A Montreal pet care company is bringing awareness to cyberbullying after falling victim to a string of review bombs on their Google storefront. PAWSOME Concierge Montreal saw 10 fake 1-star reviews in just one week – which they say has threatened their reputation and their mental health.
“It’s not just attacking your business, it’s attacking your mental state and if you’re not in a great mental space, there’s no way you can make your business thrive,” said Nicola Masella, co-founder of PAWSOME Concierge.
“The first 48 to 72 hours were sleepless, it was trying to understand what was happening to us,” he said.
PAWSOME Concierge — which operates in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto — is a company that provides supports for vulnerable pets, such as those with special needs, in post-surgery recovery, or with behavioural challenges like anxiety.
Since opening three years ago, they’ve built up a reputable reputation — co-owner Terry D’Agostino and Masella openly discussed their battles with mental health and the effects this has had – hoping to raise awareness about the issue.
“It felt like a knife to our baby,” she added. “We’ve poured everything into this company, and to see strangers try to tear it down without cause was heartbreaking.”
Submitted images of negative reviews for PAWSOME Concierge (Credit: Nicola Masella)
According to a 2023 ReviewTrackers report, over 70 per cent of small business owners say that even one fake review can have major impacts on their business overtime. Both say the frustrating aspect is the anonymity factor as anyone could be the culprit.
“For us, it was like if someone just reads the fake reviews, they’re going to see that as face value and those were all lies,” D’Agostino said. “Is it someone here in Canada? Is it someone local? Is it someone abroad you literally have no clue,” she questioned.
Masella openly discussed the challenges and the impacts it has had on their caregivers through an Instagram video.
Masella said whenever they receive a new review they always send a response. Upon looking, he immediately noticed an AI generated image accompanied by an unfamiliar name.
“I noticed that the name didn’t ring a bell because we know all of our clients,” he said. “When I looked a little further, I realized they had no other reviews, their account was private so you couldn’t access anything they had done before.”
D’Agostino said she attended Québec Startup fest, a global gathering of the world’s best entrepreneurs, founders, investors and mentors — last week and brought this up with the onsite Google representative. Luckily, they were able to get the reviews down despite the site having a history of long waiting lists.
“Google business is kind of our best friend in terms of people finding us organically,” she said.
“Sometimes it takes years for them to even look at your case. So, for us, we were kind of stuck and we didn’t know what to do.”
D’Agostino said the experience brought her on a rollercoaster of emotions from being devastated to wanting to learn more of this growing issue.
While speaking with technology analyst Carmi Levy, he explained that review bombing is when individuals decide to post negative reviews about a particular business, even if it isn’t merited. He notes that cyberbullying has continued to evolve with recent advancements in AI.
“Negative reviews have always been a risk as long as there has been a digital space,” Levy said.
“The problem that we’re currently facing is that it’s almost like the Wild West, there are no rules, and companies like Google and Yelp and others aren’t subject to legislation that forces them to behave responsibly to protect businesses more effectively,” he explained.
Both Masella and D’Agostino echoed this by saying multiple different small business owners have shared their similar experiences from across the globe.
“In an era where technology and AI, we are so advanced, how are these not getting flagged?” D’Agostino asked.
“How are they not being reviewed before they’re posted? I believe big companies should have the resources to put something in place, especially knowing how it’s affecting companies.”
Both say more discussion amongst business owners and the government needs to happen, alluding that they might create a petition to broaden the discussion.
“If you’re a small business owner in Montreal or elsewhere, you’re pretty much on your own,” explained Levy.
“What I say to every small business around Canada, because this is becoming a Canadian issue, is take the time to fully understand what’s happening to you,” Masella said.
“If they would ruin our reputation in one week, they could destroy what it’s taken us three years to build.”
