Reply to every review in a few calm lines

Replying to a good review

Thank the person and mention one real detail from their review, like the color they picked or how the crew left the room. Two or three sentences is enough. Avoid pasting the same reply under every review. Future customers read several at once, and identical replies look like nobody read them. Fictional example: “Thanks, Carla. Glad the hallway color worked out, and that the crew kept the dog gate closed all week. We appreciate you choosing us.”

Leave out anything private: the address, the price, the job history, or details the customer did not mention. Google shows your reply publicly under the review, under your business name rather than your personal name. Google checks replies before they appear, which usually takes up to 10 minutes and can take up to 30 days, and the reviewer gets a notice when you reply.

Replying to a bad review

Wait until you are calm. Then thank them, acknowledge the specific problem, and offer a next step offline, such as a call or a visit to fix it. Do not argue the details in public, and do not reveal anything about the job they did not share. A future customer reading the exchange should see a business that listens and fixes things.

Do not offer money, a discount or free work in exchange for changing or removing the review. Google treats that as a prohibited incentive. The FTC’s rule on reviews also bars using threats, intimidation or false accusations to get a review taken down. If you believe a review breaks Google’s policies, for example it is about a different business, Google’s help page explains how to flag it.

How CrewBuddy helps

Send a screenshot of the review, or paste the text and the star rating. CrewBuddy drafts a reply in your voice and lists anything you should check, like whether the facts match your records. For a complaint, it keeps the tone calm and suggests an offline next step. You can ask for a shorter, warmer or plainer version.

CrewBuddy does not log in to your Business Profile or post anything. You copy the reply and post it, and you can edit or delete it later from your profile. For getting reviews in the first place, see how to get more Google reviews.

If a bad review points to a real gap, such as late arrivals, fix the habit as well as the reply. A short note in your records about what happened and what you changed helps you answer the next customer who asks about it.