A bad review handled well can win you more work than it costs. Future customers read your reply as much as the complaint, and a calm, helpful response shows them how you treat people when things go wrong.
How to reply
- Wait until you're calm. Reply within a day or two, not within a minute.
- Thank them and acknowledge the problem. Even if you disagree.
- Keep it short and factual. Don't argue details in public.
- Offer to fix it offline, with a name and phone number.
- Follow through. If you sort it out, they may update the review.
Example reply
"Hi Mark, thanks for the feedback, and I'm sorry the job ran late. That's not the standard we aim for. I'd like to make it right, so please call me directly on [number]. Dave"
When you can ask Google to remove a review
You can flag reviews that break Google's policies, such as spam, fake reviews, conflicts of interest, offensive content or reviews about a different business. You can't have a review removed just because it's negative.
Never
- Share the customer's personal details or job specifics they didn't mention.
- Accuse them of lying in public.
- Offer money or discounts in exchange for removing the review.
- Post fake positive reviews to bury it.
The best defence
A steady flow of genuine reviews puts one bad review in context. See how to get more Google reviews.
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