Google Maps using CleanScores data

I’m in San Francisco this week doing some consulting for digital signage startup OneCast. I wanted to find coffee near the office (preferably not Starbucks). A quick search using Google Maps revealed several choices that I’d never heard of. Clicking on one choices in Google Maps, I hit the ‘more info’ link and find out that in addition to reviews, Google Maps now includes CleanScore.com ratings, which are based on health inspections. Now I don’t need to look for the letter grade in the window when I get to a restaurant, I can see online at a glance whether I want to risk eating at a restaurant based on their health code data like the following:

Moderate Violation: Empty soap dispenser or towels., Food prepared in unsafe area or with bare hands.
Minor Violation: Inadequate cleaning fluids.

I’m not sure whether this is good for consumers as a warning when you might go somewhere known to have problems, or if it will make us more paranoid of going places that might simply have an off day when the inspector drops by. Either way, it’s nice to see Google giving us all the information it can aggregate on a given restaurant in one location.