h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The couple who live across the road from me are nice, they're about the same age as us and they have two young children. We say hi in the street and occasionally talk.

The woman runs a couple of business from home, the main one used to be doing people's nails, but that seems to have given way to reselling clothes. I think this is good, it shows enterprise and allows her to spend more time with her kids.

However, I noticed last night when looking at google's maps of my house that one of her businesses is showing above my house. Hmm, I thought. I don't run a nail polishing business from my front room. The clothes is showing over their house, but the nails seems to have moved.

Thankfully there's a little link on these listings that you can use to notify Google of any errors. Yay, I thought. I clicked the link, filled in the details letting them know the correct latitude and longitude and sent off the form. Good feedback method I thought.

This morning I received an email from Google Maps thanking me for "sharing your local expertise, and taking the time to report a problem" That was a nice start to the email. It went on "Due to the volume of reports we receive, it may take some time for us to review your report and update the listing information accordingly." That's only to be expected. They'll be busy people. Still, it's in the system now I thought. Then I read the next paragraph:

"Also, please note that (company name) is an owner-verified listing and some updates require the approval of the business owner before they are applied. The most effective way to update the information about this listing may be to contact the business owner directly."

Hang on a minute, are they saying that my neighbour deliberately put her business as being at my house? And that for Google to remove it from being over my house they have to get her to verify this? If she did it deliberately to make it look like she wasn't running two businesses from the one house, why would she suddenly then go "oh, okay I'll move it back"? And telling me that the best way to solve it is to talk to them myself? Sorry, no. They've put the marker over my house, I've notified them of the incorrect information. Surely all they'd need to do is look at the address associated with the listing, see that it's on the other side of the road, and change it. But no, they've got to contact the business owner and get them to verify the change.

But what if they don't want to? What if I get an email from Google Maps saying "We've contacted the business owner and they've confirmed the marker is in the correct place." So, what do I do? Is there anything I can do?

Obviously the first thing would be to then contact the woman, ask her why she won't remove it. But that's more likely to just get us not talking to each other. And if we're going to go down that route, I'd much rather have fun doing it. I've already started writing up a list of made up business that I can position at their house.

First though, I'll wait to see what Google come back with. But I won't wait that long.

Sadly you don't own this data, Google do. It was a gift to them from your neighbour. You happen to own the plot of land, the bricks and mortar, swimming pool, trampoline, etc which occupy the location it refers to.

All you can really do is identify any damages this causes, then threaten legal action. It may raise the priority of your change request.

Oh yes, I know. It's just annoying.

I wonder if I can complain for false advertising...

Why not just knock on her door and talk to her? After all I'm sure she doesn't want the information in the wrong place. She might just be able to change it herself.

Mostly because I don't like talking to people. But also because if it is verified, she'll have deliberately put it there.

Or she made a mistake when putting the marker on?

Possibly, but she got her other business in the right place.

Buy a cheap manicure set, do the nails of people who turn up at your house, problem solved.

Enterprising

Or, put a sign up displaying a selection of ten penny nails in dazzling colors.

You could put up a sign saying 'DayGlo Fashion Nails Has Moved', with an arrow to her house.

Go to B&Q and get some boxes of panel pins, flooring brads, roofing nails and just plain old heavy duty wire nails and offer those to anyone who comes round.

Yes, this... but as I suggested earlier, paint them in decorative colors.

No, just a plain colour in a variety of styles

Why do you think she moved it? I can think of two reasons.

1) To make it easier for people to find her main business, or indeed both her businesses

2) To make it look as if she's not running two businesses from one house (eg for the Council, etc)

I doubt it's the latter, which means it's probably the former. In which case the least confrontational thing is to ask her nicely, person-to-person, face-to-face, in neighbourly meat-space, to move it away from your house.

Why be unnecesarily confrontational by playing silly burgers via google?

B

Of course, if someone comes by show them the nails... if they want them painted tell them to go across the street.

I don't want to play silly burgers, but if she's done it deliberately and it's not a mistake, then I really don't see what talking nicely will achieve

I'm going to wait to see what Google come back with, and if they come back with "we've contacted the owner and it's not moving" then yes, I think I will have a word when I next see them. But they're not the sort of neighbour that we can just go knock on the door off. Although they probably are. Hmm.

I suspect it's just a mistake. While they may have "verified" the listing, that doesn't necessarily they actually looked closely at it. They may have just looked at it from a wider view and said, 'yeah, that's our street' and clicked OK.

Just walk over there, smile and say, "erm, I think google made a mistake on your listing..." Show them what the problem is and I'd be willing to bet they don't even realize it's pointing at your address. If you get confrontational about it before you know what the actual situation is it will probably just make it worse.

I seem to have a word in that last post, but you know what I MEANt to say.