How to ask customers for a Google review (templates)

A Google review is often the reason the next customer calls. It is also the thing owners forget in the doorway, keys in one hand, invoice in the other. The fix is a default, not a burst of courage.

Ask everyone

Ask every customer you finished work for. Do not ask “were you happy?” and only send the public link to the people who say yes. The US Federal Trade Commission has said that steering only positive reviewers to a public site can be a deceptive practice. It is also a bad habit: the customers with a small complaint are the ones who will tell you, if you give them a direct reply instead of a wall.

The useful pattern is: send the review link to everyone, and in the same message invite them to reply if something was wrong. You still hear about problems. You do not filter the public record.

When to send it

• The day after the job, while the work is still easy to describe.
• One reminder about three days later if they have not reviewed.
• Then stop. Two asks is a request. Five asks is nagging.

Get the link before you need it

A Maps search is not the same as a write-a-review link. The direct form uses a Place ID, which starts with ChIJ:

https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=YOUR_PLACE_ID

Find the Place ID in Google's Place ID finder, or paste a review link you already have. The free review-link tool on this site turns that into a link and a QR code you can put on a card, a van, or the bottom of an invoice. NudgePal drops the same link into the message when a job is due for a review.

Templates you can send

WhatsApp or SMS, the day after:

“Hi Samira, thank you for trusting Harbour & Home with the move-out clean. If you have a minute, a Google review helps a small business more than you'd think: [link]. If something wasn't right, reply and I'll fix it.”

Reminder:

“Hi Samira, a short reminder. If the clean went well, would you leave a Google review? [link]. If it didn't, I'd rather hear it from you.”

Email can use the same words with a subject line like “Thank you from Harbour & Home”. Keep it to one screen. People review from their phone.

If the job went badly

Still send the note. Fix the thing they reply about. Do not offer a discount in exchange for a review, and do not ask them to take a review down as a condition of making it right. A short, specific repair earns more trust than a managed score.

Put the ask on a schedule, use the same link every time, and treat the unhappy customer as someone you still want to hear from.