Nobody enjoys a bad review, especially one that feels unfair. Whoever wrote it has probably made up their mind. The people who read it next haven’t, and they’ll read your reply as well. So wait till you’ve calmed down, then work through the steps below.
Before you reply
Leave it a few hours, or sleep on it. If you’re still annoyed when you write the reply, it’ll show.
Then check your records. Can you match the name and the date to a job? If you can’t, or the review breaks Google’s rules (abuse, a competitor, someone who never used you), there’s no point arguing with it. Report it instead. Open your Business Profile, go to Reviews, tap the three dots next to the review and choose Report review.
What a good reply does
Three or four sentences is plenty. Between them, they should:
- Thank them for taking the time.
- Say you’re sorry it wasn’t what they hoped for. You can be sorry they’re unhappy without admitting you got it wrong.
- Correct one thing calmly if they’ve got a fact wrong. Just the one, or it starts to read like an argument.
- Offer to sort it out over the phone, and give them your name and number.
That’s all it needs.
An example reply
Here’s what that looks like on a made-up plumbing job.
Chris, a customer
★★☆☆☆
Came out to fix a leaking tap. Left a mess on the kitchen floor and the tap was dripping again two days later.
Your reply
Thanks for letting us know, Chris. Sorry the visit wasn’t what you’d hoped for. Our engineer put dust sheets down and cleaned up before he left. We’d like to come back and check the tap again at no charge, so please give me a ring on 01632 960123.
Sam
What never to do
- Argue, blame the customer or name someone on your team.
- Share anything private, like their address, what they paid or what’s in your job notes.
- Offer money, a refund or a discount to get the review changed or taken down. Google’s rules and UK consumer law both ban it.
- Get friends or family to post good reviews to bury it.
- Copy and paste the reply you used last time.
After you’ve replied
If there’s something to fix, fix it. Some customers update their review once it’s sorted. That’s up to them, so don’t make the fix depend on it.
Let an AI assistant help
Stuck for words? Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot and paste the review in where it says. It’ll ask you a few questions first, one at a time. You just pick an answer, then it writes three replies and you choose one.
Don’t give it anything private about the customer that isn’t already in the review.
I own a small UK trade business and I need help replying to a negative Google review.
The review, exactly as it appears, with its star rating:
[PASTE THE REVIEW HERE]
My business: [YOUR BUSINESS NAME, WHAT YOU DO AND WHERE]
Before you write anything, ask me up to six quick questions, one at a time. Give every question lettered options (A, B, C, D) so I can answer with one letter, and always add “E: other, I’ll explain”. Find out whether this was a real customer and what actually happened. Ask whether they have a point and whether it’s been put right. Ask what I can offer to fix it, and which name and number they should contact.
Then write three different replies. Each one must:
- be under 600 characters, in plain British English, calm and polite, written as “we”
- thank them, say we’re sorry it wasn’t what they hoped for and give at most one calm fact
- offer to sort it out by phone, using the name and number I gave you
- never argue, blame anyone or share private details such as an address, a price or job notes
- never offer anything in return for changing or removing the review
Label them A (warmest), B (most matter-of-fact) and C (shortest). After the three replies, tell me in one line if anything in the review looks like it breaks Google’s review rules, so I can report it instead.
Rather type it all in one go? Fill this in and paste it instead.
Write three calm, polite replies to this Google review for my business. Each under 600 characters, in British English, written as “we”. Thank them, say we’re sorry it wasn’t what they hoped for, give at most one calm fact and offer to sort it out by phone. Never argue, never share private details and never offer anything to change or remove the review. Label them A (warmest), B (most matter-of-fact) and C (shortest).
The review: [paste it, with the star rating]
My business: [name, what you do, where]
Was this a real customer? [yes / no / not sure]
What actually happened: [a few lines]
Do they have a point? [yes / partly / no]
Has it been put right? [yes / not yet / they haven’t been in touch]
What we can offer: [for example, come back and check it at no charge]
Who they should call: [name and number]
Read the one you pick before you post it and change anything that isn’t right. It only knows what you’ve told it.
Our review system
For the businesses we work with, we set up a system that keeps an eye on their Google reviews. When a low-star review comes in, the owner gets an email about it so they can answer it themselves. Good reviews get a thank-you reply in the business’s own voice.
Asking every customer gets easier too. Each business has a short /review link on its own website that opens its Google review page, plus a phone shortcut that drops the link and a short message into a text.