Google is in many ways the central location from which people can embark on their internet journeys, and the tech giant has been leveraging that status in order to expand its horizons and diversify its offerings. One way in which Google has attempted to do so has involved creating a review system that allows users to leave comments and ratings for various restaurants or stores that they go to, and the latest update to that has resulted in Google trying to take orders on these restaurants’ behalf.
The blue Order Online button is a relatively recent addition to the Google SERP, particularly the box that would highlight a restaurant that corresponds to the specific search query that a user might have put in. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this might have been a pretty huge misstep on Google’s part since a prominent restaurant franchisee by the name of Left-Field Holdings has filed a suit against the platform.
This holding company owns six branches of the Lime Fresh Mexican Grill restaurant chain, and in this lawsuit they are claiming that Google did not have permission to take orders on their behalf. One thing to bear in mind is that Google does not collaborate directly with restaurants for this service. Rather, if a user clicks on the Order Now button, the order would be sent to a third party company that the restaurant works with and the restaurant would receive the order as if it came from the third party itself.
The lawsuit might be valid because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up harming the company’s reputation if they are not aware about where their orders are actually originating from. Google often uses various companies to prop up its own business model, and it usually does so without taking their permission. Suddenly starting to take orders for a company can be problematic, especially since Google does not contact the company but rather third parties that the restaurant is working with.
H/T: RestaurantBusinessOnline.
Read next: Chrome Users Can Now Translate Image Text With Google Lens On Desktop
The blue Order Online button is a relatively recent addition to the Google SERP, particularly the box that would highlight a restaurant that corresponds to the specific search query that a user might have put in. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this might have been a pretty huge misstep on Google’s part since a prominent restaurant franchisee by the name of Left-Field Holdings has filed a suit against the platform.
This holding company owns six branches of the Lime Fresh Mexican Grill restaurant chain, and in this lawsuit they are claiming that Google did not have permission to take orders on their behalf. One thing to bear in mind is that Google does not collaborate directly with restaurants for this service. Rather, if a user clicks on the Order Now button, the order would be sent to a third party company that the restaurant works with and the restaurant would receive the order as if it came from the third party itself.
The lawsuit might be valid because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up harming the company’s reputation if they are not aware about where their orders are actually originating from. Google often uses various companies to prop up its own business model, and it usually does so without taking their permission. Suddenly starting to take orders for a company can be problematic, especially since Google does not contact the company but rather third parties that the restaurant is working with.
H/T: RestaurantBusinessOnline.
Read next: Chrome Users Can Now Translate Image Text With Google Lens On Desktop