Replying to reviews
The review may stay. Your reply still matters.
We draft a short, polite reply in your brand’s tone for you to approve. It acknowledges the concern, keeps order and health details out and invites the customer to continue privately. Any report stays a separate decision, and real service problems belong with the team that can fix them. If you also report the review, the platform makes the final decision.
Free and without obligation.
How to reply well
What makes a good reply
Google’s own advice is to stay professional, keep it short and skip generic thank-yous. Apologise when that is right, acknowledge real mistakes and do not take responsibility for things outside your control.
Protect private information
Never confirm an order, a diagnosis or a booking in public. Move the detail to a private channel.
Offer a real next step
Give a route someone actually answers, such as a phone line or an email address. Google notifies reviewers when you reply, and they can still change their review afterwards.
Turn repeat complaints into fixes
When several reviews mention the same problem, it belongs with the person who can solve it. On Growth and higher plans, a negative review can become a task for the right manager.
Want the detail first? How to reply to a negative review.
Three sample replies
Samples to adapt to what really happened. They are not legal advice.
A long wait or slow service
You waited longer than you should have, and we are sorry. We have passed this to the branch manager. Please contact [name] at [email] so we can look into what happened.
A complaint about a product or an invoice
We are sorry this has caused you trouble. We cannot discuss the details here, so please write to [email] and [name] will get back to you by [date].
A review you cannot match to a customer
We take this seriously, but we cannot find a matching record from the details here. Please write to [email] so we can look into it.
What to have ready
- The review link
- What actually happened, from your records
- Who can follow up with the customer
- Your usual tone, or a past reply you liked
- Anything the reply must not mention
What you can rely on
- Nothing goes live until you approve it.
- Refunds and fixes stand on their own, with no link to deleting a review. Trustpilot bans incentives for writing or editing reviews, including refunds.
- Every draft treats the reviewer with respect and keeps their details private.
- Our promise is a reply you are happy to put your name to. The review stays up, and whether the reviewer changes their mind is up to them.
Common questions
Should I ask the reviewer to delete the review after resolving the issue?
Do not make a refund or service recovery conditional on removing a review. Solve the problem for its own sake.
Should I reply to every negative review?
Reply to any review where a real customer describes a real experience, and do it promptly, as Google advises, without a generic thank-you. If you plan to report the review, a short, neutral reply can stand in the meantime.
What if the review is unfair?
Stay factual and polite, because readers see your reply as well as the review. If it may also break a rule, the free review check gives you guidance, and an analyst can check your review.