Missing Accessible Entrance Attribute???

[seaniaaa]

Is it just me or has the option for "wheelchair accessible entrance" suddenly disappeared from GBP? It's missing both when managing from search and the GBP manager. Was this an expected part of the filter rollout? If so how can we edit it? Is anyone else not seeing it? I've checked multiple clients and all I'm seeing is seating, restroom, and elevator. @JoyHawkins any insights here?

 

[seaniaaa]

I really hope this doesn't mean they're only going to leave it up to local guide feedback...

 

[seaniaaa]

Bump. Also, we care for two reasons: accessibility, and Google enabled the new feature to filter maps results by whether a GBP has a wheelchair accessible entrance or not. ~13.7% of Americans have a mobility impairment of some kind. Many of them could make use of the filter, so it could have a big impact from a search perspective as well.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I think @krystaltaing or @BenFisher might know?

 

[rustybrick]

This is what I see when I edit that attribute...

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

I have the same info on the profiles we manage, screenshot:

 

[JS Girard]

Just as well. I've been fighting off Google's insistence to adding the attribute to locations where the entrance is emphatically not accessible and Google rejects any and all attempt to correct it! (it still does that for the accessible toilets, though...)

 

[seaniaaa]

Oh thank God, I'm not crazy and it's not just me. You're all missing "wheelchair accessible entrance", which used to be there, and is the attribute that corresponds to the new filter to be able to search for businesses with wheelchair accessible entrances in Maps.

 

[seaniaaa]

Just as well. I've been fighting off Google's insistence to adding the attribute to locations where the entrance is emphatically not accessible and Google rejects any and all attempt to correct it! (it still does that for the accessible toilets, though...)

Actually, the attribute very much still exists, but now you have no control over it. The new feature Google rolled out is a filter built around it. That feature is live for me right now on my mobile. So now you won't be able to easily see if Google has applied that attribute to a business you're managing.

 

[seaniaaa]

Example:

 

[JS Girard]

The really enraging thing is Google doesn't even offer this filter here in Quebec!

 

[Ben Seidel]

@seaniaaa
From what we've seen, yes, that attribute is gone at the moment - whether it is permanent or temporary remains to be seen.
As Barry pointed out, you can still select wheelchair accessible seating and wheelchair accessible restroom.
That said, if you select the "Share the latest info" under "Know this place" on the GBP Panel from the business, "is there a wheelchair accessible entrance here?" still shows up as a question.
So, theoretically, you can still influence that answer, albeit indirectly via answering the "Know this place" questions.

 

[seaniaaa]

@seaniaaa
From what we've seen, yes, that attribute is gone at the moment - whether it is permanent or temporary remains to be seen.
As Barry pointed out, you can still select wheelchair accessible seating and wheelchair accessible restroom.
That said, if you select the "Share the latest info" under "Know this place" on the GBP Panel from the business, "is there a wheelchair accessible entrance here?" still shows up as a question.
So, theoretically, you can still influence that answer, albeit indirectly via answering the "Know this place" questions.

This is true. But ultimately, that entrance attribute is the one powering the filter, so the ability to control the WA entrance attribute is the most important one. Plus, if people can't enter the business, the other two don't really matter. Restaurants and entertainment venues are going to care much more about the restroom and seating attributes while law firms probably won't need to worry about them as much. Though obviously from an accessibility standpoint, businesses should be staying on top of all of them and accurately representing the business.

I did see that it's still coming up in the contribution questions, but it makes it harder to influence and much more difficult to keep track of, especially at scale for agencies. This could especially become a problem for people who often see the attribute added to locations erroneously. And while the contribution system works okay in urban centers, it is not perfect or comprehensive. Especially in lower population density areas where less people contribute. (in my experience)

Were some people probably going to game the filter? Of course. But I very much hope Google decides to go the route of a penalty system (maybe after x times the business adds the attribute and a weighted amount of contributions disagree and remove it, manual action against your local finder/pack ranking) instead of wresting control away from businesses. Fingers crossed it's a temporary bug. That or they saw a mass influx of the attribute when they added the filter feature, and put a temporary freeze on it while they evaluate whether a bunch of black hats tried to game it or whether honest businesses just started caring to update it. I wonder if they took a snapshot of every business that added the attribute at rollout and now are tracking the numbers for how many are validated via contribution and how many are rejected and will make a final decision from there. *end of rambling to myself in a public forum*

But, all in all, the filter is a great feature no matter what. I just hope they strike a better balance between contributor control and business control. At the very very least, the attribute should be visible internally with the others.

 

[krystaltaing]

Hi All,

I can confirm that this attribute has also been removed via API. I am now only seeing these options.

This means that the attribute switch from objective (being able to be set and managed by the business) to subjective (being voted on by public maps users). Of course it is not a subjective business feature so i'd suggest sending feedback to Google. It could be an oversight or it could be intentional based on inaccurate data or something else.