Positive review responses: examples to copy

Reply to a positive review with the customer's first name, one detail from the job, and a short thank you. Keep it to two to four sentences. The examples below are made up businesses, written the way a tradie actually talks, so you can borrow the structure and swap in your own details.

Anyone deciding whether to ring you can read your replies. They show how you talk to people, and Google's help page says replying shows customers you value their feedback. If you are building up your reviews, start with how to get more Google reviews. If you are replying to a bad one, see how to respond to a bad review.

A simple formula

1. Say their first name.
2. Name the job or the result.
3. Thank them, once.
4. Close with something human, not a slogan.

You can reply from your Business Profile: open your reviews, choose reply, write and send. The business must be verified. Google says a reply goes through a policy check that usually takes up to 10 minutes, though it can sometimes take much longer.

Examples by situation

A plain 5 star review with some text

A review with only stars and no words

A review that names someone on the crew

A repeat customer

A review that mentions price

A review that mentions turning up on time

A review praising a tidy site

A review from a property manager or builder

An emergency call-out

A review from someone who found you on hipages or a lead platform

Reviews left on hipages, Facebook or elsewhere stay on those sites and don't count toward your Google rating, so a customer who reviewed you there may be happy to repeat it on Google if asked nicely.

What to leave out

• Discounts and promotions. Not in a public reply.
• Keyword stuffing. "Best plumber Sydney, cheap plumber Sydney" in a reply looks spammy and reads worse. Mention the suburb only if it's natural.
• Customer details. Don't mention their address, what they paid or private details of the job.
• Over-long thank yous. Three lines of gushing reads as automatic.
• Copy and paste. If ten replies in a row are identical, customers notice. Change the detail each time.
• Phone numbers and links. Replies are for thanks, not a sales pitch.

Tone

Match how you talk. If you say "mate" to customers, say it in the reply. If you are a more formal business, keep it formal. People can tell when a reply was written by somebody else.

Avoid:

• "We are delighted to hear..." (nobody talks like that)
• "Your feedback is valuable to us..." (empty)
• "We look forward to serving you again" (stiff)

Say instead:

• "Good to hear."
• "Thanks, that means a lot."
• "Give us a ring next time."

How often to reply

Aim to reply within a few days. A reply that sits there three months later looks like you don't look at your profile. Setting a regular time helps: Friday afternoon, ten minutes, reply to everything that came in that week.

If a review does not appear on your profile when the customer says they posted it, see why isn't my Google review showing up.

Replies without the typing

On the Local and Complete plans, Mitch drafts a reply to every review on your Google profile. You edit it before it posts. You still decide what goes out.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help: Reply to reviews
• Google Business Profile Help: Get reviews and respond to them
• Google Business Profile Help: Missing or delayed reviews