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===== Intro/Summary =====
===== Intro/Summary =====


This guide is to help you with POI update requests!
This guide is to help you with destination issues!


Before we begin, let's define two things.  First, POI stands for 'point of interest' and is basically used to refer to any given spot on the map as a destination.  I typically use POI in this guide to refer to destinations that have a name, such as a business name, the name of a park, a building, etc.
It is currently a work in progress and should not be followed as a standard until it has been approved and added to the main wiki.  This is Thortok2000's personal sandbox and should be treated as such.  =P


Secondly, this guide walks you through how to work in Waze and somewhat in Google.  It is possible that the relevant data needs to be fixed in other providers as well (particularly if it's another provider that is providing the search results that lead to bad destination routing) but since I don't provide those instructions it's easier to refer to Google throughout the majority of the guide as if it is the only possible provider.
== Destination Correcting ==
 
== POI Updating ==


It is a common complaint of most Wazers that their destination was not set at the correct location.  Knowing how to handle this kind of UR and fixing it for our Wazers will go a long way towards satisfaction in the product and continued usage, and possibly even recommending it to others!
It is a common complaint of most Wazers that their destination was not set at the correct location.  Knowing how to handle this kind of UR and fixing it for our Wazers will go a long way towards satisfaction in the product and continued usage, and possibly even recommending it to others!


The irony of the situation is that this problem is not actually caused by Waze.  Currently Waze does not maintain an innate POI database.  Based on landmark standards (these are the ones for the US for instance), nearly all POI's are not mapped and the few that are mapped have specific requirements in how they're mapped.
The irony of the situation is that often this problem is not actually caused by Waze.  Waze is currently growing a large list of mapped places, but where a place is not mapped, or not mapped correctly, other search providers like Google are still used as a fallback.
 
Waze also has a house number (or street number) system, with useful stop points, but again this system is not actually used by Waze to find a destination unless it cannot find a match in other search providers (such as Google.)
 
This page will attempt to explain in more detail why the POI system can cause incorrect driving destinations and how you can work around it and/or fix it for your users.
 
=== Step 1:  Get the Address in Question. ===


You can't fix anything if you don't know what address the user needs fixed.  So, the first thing you'll need to do is ask them what the address they want fixed is.  This is not included in the report by default for privacy reasons; if the user wishes to give this information to you it is of course their prerogative.  If a user does not wish to give you the address, simply route them to this page and they can update the map themselves without needing to share the address of their destination with anyone else!
This page will attempt to explain in more detail why a user might get routed to the wrong spot and how you can work around it and/or fix it!


For our example, our test address is going to be 6671 S Virginia St, in Reno, NV. If you pull it up in WME, you should get this:
Take note that even after it's fixed, the app will not automatically update position data for already-obtained destinations! Even after an address has been adjusted or a place added or updated, the app will retain the stale search result's position data indefinitely and navigation will continue to fail.  To correct this, remind the reporter to remove any existing instances of the destination in the recents and favorites lists and then search for the destination again from scratch.


http://imgur.com/cbOJE4C
=== Step 1: Get the Address in Question ===


https://www.waze.com/editor/?zoom=9&lat=39.46533&lon=-119.78567&env=usa&layers=TBFTFFTTTTTTTFTFTTTTTTTTT
You can't fix anything if you don't know what address the user needs fixed. So, the first thing you'll need to do is ask them what the address they want fixed is. This is not included in the report by default for privacy reasons; if the user wishes to give this information to you it is of course their prerogative.  But we can't fix it if we don't know what to fix!
 
At the time the UR was reported, instead of being routed to a destination on S Virginia St, the user was being routed to the ramp just off of the interstate! But keep in mind that the parking lot roads in that parking lot were not mapped at the time.  This will be a step to take later, so keep it in mind!


=== Step 2:  Check for Business Name (If Applicable) ===
=== Step 2:  Check for Business Name (If Applicable) ===


As will be the case with a good portion of UR's for POI, this location is in what seems to be a commercial area.  Chances are it's referring to a business.
As will be the case with a good portion of UR's for destination issues, the location can easily be in a commercial area.  If so, chances are it's referring to a business. It's often good to ask your Wazer what the business name is when asking for the address, but if they only give you the address you can attempt to google a business name yourself (or if they only give you the business name you'll need to look up the address for it, too.) To ensure the problem doesn't happen again and to be a good editor, you'll need both business name and address when correcting businesses.
 
One way of finding the business this address refers to is to flip to Google maps for the area (WME Toolbox provides a very useful tool for doing this, otherwise you can simply google '6671 S Virginia St, in Reno, NV' and then click on the map picture to the right, or go into Maps first before typing/copying in the address.)
 
If you click on the business pins around one by one you might find one that matches the address the user gave.  You can also use regular google (not maps) and see if a company name appears in any of the search results.
 
Note, however, that if you search Google maps using JUST the address alone (without a business name), the pin is in one location, yet the name "Total Wine & More", which clearly has the exact same address, is in a different location.
 
http://imgur.com/yGUtIVp
http://imgur.com/jKtgvu6
 
This is an important distinction.  Essentially what happens in Waze is that it gets the exact location of that pin from Google (or potentially a different provider but usually Google), and then routes you to the closest drivable surface to the location provided by Google.
 
So essentially, if you search for '6671 S Virginia St' in Waze, you will get the pin that is on the road (thanks to Google.)  If you search for 'Total Wine & More', you will get the pin that is on the building (thanks to Google.)
 
Look at that pin on the building, though, and compare it to the map in WME.  If there were no parking lot roads mapped in Waze (and there weren't at the time of the UR), the closest driveable surface would be that ramp from the interstate!  And that is exactly why the user was routed there.


=== Step 3:  How to Fix ===
=== Step 3:  How to Fix ===


==== Using Waze ====
==== Nudging House Number in Waze ====
===== House Number in Waze =====
 
Setting a House Number in Waze is easy.  You can follow the instructions here.  Also remember to set the stop point.
 
http://imgur.com/ihkKuxl
 
However, note that this is going to do absolutely nothing to help the user.  Essentially you are providing this information for when or if Waze ever switches to using their house number system.  It's just good map practice that when you know a house number (or street number), you either add it or double-check that it's already there.
 
===== Put a Drivable Surface Closer =====
 
Remember those parking lot roads that I said didn't exist at the time of the UR?  They were added specifically for this reason.  Since the pin used has Waze calculate the closest drivable surface as the ramp, mapping the parking lot roads even closer to the location provided by Google than the ramp is will have Waze route there instead.
 
This is often the only fix you can do in Waze and have results back to the user fast enough for them to see a difference.  Changes in Waze are fast, within 1-2 days.  Changes in Google are much slower (see next section.)
 
When mapping parking lot roads, make sure to stick to agreed upon standards.  Depending on the situation, you may be able to use another type of road.  Whatever you use though, make sure it is mapped appropriately!  This is not an acceptable reason to map a drivable surface that doesn't exist.  If you have nowhere to map a drivable surface closer, you will have to resort to fixing it in Google (or telling your user to.)
 
==== Using Normal Google Maps (Reporting) ====
 
There's two ways to take care of this in Google.  The first way is to 'report' it and let other Google map editors take care of it, much like some Wazer reported it and now you're looking into it.  Personally I feel this is 'passing the buck' but if it's all you have time for, then that's fine.  You can also recommend this step to your Wazer as well.


Mainly what you'll be reporting is that the pins are not in the correct location.  If you (or the Wazer when they get there) want to report any other errors in Google's information, I'm sure they'll appreciate it.  Duplicates in particular can be bad for Waze usage as well and should probably be reported.
Setting a House Number in Waze is easy.  You can follow the instructions [[House_Numbers_in_WME|here]].  Also remember to set the stop point.  You should pretty much always do this every single time you go to correct an address, even if you wind up also doing one or more of the other methods.


In this case, the business pin is spot on.  It doesn't need to be moved.  That is indeed the correct location for the business.  Now, unlike Waze, Google does not have stop points.  But they do (for some reason) record the pin specific to the address separate from any and all other entries that include a business name.  (There can be several pins all for one address if they each refer to different business names.  This can be duplicates, or sometimes a breakdown of each company within a building by suite number, etc.  But there's only ever one pin for the address without a business name.)
If the house number already exists, give it a 'nudge', moving it by at least one pixel, and save your work.  This will ensure that the house number for that street and city (and any street/city combination in the alt names) of the segment that house number's stop point is on, will be searchable destinations in Waze and override matching data from other providers.


While looking at the location in Google Maps, click on the question mark in the bottom right and hit 'Report a data problem.'
This only helps when searching by address, though.  Note that the stop point must be on a segment with the street's name that the address includes.  You are currently unable to set a stop point anywhere else, using the House Number system.


http://imgur.com/9Xh6T5f
For situations where you would rather route to the 'closest drivable surface', use place points. When a residential place point is added, it will override the house number system.  For businesses however, it's always good to nudge the house number to be used as a fallback, even if a place point also exists, in case a user searches for the business by address instead of by name.  And it's still a good habit to be in for residential areas, even if a point exists!


If you did not have the pin in question selected at the time it will prompt you.  Either way, it will then offer you the chance to report anything you wish.  For location (what we're most concerned with), you will simply have to type a description of where it should be moved to.  This isn't particularly efficient and again why I recommend the 'do it yourself' way.
==== Put a Drivable Surface Closer ====


==== Using Google Mapmaker (Do It Yourself) ====
Most destination search results, including all searches done by business name instead of by address, are going to be either from a 3rd party provider such as Google, or routing to a place mapped in Waze.  When this is done, coordinates are given to Waze and Waze sets the checkered flag at that exact spot, and then says you have reached your destination when you get to the closest mapped drivable surface to that spot.  Usually this is all that's needed for proper routing, but it can sometimes cause errors, which is why we get UR's about it!


You can access Google Mapmaker at google.com/mapmaker (easy enough to remember.)  If you don't want to type, here's a link.  I find that it works best in the Chrome browser but I did have a lot of problems trying to save edits with the 'Ad Blocker' plugin enabled.  There's no ads here so you can easily disable it for this site at which point Chrome works perfectly.
While Waze's area places have a stop point you can set that fixes the issue quite easily, point-type places do not. In some cases it would be against the standard to move the point place any closer to the road, or the use of a non-Waze search result is common enough that we may have to map roads closer to the coordinates provided by the search result anyway.


You will have to search for either the address or the business name (remember they're recorded separately), whichever you want to move, possibly both (you almost always have to fix the address pin though as most will be auto-generated, details below).  In this case the business name is correct so we're going to move (or actually 'suggest' a move, we'll get to that in a minute) of the address pin.
If the closest drivable surface is incorrect, typically the road 'behind' the location, then this issue is easily fixed by mapping a drivable surface closer.  This most commonly means the [[Best_map_editing_practice#Parking_Lots|parking lot]] in front of the address for business locations. For residential, it might mean mapping the [[Driveways|driveway]].  Either way, make sure to follow standards!


After searching, the results will display on the map (if they don't you can click on the results list to scroll the map to that location.)  Multiple search results will each have their own letter which may dynamically change as you zoom in and out and scroll around.
This is not an acceptable reason to map a drivable surface that doesn't exist.  If you have nowhere to map a drivable surface closer, you will have to use the final method.


Find the pin you want to move and literally click and drag to move it.  You can put it down and pick it up again several times until you finally get it right where you want it (directly on the building it refers to is the preferred method, close to the entrance used by the public for that location.  Do not set it on the road or the driveway to the location.  I suggest also turning on street view if there's one within sight of your destination; this will be the 'street view' that pops up when arriving at the destination when someone is using Google Navigate instead of Waze, and having it show the actual entrance to the building as your destination (preferably with business name clearly visible and centered, if applicable) is professional-looking.)
==== Mapping a Place in Waze ====


After you let go of the pin it will pop up as 'continue' or 'cancel.' Keep moving it until it's where you want, then hit 'continue' to be taken to the page where you can confirm and possibly add a note about why you suggest this edit.  If so, skip to below where it says 'A note on notes'.
This is well covered in the [[Places|places wiki]].  Make sure to map them to the standard.  The reason this is pertinent to destination issues however is that by adding (or updating) a place in Waze, it provides a better search result than erroneous data in other providers, such as Google.  The more accurately you map a place, the better the data in Waze will be for all future Wazers trying to find this destination!


http://imgur.com/12L2vnk
For routing issues, you may want to slightly nudge the point (or stop point of an area) closer to the drivable surface you want the destination to be.  Make sure to follow standards as you do so, though.


''If you get an error message when moving an address pin:''
=== Educating the User: How to do this in the app ===


The 'pick it up and move it' technique works extremely well for POI's that already exist, such as businesses.  However, addresses very often do not actually 'exist' (even though you searched for it, found a pin and moved it and everything.)  If you get an error message, it's typically because the address doesn't actually exist yet and is being auto-generated from Google's attempted awareness of the street numbers used on each section of the road.  (This is quite typical of pins that are exactly on the road itself and not accurate for the address they actually refer to.)
Most users don't have access to the WME to make changes themselves.  Even if they do, all place changes by rank 1 editors are automatically PURs to be approved by higher level editors, until they become 'trusted.'


What you will need to do in this situation is 'add' the address.  This way if a Wazer found out what the address of "Total Wine & More" was, and just asked Waze to go straight to "6671 S Virginia St" (without a business name), it would route to the exact same spot as if they had put a business name (consistency is always a good thing.)  Out there on the street is probably 'close enough' but if you've got the time and desire to be more accurate, adding this additional clarity improves Google's map for everyone that uses Google (including Wazers.)
You can't mess with house numbers or mapping drivable surfaces closer in the app.  But when it comes to places, those ''can'' be done in the app.  Either by you, or by any other user that wishes to help improve the map, even if they've never signed in to WME.  Whenever anyone makes an edit to a place, whether it's in WME or the app, and they are 'trusted', the edit goes through automatically.  If they are not trusted, or they are suggesting an edit to a place that's locked higher than their editor rank (and anyone who's never been in WME is treated as rank 1), then it comes through as a PUR (even if the edit is made in WME instead of the app).


Click the red 'ADD NEW' button and instead of selecting a category type the word 'Address' and click to continue.
Unfortunately, there's not an easy way to communicate with people who submit PUR's, like there is with UR's.  You can only either approve or deny.


You'll be able to select a street number but instead of typing the name of the street you will have to select it from a drop down list of streets in the area.  This will automatically fill in city, state, and zipcode for you.  Then you'll be able to add a comment (see the 'note on notes' below).
To that end, if you encounter a UR with a destination issue, it's recommended to do everything you can to fix it yourself.  Only after doing so should you recommend the possibility of submitting PUR's instead of UR's.  Below is a breakdown of the three methods of submitting PUR's (or making edits, if trusted) via the app. Here is some suggested verbiage for closing a destination issue UR:


''A Note on Notes:''
:''I've gone ahead and updated Waze's information for this destination.  In the future, the best way to report this would be to provide information directly via the app!  After searching for the destination, but before hitting 'Go', you can scroll down and suggest an edit or report a problem.  If you are physically at the correct location, you can also report a 'place update' instead of a 'map problem' to create a new place.  And a final option is to hit the camera icon after arriving at a destination.  Any of these methods adds or updates the data in Waze so that it can be used instead of using bad search result data from Google or other providers.  You even score points when you do this!  Thanks for helping to make the Waze map better for everyone!''


I often like to put the comments 'Reported on behalf of a Waze user' in any edits I make on behalf of a Wazer. Other google editors will see YOUR name, but by saying that it's on behalf of a Waze user it alerts the Google editors of the situation and that this information is getting to Google second-hand. It also spreads the word about Waze and maybe more people will start using it, always a good thing!
:''Want to take even more direct action in improving the map?  Become a volunteer map editor like us! Then you can edit anywhere you've driven from the comfort of your web browser!  To begin, just go to https://www.waze.com/editor  We sure could use your help!''


This is important because Google Mapmaker works on a wiki system similar to Waze (after all anyone can go in and make edits) but unlike Waze, it runs on an 'approval' system. After making an edit, it can take an indeterminate amount of time for other editors to come along and vote on whether to approve or deny the edit.  If enough editors (or a high-ranking one or even a bot) approves the edit, it goes through and gets pushed to both Google's Navigate and Waze (although I think it gets to Waze faster, once the push is made.)  If the edit gets denied, obviously it does not occur and you'll need to research what to do on your own as that's more into Google's policies than I know about.
==== Suggest an Edit / Report a Problem ====
'''Best method''': After searching for the destination, but before hitting 'Go', you can scroll down and suggest an edit or report a problem.


Once you've put the note, click 'Save' and it will run a duplicate check.  This mostly applies to adding a new address pin, but if you're editing an already existing POI, you might get a duplicate check anyway.  If you are adding a new address pin though, make sure you've correctly put the street number.  This duplicate check will only return addresses that have actually been added, NOT the 'auto-generated' address that was originally unable to be moved. If the address you're adding DOES already exist, then try again to move it, and if you still have problems you'll need to research it or ask Google for help on your own.
''Pros'':
* Don't have to be physically at the location, can do from anywhere.
* Don't have to take a picture.


Assuming there's no duplicate, say so and continue, which will submit the change.  Again at this point it's up to other Google Mapmaker users to approve the change.
''Cons'':
* Has to already be mapped in Waze or those options don't appear.  Doesn't work when choosing a search result from another provider.


If you encounter any issues in Google Mapmaker beyond the scope of this guide, I recommend asking (or looking to see if your question is already answered) on the Google Mapmaker official forums:  http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/map-maker
==== Submit a Place Update ====
Report a 'place update' instead of a 'map problem' to create a new place.


=== Step 3.5:  Possible Variation ===
''Pros'':
* Based on your location, suggests road names and possible duplicates while creating place.
* After creating the place, it is now in Waze and can be edited using the first method (the confirmation screen for creating a new place gives an option to edit additional details).


All of Step 3 is assuming that it is either using Waze's house numbers (rare, only if search providers don't return a result) or Google's data.  Since Google will 'guess' at most any address even if it doesn't specifically have it mapped, Google's data nearly always gets used. (The exception is if an incorrect city, such as CDP, is included in the search request, and Google doesn't have that data, but Waze does, thanks to the city name on the segment with the house number.  But that's a pretty rare situation.)
''Cons'':
* Requires that you take a picture.
* Requires that you are at or near the intended location.


However, it's extremely common for a user to not know the actual address (or not want to enter it) and to instead search by the name of the POI or business.  Searching via this method will actually include any and all landmarks in Waze, and if the exact spelling of the landmark does not match the exact spelling of a result in Google, then selecting a spelling that only exists as a Waze Landmark will route you to the Waze Landmark.  (If both Google and Waze have data for any given spelling, Google's data is used.)
==== Submit a Photo Reminder ====
The app, by default, prompts to submit a photo when you reach your destination.  This is essentially the same as submitting a place update (and includes the same pros and cons), although it copies the name from your search result.  If your search result was already a Waze place, it updates that instead of making a duplicate.


In this case, though, the actual 'location' it routes to is the pin in the middle of the landmark (the one you would click to move the entire landmark without changing the shape.)  Similar to how it gets a location from Google and then goes to the closest drivable surface, Waze will calculate the location of that 'pin' in the middle of the landmark and go to the closest drivable surface.  This is very commonly seen in airports for instance.
''Pros'':
* Helps prevent duplicates of Waze places if the Waze search result is used.
* Confirms that you're already near the right spot or you wouldn't get the reminder.
* Copies name from search result if it came from another provider.
* Setting is enabled by default to remind people to help submit place updates.


For that reason, a standard has been developed for landmarks which are actually mapped in Waze and could potentially be navigated to by name. Map the landmark correctly, but with no name (this prevents it from being found in Waze.)  Then, map a second landmark, small, directly over the entrance you want users to be routed to.  This landmark gets the name.  Currently there's no way to link the two landmarks so you'll have to watch for younger editors adding a name to the big landmark and/or deleting the smaller one.
''Cons'':
* Requires that you take a picture, even if place already exists in Waze.
* Requires that you set your destination in Waze.
* Can be turned off and cannot be used if it was not turned on before you got there.

Latest revision as of 19:42, 20 August 2015

Intro/Summary

This guide is to help you with destination issues!

It is currently a work in progress and should not be followed as a standard until it has been approved and added to the main wiki. This is Thortok2000's personal sandbox and should be treated as such. =P

Destination Correcting

It is a common complaint of most Wazers that their destination was not set at the correct location. Knowing how to handle this kind of UR and fixing it for our Wazers will go a long way towards satisfaction in the product and continued usage, and possibly even recommending it to others!

The irony of the situation is that often this problem is not actually caused by Waze. Waze is currently growing a large list of mapped places, but where a place is not mapped, or not mapped correctly, other search providers like Google are still used as a fallback.

This page will attempt to explain in more detail why a user might get routed to the wrong spot and how you can work around it and/or fix it!

Take note that even after it's fixed, the app will not automatically update position data for already-obtained destinations! Even after an address has been adjusted or a place added or updated, the app will retain the stale search result's position data indefinitely and navigation will continue to fail. To correct this, remind the reporter to remove any existing instances of the destination in the recents and favorites lists and then search for the destination again from scratch.

Step 1: Get the Address in Question

You can't fix anything if you don't know what address the user needs fixed. So, the first thing you'll need to do is ask them what the address they want fixed is. This is not included in the report by default for privacy reasons; if the user wishes to give this information to you it is of course their prerogative. But we can't fix it if we don't know what to fix!

Step 2: Check for Business Name (If Applicable)

As will be the case with a good portion of UR's for destination issues, the location can easily be in a commercial area. If so, chances are it's referring to a business. It's often good to ask your Wazer what the business name is when asking for the address, but if they only give you the address you can attempt to google a business name yourself (or if they only give you the business name you'll need to look up the address for it, too.) To ensure the problem doesn't happen again and to be a good editor, you'll need both business name and address when correcting businesses.

Step 3: How to Fix

Nudging House Number in Waze

Setting a House Number in Waze is easy. You can follow the instructions here. Also remember to set the stop point. You should pretty much always do this every single time you go to correct an address, even if you wind up also doing one or more of the other methods.

If the house number already exists, give it a 'nudge', moving it by at least one pixel, and save your work. This will ensure that the house number for that street and city (and any street/city combination in the alt names) of the segment that house number's stop point is on, will be searchable destinations in Waze and override matching data from other providers.

This only helps when searching by address, though. Note that the stop point must be on a segment with the street's name that the address includes. You are currently unable to set a stop point anywhere else, using the House Number system.

For situations where you would rather route to the 'closest drivable surface', use place points. When a residential place point is added, it will override the house number system. For businesses however, it's always good to nudge the house number to be used as a fallback, even if a place point also exists, in case a user searches for the business by address instead of by name. And it's still a good habit to be in for residential areas, even if a point exists!

Put a Drivable Surface Closer

Most destination search results, including all searches done by business name instead of by address, are going to be either from a 3rd party provider such as Google, or routing to a place mapped in Waze. When this is done, coordinates are given to Waze and Waze sets the checkered flag at that exact spot, and then says you have reached your destination when you get to the closest mapped drivable surface to that spot. Usually this is all that's needed for proper routing, but it can sometimes cause errors, which is why we get UR's about it!

While Waze's area places have a stop point you can set that fixes the issue quite easily, point-type places do not. In some cases it would be against the standard to move the point place any closer to the road, or the use of a non-Waze search result is common enough that we may have to map roads closer to the coordinates provided by the search result anyway.

If the closest drivable surface is incorrect, typically the road 'behind' the location, then this issue is easily fixed by mapping a drivable surface closer. This most commonly means the parking lot in front of the address for business locations. For residential, it might mean mapping the driveway. Either way, make sure to follow standards!

This is not an acceptable reason to map a drivable surface that doesn't exist. If you have nowhere to map a drivable surface closer, you will have to use the final method.

Mapping a Place in Waze

This is well covered in the places wiki. Make sure to map them to the standard. The reason this is pertinent to destination issues however is that by adding (or updating) a place in Waze, it provides a better search result than erroneous data in other providers, such as Google. The more accurately you map a place, the better the data in Waze will be for all future Wazers trying to find this destination!

For routing issues, you may want to slightly nudge the point (or stop point of an area) closer to the drivable surface you want the destination to be. Make sure to follow standards as you do so, though.

Educating the User: How to do this in the app

Most users don't have access to the WME to make changes themselves. Even if they do, all place changes by rank 1 editors are automatically PURs to be approved by higher level editors, until they become 'trusted.'

You can't mess with house numbers or mapping drivable surfaces closer in the app. But when it comes to places, those can be done in the app. Either by you, or by any other user that wishes to help improve the map, even if they've never signed in to WME. Whenever anyone makes an edit to a place, whether it's in WME or the app, and they are 'trusted', the edit goes through automatically. If they are not trusted, or they are suggesting an edit to a place that's locked higher than their editor rank (and anyone who's never been in WME is treated as rank 1), then it comes through as a PUR (even if the edit is made in WME instead of the app).

Unfortunately, there's not an easy way to communicate with people who submit PUR's, like there is with UR's. You can only either approve or deny.

To that end, if you encounter a UR with a destination issue, it's recommended to do everything you can to fix it yourself. Only after doing so should you recommend the possibility of submitting PUR's instead of UR's. Below is a breakdown of the three methods of submitting PUR's (or making edits, if trusted) via the app. Here is some suggested verbiage for closing a destination issue UR:

I've gone ahead and updated Waze's information for this destination. In the future, the best way to report this would be to provide information directly via the app! After searching for the destination, but before hitting 'Go', you can scroll down and suggest an edit or report a problem. If you are physically at the correct location, you can also report a 'place update' instead of a 'map problem' to create a new place. And a final option is to hit the camera icon after arriving at a destination. Any of these methods adds or updates the data in Waze so that it can be used instead of using bad search result data from Google or other providers. You even score points when you do this! Thanks for helping to make the Waze map better for everyone!
Want to take even more direct action in improving the map? Become a volunteer map editor like us! Then you can edit anywhere you've driven from the comfort of your web browser! To begin, just go to https://www.waze.com/editor We sure could use your help!

Suggest an Edit / Report a Problem

Best method: After searching for the destination, but before hitting 'Go', you can scroll down and suggest an edit or report a problem.

Pros:

  • Don't have to be physically at the location, can do from anywhere.
  • Don't have to take a picture.

Cons:

  • Has to already be mapped in Waze or those options don't appear. Doesn't work when choosing a search result from another provider.

Submit a Place Update

Report a 'place update' instead of a 'map problem' to create a new place.

Pros:

  • Based on your location, suggests road names and possible duplicates while creating place.
  • After creating the place, it is now in Waze and can be edited using the first method (the confirmation screen for creating a new place gives an option to edit additional details).

Cons:

  • Requires that you take a picture.
  • Requires that you are at or near the intended location.

Submit a Photo Reminder

The app, by default, prompts to submit a photo when you reach your destination. This is essentially the same as submitting a place update (and includes the same pros and cons), although it copies the name from your search result. If your search result was already a Waze place, it updates that instead of making a duplicate.

Pros:

  • Helps prevent duplicates of Waze places if the Waze search result is used.
  • Confirms that you're already near the right spot or you wouldn't get the reminder.
  • Copies name from search result if it came from another provider.
  • Setting is enabled by default to remind people to help submit place updates.

Cons:

  • Requires that you take a picture, even if place already exists in Waze.
  • Requires that you set your destination in Waze.
  • Can be turned off and cannot be used if it was not turned on before you got there.
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