Problem with two different locations having same address

[EduarddeBoer]

Hello everyone,

I am encountering an issue for a client of mine which I can't get solved, although we're trying all we can do.

Please allow me to explain the context:

• The company is called "Fysiotherapie Douma Hilversum", located in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
• They have 3 listings because they have 3 locations.
• The problematic location is: Diependaalselaan 337a (with a lowercase a)
• This listing used to be located at the address: van Almondelaan 1a.
• While there was an overlap during moving from the old location to the new one, we had two listings, which we had merged by Google, into one.
• So, this address is a rather newish location (built approx 2 years ago).
• On the map, there is a small (non-existing) location, marked 337A (capital A), see screenshot below. During the construction, on this exact location there used to be a container.

The issue is that the business does not show on the building at all, regardless of all we've done, if you browse around the map where it should be.

If you search for the business WITH the address, the location shows up, see 2nd screenshot.

I suspect it is due to the fact that there are two 337 listings, the one with the lowercase 'a' and the one with the uppercase 'A', associated with two buildings.

Because when searching for the address on Maps: Diependaalselaan 337a
(with lowercase 'a'), it shows both businesses, but not other businesses located on 337a (lowercase), see 3rd screenshot.

Obviously, we'd like the uppercase 'A' location to be removed from Google. We've sent numerous requests through the Maps app and website to report the issue. Although they tell us it's solved every time, nothing changes.

Do you have a suggestion on what to do / how to approach or even better: how to fix this situation?

Thanks,


Eduard de Boer.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Hey Eduard,

I spoke to one of the Maps Product Experts and he suggested that the lowercase a is coming from this listing: Fysiotherapie Douma • Frank Mulder and suggested you update the address on that listing to have a capital A.

The fact that the location is new explains why it doesn't have a place label on the map. We did a study on place labels last year and found older listings are more likely to have place labels. According to our study, the listings in Toronto that had the most prominent place labels (without having to zoom in) were around 7 years old whereas the listings that didn’t get labels were 3 years old, on average.

 

[EduarddeBoer]

Hey Eduard,

I spoke to one of the Maps Product Experts and he suggested that the lowercase a is coming from this listing: Fysiotherapie Douma • Frank Mulder and suggested you update the address on that listing to have a capital A.

The fact that the location is new explains why it doesn't have a place label on the map. We did a study on place labels last year and found older listings are more likely to have place labels. According to our study, the listings in Toronto that had the most prominent place labels (without having to zoom in) were around 7 years old whereas the listings that didn’t get labels were 3 years old, on average.

Thank you Joy,

For the swift reply.

Maybe I wasn't clear. The location with the capital 'A' is the unwanted location. This used to be a container during construction and made it as an address on Maps somehow.

The container is not there anymore. The correct location is the one with the lowercase 'a'.

If you lookup the location on the satellite map, you'll see the big building with the lowercase 'a' and no building on the capital 'A' location.

Can this labelling (which differs only on the letter at the end), cause confusion with two adjacent buildings? Or better: what Google Maps considered it were two buildings?

And does merging a new location with an old location (>8 years old) cause the merged location to be hidden? Doesn't it inherit the age, similar to the reviews? Because the reviews were kept during the merge...

Regards,

Eduard.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Eduard,

Street View is showing a capital A so that will likely be hard to fix unless you have more up-to-date photos - Google Maps

Place Labels are specific to the location, not the listing, so your history at that location is what I'm referring to when I talk about age. I don't believe updating the address on the listing to move it (instead of creating a new listing) would make the business more likely to get a place label faster. If they've only been at that location a short period of time, I would expect that it would take around a year or so to get a label.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Also, Greg (the PE I'm talking to) said the unit marker on the container is from another listing so he just updated the pin marker for that listing.

 

[EduarddeBoer]

Hi Joy,

I've just had the business owner go out and take some photos. Geotagging in his phone is on, in order to verify the location.

Hope this helps to prove that the small location with capital 'A' does not exist there anymore.

Thanks again for your help.

Eduard.

 

[GregM]

Hi,

Joy asked me to chime in here.

The photos your client provided do not show the side of the building that has the street address on it. Also, the website of the business shows 337A in the address.

PostNL also show the address as

Diependaalselaan 337 A

1215KG HILVERSUM

If you are trying to remove the actual building outline that is handled by automated processes.

 

[EduarddeBoer]

Thanks a lot Greg,

for taking the effort of chiming in. I understand your point regarding the official 337A (capital) address, which is also registered officially by PostNL.

So, my suggestion is the following, if possible:

1. Remove 337a (lowercase 'a') location marker from the large white building
2. Move the 337A (capital 'A') location marker from the wrong location onto the center of the large white building

I've had the business owner go out and take better pics to prove that the small building (currently indicated as 337A (capital 'A') is not there. Please find the photos below.

The first screenshot contains the viewpoints and viewing directions of the three following photos.

Thanks for your help,

Eduard.

 

[GregM]

Hi,

The lower case "a" is being displayed based on the address information contained in the business points located here. This will only change if those POI's change their details.

I know the small building is not there, as I stated previously building outlines are handled by automated processes. The unit marker that was on this structure was because there was a business POI on this structure, that business POI has been moved. However, map tiles take time to re-render.

 

[EduarddeBoer]

Thanks Greg!

We've just updated all the addresses of the relevant POI's to 337A, same as the data on the website. That is now also all 337A.

We'll keep an eye on it and hope the issues will be solved.

Thanks again for your help,

Eduard.