How to reply to Google reviews, good and bad

People read your replies as well as your reviews. A calm, specific reply to a bad review shows how you treat customers when something goes wrong, and that can say more about your business than the review itself.

Why replying matters

Someone choosing between you and the next company is looking for signs that you listen. A reply tells them a real person reads the feedback. No reply at all looks like nobody is minding the store.

Replying to a five-star review

• Thank the person by name.
• Mention the job, so it reads like you remember them: the water heater, the roof, the panel upgrade.
• Keep it to two or three sentences.
• Write each one fresh. The same pasted line under every review reads like nobody wrote it.

Replying to a one-star review

• Reply within a day or two, once you have cooled off.
• Do not argue in public, even if you think the review is unfair.
• Say what you will do about it.
• Give a phone number and ask them to call, so the rest happens offline.
• Never share private details: the address, what they paid, or anything about the job they did not mention.

Three replies you can adapt

Five stars: "Thank you, Sarah. Glad we got the furnace running before that cold snap. We appreciate you trusting us with it."

Four stars with a small complaint: "Thanks, Mike, and sorry we were late on Tuesday. We have changed how we schedule morning calls. If anything else comes up, call us at [your number]."

One star: "James, we are sorry this went wrong and we want to fix it. Please call me directly at [your number] so I can hear what happened and make it right."

What not to do

• Do not argue or point out what the customer did wrong.
• Do not offer money or a discount in the reply to get the review changed.
• Do not post fake reviews or ask friends and family to post them.
• Do not pay for reviews. Google's rules forbid it.

Root's free check looks at this on your own business.