Any business with reviews
Every review deserves an answer.
Ten minutes a week, once a week, and every review on your listing has a proper reply under it. That's the whole commitment.
The problem
The reply matters more than the review.
Anyone reading your reviews is really asking one question: what are these people like to deal with? A warm reply to a good review answers it. A calm, fair reply to a bad one answers it even better.
Most owners know this. They just don't reply, because sitting down to write something to an unhappy customer at nine at night is the last thing anyone wants to do.
What you get
A draft you can actually send
In your tone, not corporate boilerplate.
Help with the difficult ones
Calm, fair, and not defensive.
Edit before you post
It's a starting point, never the final word.
Where to use it
Getting replies right.
1. Reply to the good ones too
Most businesses only answer complaints, which reads oddly.
- Keep it short and specific. Mention what they came in for.
- Use their name.
- Don't paste the same line under every review; readers notice.
2. For a bad review, wait an hour
The first draft in your head is never the one to send.
- Thank them for the feedback, plainly.
- Answer the specific point without arguing the detail in public.
- Move it offline: “Give us a ring and we'll put it right.”
3. Set a weekly slot
Ten minutes, same time each week.
- Check for new reviews once a week rather than daily.
- Clear them in one sitting.
Common mistakes
Four things worth avoiding.
Arguing the detail in public.
Even when you're right, onlookers read defensiveness rather than fact. Acknowledge, then move it offline.
Identical replies under every review.
It's visible, and it undoes the point of replying at all.
Only replying to the bad ones.
It makes your listing look like a complaints log.
Leaving it months.
A reply eight months later reads worse than no reply.
What to expect
This doesn't change your rating. What it changes is what someone thinks while reading it, and a good reply under a bad review has talked more people round than most owners realise.
Related tools
Google Listing Scorecard
Your Google listing is often your first impression, before anyone visits your website. See what's costing you customers, and what to fix.
Instant Quote Form
Someone is looking at your business right now, wondering what you charge. Give them an answer before they ask someone else.