news is that some of the businesses have been restricted for almost an year.

I have a tip for the rejected Google posts - we keep posting the scheduled publications and when we collect 4-5 Rejected posts we reach out to Google Support to request their processing, and they do publish those.

Hope this helps.

 

[yigitc]

I can't post any updates or images on my Google Maps and I can't reply to customer reviews. Everything I do, google robots delete it as spam within seconds. Please help me. My Google Business AccountS are 7 years old and still first for many keywords. 2 weeks ago I made a very small name change and after that I went back to my old name. Since then google sees all my updates as spam and deletes them. Normally I share updates every week and I can't share them for 2 weeks. Even funnier, the customer comments I reply to are deleted by google within seconds. Am I going crazy or has Google gone crazy?

I have two different maps one of them is my wife's map and another one is mine. I tried more than 10 different updates in 2 weeks and all of them have been deleted

 

[Brian - TGL]

Just a brief update:

On Oct 11th I attempted to add one of my secondary emails to my GBP in order to test the theory that my primary email address was being "silently banned."

It is currently October 14, and I have yet to even receive an email invite to my own GBP. I'll wait a few more days, but I don't have much hope.

I have emailed support once again to ask them to remove whatever "silent bans" exist and informed them that no one has cited any violations on my part. However, since I have been so frustrated with support in general, I had asked to be put in touch with a supervisor. Now, the only response I have been given says:

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I identify your need for a quick resolution. I would like to request your kind patience till a supervisor gets in touch with you.​

​

Customer satisfaction is our primary goal & your association with Google is highly cherished.​

​

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! For help with other issues, you can always reach us via our Help Center."​

​

In all honesty, if customer satisfaction was their primary goal, I wouldn't be going through this 6 months after the issue began, and I wouldn't have needed to request help from a supervisor.

So... does anyone actually know someone who works AT Google, specifically in the GBP department?
Dealing with customer support via email is exceptionally frustrating.

Thanks again!

@richardwaine was the secondary email address you tried to add a Gmail account or a branded account?

I have had two issues in the past where invites would not be sent to branded alias accounts (email forwards).

If you are troubleshooting this way to see if there is a restriction issue related to the current primary owner account, you would have to set the new email as the primary owner and remove the current primary owner (but as you mentioned, that is straying away from where you want to be).

One thing I don't see in the thread, sorry if I missed it, have you tried logging into your GBP dashboard via Chrome Incognito mode? That removes strange cookie issues, cache issues, corrupt Chrome profile issues and Chrome Extension issues.