Review responses
How to respond to negative Google reviews (without making it worse)
Your response is public. It’s not just for the reviewer - it’s for the next 200 prospects reading your profile. Use this playbook to protect conversion, reduce churn, and know when to stop replying and start removing.
Rule #1: respond like you’re talking to a future customer, not “winning” an argument.
Step 1 - Triage the review (don’t treat every 1-star the same)
- Legit complaint (real customer, real issue): respond, fix, and invite offline resolution.
- Misunderstanding (wrong expectations): clarify politely and offer a next step.
- Fake/malicious (competitor, spam, harassment): keep it short and move toward removal.
Step 2 - Use the 3-part response formula
- Acknowledge (without admitting fault prematurely)
- Offer a concrete next step
- Move offline (phone/email) so the dispute doesn’t live in public
Templates you can copy/paste
Template: Legit complaint
Hi [Name] - thanks for the feedback. We’re sorry your experience didn’t meet expectations. We’d like to make this right. Please contact us at [phone] with your service date/location so we can help.
Template: No record / can’t verify
Hi [Name] - we can’t find a record of this visit. If we missed something, we want to fix it. Please contact us at [phone] with details so we can investigate.
Template: Suspected fake / competitor / malicious
Hi - we take feedback seriously, but we can’t verify this experience with our business. If you believe this is an error, please contact us at [phone]. We’ve reported this review for investigation.
What not to do (common mistakes that reduce conversions)
- Don’t accuse the reviewer directly (“you’re lying”) - it reads defensive.
- Don’t share private details (HIPAA, invoices, addresses, etc.).
- Don’t write essays. Your goal is trust, not a courtroom.
When to stop responding and start removing
If a review is clearly malicious, coordinated, or damaging your leads, removal is often the fastest path to restoring rating, trust, and local visibility.
Need help removing a review? Send what you have (review URL optional). If we can’t remove it, you don’t pay.