Google has started favoring info inputted into the Google My Business listing (the same one that dictates what appears in Google Maps for claimed businesses), so if the owners are updating their website but not updating that (or checking their email for emails from google that say '[business], are you open on 4th of July?') it'll show incorrect info.
This is the problem with the web search and scaping provider also trying to be a thousand other services at the same time. It's a constant conflict of interest.
Huh? If the business owners aren't updating the correct info in My Business, how can that possibly be Google's fault?
Google is a company that sells space for ads; an “advertising company” conventionally refers to a company that designs ad campaigns and purchases ad space for them on behalf of a client.
> not a search engine.
No, its both. Just as historically newspapers publishers in the US have been both producers of newspapers and companies that sell ad space.
If Google is scraping this information and keeping it separate, unlinked and un-updated from its source of truth, how is that anyone but Google's fault?
Once you claim your business location, most submitted changes should come to you for review. (There may be exceptions, I'm not an expert here)