How to remove fake 1 star Google reviews? Has anyone actually had success?
I run a small family business with my dad and honestly don't know what to do anymore. Over the past two weeks we've been getting random 1 star Google reviews from people we've never dealt with. Some of the reviews don't even make sense, one complains about a service we don't offer and another describes something completely unrelated to our business.
We've spent years building our reputation and had a 4.5 star rating, which has now dropped to 3.8. I know that might not seem like a big deal, but we've noticed fewer calls lately and even had a customer mention she almost didn't come in because of our reviews. My dad's in his 60s and keeps asking me how people who've never visited us can leave reviews, and I genuinely don't know what to tell him.
I've reported every fake review to Google, but it's been almost two weeks and nothing has happened. I've searched everywhere for how to remove fake Google reviews, but all the advice just says to flag them, which I've already done. I'm worried that responding to them publicly will just make things worse.
Has anyone successfully managed to get fake Google reviews removed? Is there a way to escalate this or contact Google support directly? I'd really appreciate hearing what actually worked because this is starting to affect our business.