The owners of a Sooke marine servicing company say a local boatbuilder’s controversial signs are costing them business.
The most recent sign to attract backlash said: Get Them Woke Bud Lights Out for Target Practice, a reference to a video posted on Twitter of musician Kid Rock shooting up cans of Bud Light.
The company drew the ire of the musician due to its partnership with a transgender influencer. The video is part of a larger effort to boycott the company in the U.S.
Condemnation of the sign, which has since been removed, began almost immediately — but the backlash has been mistakenly directed at a company a few doors down the street in Sooke.
The problem is that the sign says Barry Marine, but when some people type that into Google on their phones, Sooke Marine Centre comes up at the top of the list.
People offended by the sign are giving one-star reviews to Sooke Marine Centre online, even though the actual business with the signs is Silver Streak Boats.
“We have nothing to do with the sign. We have been caught in the crossfire,” said Shauna Holm, co-owner of Sooke Marine Centre on the 6800-block of West Coast Road, which until recently, had a five-star rating with Google. “He is a boatbuilder — Silver Streak Boats — and we are in the marine service industry.”
Holm, who has operated the business out of the West Coast Road location since 2000, said even her own niece left a negative review, mistakenly believing she was leaving it for the offending business.
The messages aren’t just negative — some have also been threatening. Even more troubling were those offering support for the intolerant message on the sign.
Holm said that in the last few days, she’s been spending all her time on damage control instead of looking after customers.
The couple returned home after a weekend away to a mountain of voice mails and negative reviews on Google. “Friends also called to ask what was going on,” said Holm, who started the family business with her husband, John, 29 years ago.
“When I told my husband what was happening, he looked like he was going to have a heart attack. He said ‘Oh my gosh. It’s happening again!’ ”
It’s not the first time signs posted by Silver Streak Boats — a.k.a. Barry Marine — have caused problems for the company.
Six months ago, she said, owner Andy Barry posted a sign that said: “I identify as a boat builder. Does that mean I qualify for my own bathroom?”
“He thought it was a big joke and largely ignored protesters who gathered in front of his business,” said Holm. “It seems that he gets a charge by poking the bear. It’s just so sad, so very, very sad.”
Barry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Holm said that clients and people in the community have been very supportive.
“People in Sooke generally do not support intolerant attitudes and messages that foster negativity,” said Holm, who has lived in the region for more than 20 years. “It personally bothers me, because I have family who identify as transgender and gay.”
While the community has rallied around her, she is getting less help from Google.
When she started getting messages and negative reviews from across North America and as far away as Belgium and Spain, she tried to contact Google to tweak the search algorithm so the company’s name doesn’t come up first. “Our business relies on good reviews — bad reviews can sink us,” she said.
So far, however, all she has received are automated responses.
Although this is their busy season, she has no choice but to do what she did the last time — track down the people who left the negative reviews, explain the situation and ask them to change their reviews.
“It’s a lot of wasted time for me, especially when I have a lot to do, but it’s really important for the business,” she said.
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