TULSA, Okla. — On a crisp, November evening, roofers with GoldenRite Roofing were hard at work on a house in Collinsville.
Chances are, the homeowner checked out some online reviews before ever signing the contract.
WATCH: 'Don't let them win' | Owasso roofer combats malicious Google reviews
“As a small business, we really rely heavily on reviews,” Harrison Mendez, the founder and owner of GoldenRite Roofing, said.
According to a study by YouGov, 78% of Americans check reviews before doing business. 44% say they contribute to those reviews.
Google is the clear leader in online reviews. A Google search of GoldenRite roofing yields 155 reviews, averaging 5 stars, although, for a brief period, the reviews were more bleak.
“One of the guys just sent me a text message and said, hey, we just got five bad, negative reviews. Back to back to back to back,” Mendez said.
None of those reviews came from real customers. In fact, it was almost certainly a foreign actor, so Mendez got to work scrubbing the reviews.
“With Google, it’s a really difficult platform to get on the phone and call someone,” Mendez said, “Nobody is at Google to answer the phone.”
He started replying to the reviews, calling them out as fake. Then, taking the simple action of reporting the reviews to Google by way of a button right next to the reviews. Still, Mendez felt like he had to take more action.
Some quick online research finally got him in front of a human at Google, but just as they were discussing the case, Mendez got a text.
“They said, hey, if you pay me $100, I will remove these reviews for you,” Mendez said of the text message.
Mendez did the right thing. He refused.
“I knew that if I bit on it the first time, he would continue to ask me for more and more money. At a point to where I would be in a bind,” Mendez said.
Working with Google, in a process that took about ten days, he made the phony reviews disappear.
“It was kind of a long path, and not only that, it got my heart racing unnecessarily, and you know, really concerned me for the reputation of my business,” Mendez said.
He called 2 News Oklahoma, hoping to raise awareness for other local business owners.
“Stay persistent, and do not let them win. Don’t pay them, don’t let this continue to be a scam,” Mendez said.
Mendez is willing to help any other small business owner who may be facing a similar situation. He can be reached at h.mendez@goldenrite.com.
Additionally, Google has a form dedicated to those who suspect they are being extorted via reviews. It can be found by clicking here.
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