PSA: Google Business Profile is screwing over cleaning businesses with fake reviews

I've been running my cleaning service for 8 years now and just spent a weekend revamping my Google Business Profile to get more residential leads. Thought it was going great until I started getting these shady 1-star reviews from people claiming I never showed up or used the wrong chemicals on their hardwood floors. Turns out they're from competitors or bots, and Google's verification is a joke, they barely check anything. I tried reporting them but half the time they stay up. If you're in cleaning like me, using stuff like the Hoover commercial vacs and Method cleaners, don't put all your eggs in this basket, it'll bite you. Saw a similar rant in the Cleaning Business Owners Facebook group last week, same issue with post-construction cleanups. Anyone got tips on locking down your profile better?

damn, had a fake review stick on my profile for months, cost me two big office cleaning gigs.

google is the worst for small cleaning outfits, they favor the big chains and let the trolls run wild.

furious about this, my deep cleaning side hustle tanked after one fake bad review.

how do you even spot if it's a bot or real?

set up two-factor and monitor daily, also get real clients to leave reviews right after the job.

lol, got a review saying i left the place dirtier, but the pics they attached were of a hoarder house before we started.

customer called pissed about a 'smell' after i cleaned their carpets with resolve, turned out their dog crapped in the corner while i was there.

link your profile to a verified site and use photos of your bissell proheat in action to build cred.

been through this crap too, feels like you're fighting ghosts sometimes.