Overview
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The following are common data issues that can arise when we process your Merchant Review feeds.
We provide descriptions of each data issue and steps you can take to resolve each issue.
When a data issue is detected in your feed, the store ratings aggregator support notifies you of
the issue.
Most data issues can be resolved by delivering new feed files to your endpoint. We suggest that
instead of consolidating fixes with your daily feed of new merchants and reviews, you create a
separate file containing all fixes for outstanding issues. Also, take note of the filenames which
contain fixes. The filenames are needed in case a fix doesn't resolve a data issue and you need to
contact the support team for assistance.
Below are the typical steps involved in fixing a data issue.
- You deliver a daily feed file to your endpoint: 2017-11-10.xml. This file contains an
Invalid rating.
- You deliver a second daily feed file to your endpoint, which has no data issues: 2017-11-11.xml.
- After the support team notifies you of an issue, you deliver a new feed file, 2017-11-11_fix.xml,
which contains a valid rating for the previously delivered invalid review. This valid record has
an updated
last_update_timestamp to indicate that this review has a valid rating to
resolve the data issue.
As you read this guide, keep the following points in mind:
- Your feed files are downloaded in periodic fetches. If a data issue is detected in a fetch,
new data from that fetch or subsequent fetches won’t be served until all data issues have been
resolved.
- While there are outstanding data issues in your feed, your feeds will continue to be fetched
and processed for new data issues.
- When all data issues are resolved, all data that has been downloaded from your endpoint will
be served.
- There’s a root cause for every data issue, whether it’s invalid data in your database or a bug
in the way the data was generated. Before providing a fix feed for outstanding data issues, first ensure the root cause of the issue is resolved. Resolving the root cause prevents new issues of the same type from occurring. After fixing the root cause, you can work on delivering fix feed files.
- Fix files (i.e. files that end in "_fix.xml") should not include records that are not intended
to fix outstanding data issues.
- If your fixes don’t automatically resolve data issues, contact the support team by replying
to the communication that notified you of the data issue.
- As these fixes for data issues often involve delivering merchant and review entities in your
feeds, it helps to review the XML schema
documentation before reading each data issue.
- For the sake of simplicity, the documentation below assumes you’re fixing a single data issue
of a particular type. In practice, multiple data issues can occur at the same time. When
delivering fixes, you may consolidate fixes for multiple issues into a single feed file.
Similarly, when contacting the support team, consolidate communications across different data
issues.
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2024-05-07 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2024-05-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide explains common data issues found in Merchant Review feeds and provides steps to resolve them.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eData issues halt the serving of new data until resolved, but feed fetching and processing for new issues continue.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eResolving the root cause of data issues is crucial to prevent recurrence before submitting fix files.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFix files should only contain data intended to resolve existing issues and should have updated timestamps.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eContact support if fixes don't automatically resolve the issues or for assistance with multiple, simultaneous data issues.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Data issues in Merchant Review feeds are identified, and support notifies you. Deliver new feed files to resolve them, preferably separate from daily feeds, using filenames like `_fix.xml`. Ensure fixes only contain corrected data, update `last_update_timestamp`, and address the root cause to prevent recurrence. Unresolved issues halt new data service, while all data is served post-resolution. Contact support for persistent problems. You can consolidate multiple fixes in one file and consolidate your communication to support.\n"],null,["# Overview\n\nThe following are common data issues that can arise when we process your Merchant Review feeds.\nWe provide descriptions of each data issue and steps you can take to resolve each issue.\nWhen a data issue is detected in your feed, the store ratings aggregator support notifies you of\nthe issue.\n\nMost data issues can be resolved by delivering new feed files to your endpoint. We suggest that\ninstead of consolidating fixes with your daily feed of new merchants and reviews, you create a\nseparate file containing all fixes for outstanding issues. Also, take note of the filenames which\ncontain fixes. The filenames are needed in case a fix doesn't resolve a data issue and you need to\ncontact the support team for assistance.\n\nBelow are the typical steps involved in fixing a data issue.\n\n1. You deliver a daily feed file to your endpoint: 2017-11-10.xml. This file contains an [Invalid rating](/merchant-review-feeds/data-issues/invalid-rating).\n2. You deliver a second daily feed file to your endpoint, which has no data issues: 2017-11-11.xml.\n3. After the support team notifies you of an issue, you deliver a new feed file, 2017-11-11_fix.xml, which contains a valid rating for the previously delivered invalid review. This valid record has an updated `last_update_timestamp` to indicate that this review has a valid rating to resolve the data issue.\n\nAs you read this guide, keep the following points in mind:\n\n- Your feed files are downloaded in periodic fetches. If a data issue is detected in a fetch, new data from that fetch or subsequent fetches won't be served until all data issues have been resolved.\n- While there are outstanding data issues in your feed, your feeds will continue to be fetched and processed for new data issues.\n- When all data issues are resolved, all data that has been downloaded from your endpoint will be served.\n- There's a root cause for every data issue, whether it's invalid data in your database or a bug in the way the data was generated. Before providing a fix feed for outstanding data issues, first ensure the root cause of the issue is resolved. Resolving the root cause prevents new issues of the same type from occurring. After fixing the root cause, you can work on delivering fix feed files.\n- Fix files (i.e. files that end in \"_fix.xml\") should not include records that are not intended to fix outstanding data issues.\n- If your fixes don't automatically resolve data issues, contact the support team by replying to the communication that notified you of the data issue.\n- As these fixes for data issues often involve delivering merchant and review entities in your feeds, it helps to review the [XML schema](/merchant-review-feeds/xmlschema) documentation before reading each data issue.\n- For the sake of simplicity, the documentation below assumes you're fixing a single data issue of a particular type. In practice, multiple data issues can occur at the same time. When delivering fixes, you may consolidate fixes for multiple issues into a single feed file. Similarly, when contacting the support team, consolidate communications across different data issues."]]