Our company is built on trust and an unwavering commitment to always doing the right thing for our customers, no matter what. That’s why we were shocked when we started receiving hundreds of negative reviews on our Google page and other websites. These reviews gave us bad ratings, but they also included stories that attacked the character and actions of our staff and owners.
The worst part, however, is that these reviews were all fake, part of a horrible scheme to push customers away from our business and toward another local painting company. Though we aren’t naming this competitor, we wanted to be open and transparent about this experience and the steps we’re taking to remedy it.
When customers leave a review online, Google uses it to determine where our website should appear in search results. A good review moves us closer to the top, while a negative review pushes our website below competitors that have better feedback.
This system is a great way to help customers find the best local options, however one of our competitors has spent the last few years using it to damage his competition. We have received over 700 fake negative reviews, all made by fictional accounts with images stolen from the internet.
This attack has hurt our business and our ability to serve our customers, but we aren’t the only victims. Last year, we joined three other local painting companies who have also received fake negative reviews to send a cease and desist letter to this competitor. We are also currently suing for the damage they’ve done.
Though they have denied making these reviews, this competitor was sued two years ago for doing the same thing to another local painting company. In this case, they admitted to what they had done and apologized for their actions. Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped them from continuing to do it to us.
We are actively working to get these reviews removed from our Google page and other leading review sites, but it’s a time-consuming process. We have to prove that each fake review violates a policy before it can be deleted. We’ve made some progress, but we still have a battle ahead of us and new negative reviews are being posted almost daily.
We work hard to keep our customers happy with our work and the experiences they have with us. It is our hope that we’ll soon be able to offer an accurate representation of our company, staff, and work to those who find us online. We are exceedingly grateful to our customers for their support during this time and look forward to continuing to provide excellent service and craftsmanship to the Nashville community. Find out more about this story here.
-Bill Nishanian
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