Review reply examples
How to reply to a review, situation by situation. Each page explains what to say and what to avoid, with example replies you can adapt, or you can draft your own with the free reply writer.
Negative reviews
- How to reply to a negative review about priceWrite the reply for future customers: thank the reviewer, explain briefly and calmly what the price covers, and never offer a discount in public.
- How to reply to a review about a long waitSay sorry for the wait itself, acknowledge the delay the customer describes without arguing about minutes, and thank them for anything they liked.
- How to reply to a review that names a member of staffReply to the experience rather than the person: leave the employee's name and anything about their performance out, apologise for how the visit felt, and take the details offline.
- How to reply to a review saying you didn't turn up or cancelledIf you really did miss the appointment, apologise plainly and own it; if your records say otherwise, check them first and state the difference calmly, without accusing anyone.
- How to reply to a one-star review with no textThere's nothing to answer, so don't guess what went wrong: check your records, then post a short, calm reply inviting the person to tell you what happened, or leave it.
- How to reply to a review you think is fakeCheck your records, report the review to Google if you believe it isn't based on a real experience, and meanwhile post a short, calm reply saying you can't find a record of the visit.
- How to reply to a review from a competitor posing as a customerReport it to Google if you have real grounds, since posting on a competitor's listing breaks its policy, and keep your public reply short and neutral without naming the rival.
- How to reply to a review written in another languageMake sure you understand the review properly first, then reply briefly and simply, in their language only if a fluent speaker can check the wording.
- How to reply to a rude or abusive reviewReport reviews that break Google's rules on profanity, harassment or unfounded criminal allegations, and if there is a real complaint inside the rudeness, answer that part calmly and ignore the abuse.
- How to reply to a review complaining about your policyExplain the reason for the rule in a sentence, acknowledge how it felt, own it if the rule wasn't made clear, and never make an exception in return for a changed review.
- How to reply to a negative review after you have already refundedMention the refund or fix only if it's true and confirmed, leave out the amount and anything private, and never ask for the review to change in return.
Mixed reviews
- How to reply to a mixed reviewThank them for the specific thing they liked and deal with the specific thing they didn't, in about a sentence each, without over-promising.
- How to reply when a customer updates their review after you fixed the problemThank them briefly for coming back, edit your earlier reply so it still makes sense, and if the update is worse, treat it as a fresh review.
Positive reviews
- How to reply to a short positive reviewKeep it short and warm: thank them, mention one real detail if you know the job, sign with your name, and don't paste the same line under every review.
- How to reply to a long, detailed positive reviewShow you read it by picking up one or two specifics, say thank you, keep it much shorter than theirs, and ask permission before reusing it anywhere.
- How to reply to a positive review from a regular customerThank them warmly and say you're glad to see them again, but keep out details they didn't share and never offer a reward in the reply.