How to respond to negative reviews on Google

Every business gets a negative review eventually. It can feel personal, especially when you know the job was done right, but the reply you post matters more than the review itself. The customer who wrote it is one person. Everyone who reads your listing over the next few years will see how you answered.

How to reply to a review on Google

1. Go to your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
2. Next to the review, select Reply.
3. Write your reply and select Reply again to post it.

Google notifies the customer when you reply, and they can still change their review after reading it. You can edit or delete your reply later from the same place.

What a good reply includes

• A thank you for the feedback. It sets a calm tone and shows readers you aren't going to argue.
• An acknowledgment of the problem. Name what went wrong in plain terms, without admitting to things that didn't happen.
• What you did or will do about it. If you fixed it, say so. If you changed a process, say that too.
• A way to reach you directly. Give a phone number or email so the rest of the conversation happens privately.
• A name. Signing it with your first name shows a person read the review.

Keep it short. Three or four sentences is usually enough.

What to leave out

• Arguing about the details in public, even when you're right
• The customer's address, job details or anything else private
• Blaming the customer, your crew or a supplier by name
• Offering a refund or a discount in exchange for changing the review
• A copied reply that you paste under every complaint

It helps to wait until you're calm before you write anything, but try to reply within a day or two. A negative review with no reply looks worse the longer it sits.

Example replies

When the complaint is fair: "Thanks for letting us know, Mike. You're right that we arrived two hours after the window we gave you, and that's not how we want to run. We've changed how we schedule afternoon jobs so it doesn't happen again. If there's anything else about the job you'd like us to look at, call me directly at (555) 555 0100. Dave"

When the customer is upset about price: "Thanks for the feedback, Sarah. We quote every job in writing before we start, and we understand the total was more than you expected. I'd be glad to go over the quote and the work with you. You can reach me at (555) 555 0100. Dave"

When you can't find a record of the customer: "We take every review seriously, but we can't find a job under this name in our records. If we did work for you, please call us at (555) 555 0100 so we can look into it. Dave"

When a review breaks Google's rules

A negative review that's genuine can't be removed, even if you disagree with it. A review that violates Google's content policies can be flagged. That includes reviews from people who were never customers, reviews that are spam or off topic, reviews with offensive language, and reviews posted by a competitor or a former employee with a conflict of interest.

To flag one, open the review on your Business Profile and select the option to report it. Google reviews the report, and it can take several days. Post a short, calm reply in the meantime, because the review stays visible while Google looks at it.

One bad review isn't the problem

A listing with forty good reviews and one bad one with a calm reply often looks more trustworthy than a perfect score. What hurts is a listing with few reviews, where one complaint is a large share of what people read. The best protection is a steady flow of new reviews, which comes from asking every customer after every job. Here's how to create a Google review link that makes that easy, and how to ask for reviews without it feeling awkward.

Review requests and replies are part of our review management. If you'd like us to look at your listing, request a free audit.