Is hearsay against Google's policy?

[Jeffrey]

Hi everyone,

Is hearsay in a review against Google review policy?

I have a client in Nashua NH that got 2 negative reviews that I would think are against Google's review policy. What are your thoughts?

This first review is talking about work that was done on her husband, not on herself (hearsay). And at the end of the review she mentions that she had previously worked at that same office (conflicts of interest)

The second review is basically a comment about a review 8 months ago ⬇. I would categorize this review by Shell as hearsay as well.

What are your thoughts?
Here is their gmb Drfranconashua - Google Search

Thanks!!

 

[StephanieNewton]

Hey Jeffrey,

By the sounds of things, the first two reviews you've shared would be eligible for deletion. As you say, it looks like the first reviewer has a conflict of interest, which does go against Google's review guidelines.

Google also states that all content should be specific to your location and the experience, so anything that is "off-topic" (or hearsay, as you put it) would also be eligible for deletion. From what I can see, the second review looks to be off-topic as it's referencing another customer's experience and makes no reference to the reviewer's own time at the clinic.

If I were you, I would flag those two reviews in question and report them to Google. If needs be, you can also escalate the issue via GMB Twitter support (@GoogleMyBiz) after a couple of days have passed.

I can see that you've responded to the 1-star reviews for now though, which is great.

Best of luck in getting them removed!

 

[Jeffrey]

Thanks @StephanieNewton

I've flagged both of them and then reach out to gmb support on twitter. Their support team said "After looking at the reviews and investigating their sources, we've determined that they do not violate our review guidelines".

I wanted to get a couple of people's thoughts on these reviews before I head over to the GMB Community.

So far 1 in agreement

 

[StephanieNewton]

Oh that is intriguing Shell's review is written entirely based on someone else's visit, so I'm surprised that wouldn't be considered as violating Google's guidelines. Both the 1-star reviewers have no profile information and have only reviewed your client's practice, which also looks suspicious to me.

Is there a way for you to prove that the reviewers in question haven't visited your client's practice?

 

[Jeffrey]

Ya my client has proof of that, but I think GMB Twitter support is done talking with me lol. I've followed back up with them after they said no and have got 0 response. I replied back last wednesday

 

[WAHamilton]

To be honest, I find that it is a bit of a coin flip with instances of hearsay in reviews. Some Google specialists will delete hearsay when you report it, but others won't and you can't do much to overturn their decisions. For example, I recently reported a 1-star review that just said "They couldn't meet the current price for my motorcycle insurance" and got the same response as you, which is frankly ridiculous. It's the most obvious instance of hearsay that I've ever seen.

It is frustrating to hear, but I have not observed any real consistency in the way that Google handles these type of instances. If it is the only review from an account, you might have better luck, but if it is a frequent reviewer or Local Guide, you are probably screwed. My theory is that this often factors more into the decision than the actual review content.

I think it is always worth trying to report it, but I have not had much success continuing to badger Google through different channels. They will stick to their original decision and you just have to move on -- or, ideally, get more positive reviews.

 

[Jeffrey]

I'm going to post this in the GMB Community forum and hope for the best