NEW BLOOMFIELD, Pa. (WHTM) -- It's been there for years, and it's very much still there. Open seven days a week, in fact.
So why are customers calling to ask whether Three Mountains True Value Hardware is still open?
"They're like, 'Well, Apple Maps says you're permanently closed,'" store manager Matt Valintakonis said.
Sure enough, it does. Why?
Apple didn't immediately respond to messages from abc27 News, but a Family Dollar store next to the hardware store closed last month.
"It is possible someone could have reported the wrong business," Valintakonis said.
Map apps like Apple Maps and Google Maps rely on user reports to update their information. Occasionally, a bad report can result in an error. But similarly, the tech companies compile updated reports and make corrections. An abc27 iPhone user submitted a correction to Apple, including the store's current hours.
Valintakonis said he wanted to correct the information, and his online research indicated he could download an app to take control of the listing. But he has an Android phone, not an iPhone, and in this case, Google Maps already had the correct information.
"I thought, if my business is affected, how many other small businesses in our viewing area are also affected by this?" Valintakonis said. "That's when I reached out to abc27."
Could the app be right? Maybe all of it -- the store, the shoppers, the stocked shelves -- is a mirage?
"We are really here," Valintakonis said, laughing.
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