PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 The owner of a Phoenix air conditioning company says summer is usually his busiest time but that\u2019s not necessarily the case this year because of Google.<\/p>\n
Chris Anderson owns Alien Air Conditioning in Phoenix<\/a>, and one thing he\u2019s learned over his years on the job is that Google is a huge driver of new business.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody that has their cellphone at home and their A\/C breaks, they\u2019re gonna go right to their phone,\u201d he said, \u201cand, \u2018Hey, Google, what\u2019s the closest AC repair company to me?\u2019 And pull us up. You know, we just get hundreds of calls every day from new customers.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s Google business profile showed his central Phoenix location and a long list of five-star reviews. And then, it all disappeared.<\/p>\n \u201cApril 3, I just get a random email saying your Google profile has been suspended,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Google would only tell him that there was a policy violation on his profile page, which had been online for 15 years. But they wouldn\u2019t say what it was. And this happened at the peak of our summer heat.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the worst time this could have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is when (air conditioning systems) are breaking down right now and we\u2019re not there. So definitely hurting business.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s appeals to Google were denied. He even hired a professional who specializes in this kind of problem. Still, his business profile remained offline, leaving his nine service techs waiting for calls.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve already gone through all the emotions,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m in acceptance now. It\u2019s been painful. A lot of sleepless nights.\u201d Fed up, Anderson reached out to On Your Side.<\/p>\n We contacted Google numerous times but never heard back. On Your Side told Google the story was going to air regardless and what do you know? Alien Air\u2019s business profile was back online within hours.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very happy moment in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI am so relieved right now. It\u2019s like a ton of bricks came off.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s business info is back, along with more than 200 reviews collected over 15 years. For Anderson, it\u2019s a giant relief and he says he actually had a dream that On Your Side could help.<\/p>\n \u201cWasn\u2019t going to act on it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m like, are you crazy? So I got up. I jumped on the email, found your email, emailed, told you my story, and it\u2019s such a surreal moment that you came, rescued me. Helped me. And now we\u2019re here right now celebrating that I am back on Google.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson still doesn\u2019t know why his profile was suspended.<\/p>\n One of the most common reasons is a discrepancy over the business address but he\u2019s had the same address for 15 years, and it\u2019s still on the profile.<\/p>\n Anderson estimates his business lost as much as $200,000 dollars from the profile\u2019s disappearance. He says he\u2019s just thankful it\u2019s back and things can get back to normal.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n