A Google Business Profile story from Chicago to San Antonio by Ronnie West
WFCT Recap – Every year, WFCT (the International Window Film Conference and Tint-Off) moves to a different city, and this year it pulled the Eye Magnet team and me down to San Antonio. It’s part trade show, part reunion, and this year, it turned into an accidental case study in why your Google Business Profile matters more than you probably think.
Here’s the short version: I didn’t book a single stop on this trip. Every meal, every coffee, every “let’s see what’s around here” moment came from Google Maps. And the best thing I found on the entire trip, hands down, I only found because a business had bothered to keep their Google Business Profile updated.
I wouldn’t have found my favorite spot of the whole trip without Google Maps.
That spot was the Japanese Tea Garden. Not a restaurant, not a stop with a marketing angle behind it; just a quiet, beautiful garden that showed up because someone had posted photos and kept the listing current. If that business had an empty, neglected profile, I never would have known it existed, and I’d have driven right past the best part of my week.
That’s the whole point of this post: if you own a shop and you’re reading this, your Google Business Profile is doing marketing for you whether you’re paying attention to it or not. People are planning their day around it. In my case, six days.
The Trip
I drove down solo from Chicago, working my way through Missouri and Oklahoma before hitting Texas. The real trip started Wednesday when I met up with Robbie—host of the 2ndLap podcast—early Wednesday morning for coffee at a Starbucks. Great way to start the day before heading over to meet Matthew.
From there, I met up with Matthew in an Austin suburb. His wife joined us for brunch at The Monument Cafe near Georgetown Square. It was the perfect reset before diving into WFCT mode, and honestly, it set the tone for the entire week. Great food, great company, and a reminder that these industry relationships are about real connections, not just business.
From there, it was straight into San Antonio and show mode: booth setup, floor days, and evenings exploring the city. A few stops worth calling out, all found or confirmed through Google Maps:
- Early Wednesday morning — Coffee with Robbie (2ndLap host) at Starbucks. My usual Caramel Macchiato.
- Wednesday brunch — The Monument Cafe, Georgetown Square area. Great eggs.
- Buc-ee’s — The legendary travel stop (had to experience it at least once) and Brisket sandwich, of course.
- VooDoo Donuts — Because donuts, I nabbed the peanut buttery ‘Ol Dirty Bastard’ & the Oreo covered “Dirt’ donuts.
- Wally’s — A Midwest take on the massive Buc-ce’s gas stations. I think thier jerky is better!
- Biga — A fancy business partner dinner. My amazing plate was filled with Bell & Evans Grilled Chicken Breast & Smoky Thigh, mashers, broccoli, chicken jus, black pepper butter
- Iron Cactus — Friday night dinner, right on the Riverwalk. Combo Steak & Chicken Fajitas hit the spot!
- The Dispatch — Friday morning coffee shop that led to an unexpected discovery
- Alamo Biscuit — I went with the ‘Classic French Toast with crispy potatoes, bacon & eggs.
- The Japanese Tea Garden — the surprise favorite of the whole trip. If you are headed to San Antonio, try and fit it in.
I need to tell you about The Dispatch. I’d been in San Antonio for a few days when I searched Google Maps Friday morning for a good coffee spot. The Dispatch showed up, so I went. When I walked into the lobby of the building, I noticed a slightly familiar face and realized- I had just walked into Red McCombs’ family’s building.
Suddenly, I was staring at pictures of Randy Moss and the Vikings logo on the walls. As a Minnesota Vikings fan, this moment hit different. I would never have stumbled into that if The Dispatch hadn’t shown up in my Google Maps search. That’s the power of a well-maintained business profile right there.
Along the way, I left about six Google reviews of my own, because if a business’s profile is going to help the next person plan their trip the way mine helped me, the least I can do is add to it.
The Show
WFCT itself was the reason for the trip and, honestly, the best part of it. We gave away roughly 500 Window Film Pro t-shirts at the booth, but the giveaways weren’t the highlight; the conversations were. This year in particular, we walked away with real, lasting relationships built with some incredible companies and people in the window film space.
That’s the thing about this show that keeps bringing us back: it’s a small enough industry that the people you meet at the booth turn into the people you’re texting six months later.
The booth was energy-filled. We had people lined up throughout the day asking about the t-shirts, but more importantly, asking about marketing, Google Business Profiles, and how to actually grow their businesses. The conversations ran deep. People weren’t just passing through; they were genuinely looking for solutions.
And that’s when it hit me: everyone at that show is dealing with the same problem. They’re trying to be visible. They’re trying to get customers to walk through their doors. They’re trying to stand out in a crowded market.
The answer to almost every conversation we had? It always came back to one thing: your Google Business Profile. Are your photos current? Are you responding to reviews? Are customers finding you easily? Most shops said no to at least two of those questions.
The Takeaway
If you run a window tint shop, here’s the practical version of everything above: your Google Business Profile is your best free marketing tool, and most shops leave it half-finished.
Post photos. Post videos. Encourage your customers to leave reviews, and actually respond to them. Keep your hours and details current. It costs nothing, and it’s how someone like me ends up walking into your business instead of driving past it.
Think about my trip. I planned six days of activities around businesses that had bothered to maintain their online presence. The Dispatch wasn’t on my radar until I searched Google Maps, and that search led me to the Red McCombs building- a moment I’ll remember forever.
The Japanese Tea Garden wasn’t on my radar either. It showed up because they posted photos and kept their profile up to date. Those 30 minutes in that garden became my favorite memory of the entire trip.
Imagine that happening to your business. Imagine someone driving through your area, checking Google Maps for options, and seeing your beautiful photos, recent reviews, and current information. They walk in. They become a customer. They tell their friends. Maybe they walk into your building and realize something special about your story.
That’s not marketing hype. That’s the actual power of a well-maintained Google Business Profile.
Go update your profile. Tell people where you are, what you do, and why they should stop in. You never know whose whole trip you might end up making better, or what unexpected moments might unfold because you bothered to keep your information up to date.
And if you’re at next year’s WFCT in Orlando, stop by the Eye Magnet booth. We’ll have more t-shirts, more conversation, and probably another story about finding something amazing on Google Maps.
See you in Orlando.
