If you were to go to Google Maps today and type in ‘Mt Everest’, you will see a list of not so positive joke reviews of the highest point on Earth. The current reviews complain about the cold weather, lack of Wifi, no Starbucks and “lack of amenities” at the summit.

One man claimed to have climbed Everest on horseback: “Road a horse to the summit had a blast!?”.

Another man said his mate climbed it in trainers, but you should have “some smokes and red bull for the trip down”.

I decided to join in the fun myself by adding my own review:

“I made it to the top in a couple of hours via the cycling route. The holiday rep told me to avoid the sherpas just there to rip you off, so I stuck with the Thamas Cook tour guide instead. My runners kept getting soaked from the snow. I suggest going in Summer if you have to go”.

This is all well and funny, but serves as a very good lesson that anyone can publish content and reviews about your business online. Competitors and disgruntled employees could fake a review about your service to get one over on you.

If you see a fake review on Google Maps of your business you can click ‘Flag as inappropriate’, then give a detailed message as to why. A Google employee should take the fake review off the site for you. This is not a fool proof way to solve the situation, as I have heard about mixed results from people doing this.

Some of the reviews get pulled off from other sites as well, which you will need to contact to get any false content removed. Good luck if your business has been affected by unscrupulous reviewing.

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