floral Hijackings

[Podesta]

Like many other florists our website listing on google's LBC 10 pack was recently hijacked. I have joined this forum to talk about my experiences and reach out to others who have been affected in hope that I may be of help in trying to fix this particular problem.

I am currently concerned about the likes of third party operators whose site my customers ( and yours) were directed towards when we were hijacked. I am not sure who was specifically resopnsible and I am not pointing fingers ( yet) but at some point this occurance needs to become transparent and broken down to the local operator!

In my opinion and I may be wrong, but there needs to be better controls in place and scrutiny on the screening process of those who are filling out these online forms with the likes of CJ and others. There just needs to be more accountability as the local florist is taking a bad rap with the public consumer.

Best-
Marc

 

[Podesta]

Hey All-

I wanted to report that Podesta Baldocchi and a few other florists hit have been returned to their proper listings...My thanks goes out to the floral community and those who have been so helpful with our quest to right these wrongs. Again, thank you to Mike, Cathy, JB and all of those concerned! Now on to fight the 3rd party operators and help those who need it. If there is anything I can do to assist in helping any florist with Google mishaps I am in! Just let me know- Marc

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

Teleflora sent out a broadcast dove message today about this ... seems to be a very widespread event at the moment.

 

[theRKF]

It's still making the rounds of the SEO blogs, too.

Mike Blumenthal mentioned yesterday that while some (incl Podesta Baldocchi mentioned by name) listings have been restored, others are still hijacked.

Seriously ... if you are reading this are not 100% certain that you've claimed your listing, please call me at 800-314-8895 next week or email [email protected] right now and we'll help you out. I'm out of the office for most of this afternoon, so I'll respond to queries when I get back.

We've all been warned. There are no more excuses.

Ryan

 

[Kalisue]

What exactly do you mean hijacked? What is happening? Are people putting in your website address and they end up somewhere else? Is that what you mean? I'm worried now about my website.

 

[BJBouquets]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Marc. Podesta Baldocchi is a terrific florist with a rich history. I'm glad you're a member here now and hope you'll stick around in the future.

 

[ivygreen]

Thanks for the reminder, and it had unintended consequences for me. I checked my listings and found a negative review. I called the customer, and asked him about it, he admitted it was just in haste, apologized and removed the review. So thanks again for keeping us on our toes.

 

[Podesta]

Floral Hijackings-

It really was a nightmare for us and still is for many florists. If you look at Ryan's post you can connect to Mike blumenthal's link and read about it. If anyone of you all are in doubt I'd take Ryan up on his offer to help.
I had no idea about much of this stuff three weeks ago but it is wort your time.
I as well noticed that TF put out a message- hopefully people will heed this warning. In anycase if it were not for Mike B and his blog we'd still be in a mess.

All the best and please let me know if I can help!

 

[Connie]

Seriously ... if you are reading this are not 100% certain that you've claimed your listing, please call me at 800-314-8895 next week or email [email protected] right now and we'll help you out. I'm out of the office for most of this afternoon, so I'll respond to queries when I get back.

We've all been warned. There are no more excuses.

Ryan

Expect my call, Ryan, and thank you.

 

[BJBouquets]

I claimed the listings for all three of our shops as a result of this thread. I was able to add a lot more information to better market us on Google Maps. I predict that someday there will be a charge for this, but for now it was all FREE. I encourage all of you to CLAIM your listing and give the public the information they need about your shop.