Responding to Google reviews can be overwhelming, especially for local business owners. On a busy day, the review can go unnoticed, which can be challenging when your online reputation is at stake.
Sometimes, business owners struggle to write a response when they don’t feel inspired, making all their responses sound the same. We get it — running a business and taking care of your customers online can be very stressful.
When you have writer's block and can’t get the creative juices flowing to send a good response to a review, it is handy to have several templates ready to get you started.
In this article, we have selected real-life examples of professional Google review responses to help you craft your templates. Plus, we will introduce a super-handy service to help you write top-notch responses and leave no review behind.
If you are new to reviews, check out this yelp vs google reviews article to get a gist of which platform you should be on.
Different ratings and sentiments in a review require different approaches to responding. We have selected the best positive review response examples to inspire you to better reputation management.
Moreover, you can use our templates and start writing efficient responses straight away.
To illustrate different types of answers, we have divided Google reviews into five different categories:
Frustrated customers give a one-star ranking when dissatisfied with the service and their unmet needs. Furthermore, they have been agitated by miscommunication, service delays, lack of transparency, or their expectations were not reached.
For example, in the restaurant business, customers are likely to give a one-star review once they address the issue with management and fail to fix it. In this example, we can see that the administration tried to offer a dessert and removed certain items from the check, but it wasn’t enough to improve the customer experience.
Even if you feel the negative reviews are uncalled for, you can keep a professional and friendly tone when responding.
For the response we will follow a simple but effective approach:
Here is an example:
Dear Anne Marie (addressing the customer directly),
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are sorry that the service, food and atmosphere were disappointing. (addressing the specific problem they’ve mentioned)
Our main goal is to provide the best possible experience for our customers, so we will take your comments into consideration right away. To not leave a bitter taste in your mouth, we invite you to try our latest dessert and check if our standards have improved since your last visit.
(recognizing, reinforcing and providing a solution)
Again we apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope to see you soon. (closing)
If you are in the restaurant business, here is the complete guide to google reviews for restaurants.
Sometimes people write negative reviews on your page to lower your ranking or discredit your business. You will recognize the troll for its generic or no text, sentences not related to a specific event or experience, submitted from an account without any public reviews.
If you are in the real estate business, check out our google reviews for real estate agents.
Here is an example of a troll review:
However, even though it’s tempting to reply in a certain way, business owners need to be aware of the potential customers who may see this review. Therefore, the response should always be polite and professional.
Here is an example of a response:
Dear Ali Hazer,
Thank you for taking the time to write a review.
We apologize for your bad experience with our company’s policies. We understand how frustrating this can be, so we will make sure to review our policies and get back to you as soon as possible.
Please contact us via email, so we can discuss this issue further with you.
Again we apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope we can speak with you soon.
So-so reviews are a combination of positive and negative reviews. They contain information about your services that the client is satisfied with, as well as complaints about certain aspects of your business.
Even though we all love receiving great reviews, so-so reviews can often be valuable feedback important for improving customer satisfaction. This is why review responses, in this case, need special attention.
Here is a response example to a so-so 2-star customer review written by the ResponseScribe team:
This response example is written in a very clear pattern:
We all love receiving a positive google review, even when no specific feedback is involved. However, even if a customer leaves a 5-star rating with no further descriptions, it is a good practice to write a review response and acknowledge the time and effort they put into rating your business.
Here is an example of a positive review without a description:
Our potential answer would be:
Dear Valeria (addressing the customer by name),
Thank you for taking the time to rate us high in all categories. We will make sure we pass your comments to our team, who will be delighted to hear the positive feedback. The next time you visit us, ask our team members how you can get our special deal.
Once again thank you for supporting our business. (closing)
Sometimes, you can receive a so-so review that says little about what is good or bad about your business. Responding to 2-3 star reviews with a lack of information is illustrated in the following response example:
Here is a short response you can use to respond to so-so reviews that did not reflect the customer experience well:
Dear Richard,
Thank you so much for your review. Your satisfaction is very important to us, and we thank you for complimenting our service.
We hope to hear more about how we can improve our service, so your satisfaction is at the highest possible level. (offering a solution)
Thank you again, and do not hesitate to call us [Your Phone Number]
When it comes to one-word negative reviews, it can be challenging to evaluate if the rating is genuine or a troll. Many frustrated customers who leave a one-star review won’t be stingy with their words to let you know what they were unhappy about.
However, it is good to have an answer ready for unhappy customers who don’t wish to share the details of their experience. Here is a response example you can use:
Thank you for rating us [Customer Name],
Your opinion matters to us. Our entire team works very hard to improve our services, so if you feel like letting us know what we could do better, feel free to reach us [Your Phone Number].
We apologize for any inconvenience we might have caused, and we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Local guides are avid reviewers on Google, who submit reviews to different types of services in their hometown. When responding to your local guides, it is important to highlight how much you appreciate customer feedback, and be original and personal. After reading such warm correspondence, potential customers will be encouraged to trust your business.
Responding to positive feedback from a local guide is important to ensure customer loyalty, strengthen your brand reputation, and inspire more positive reviews from other customers.
Here is a positive review response example:
Here is a template you can use for positive review responses:
Hi [Customer Name], thank you so much for your kind words!
We are delighted to hear you had such a great experience at [Your Business Name]. Providing excellent customer service is our top priority, and it makes us very happy when we read your positive reviews.
Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you again soon.
Bear in mind that a detailed review from any customer, especially a local guide, deserves a detailed review response. Personalize the reply by referring to a specific comment they made about your business, and let them know your team notes their opinion.
Of course, receiving positive Google reviews is ideal, but sometimes local guides will critique some processes within our business. Even if the feedback is wrong, a positive response from your end can make a difference and ensure you end things well.
Here is a response example to a bad review where a client (local guide) complained about the payment processing in a dental care facility:
If you aren’t sure how to respond to negative feedback from local guides, here is our review response you can use:
Dear Tyra, thank you for this feedback.
We apologize for the inconvenience, we were not aware that the payment issue was troubling our customers.
Our team is open to addressing every customer's concerns and improving our service, so we are very grateful you pointed this out to us.
We got our hands on fixing this asap, and we hope you will give us a second chance.
When you reassure your customers that you are fixing the problem they got your attention to, you will attract new customers and increase the chance that the negative reviewer becomes a repeat customer.
We've illustrated some of the best Google review response examples you can write for both positive and negative reviews. Now, let's scan through the best practices you can use when replying to your customer reviews.
We also have a complete guide to google reviews hotels and google reviews for doctors.
A review response that starts with "Thank you so much for your review" is automatically positive. Both negative and positive reviews deserve appreciation and attention to the customer's opinion and personal experience.
Personalized responses begin with addressing the customer personally by name. Let them know how much you value your relationship and that great customer service is your top priority.
This is especially important when responding to a positive review. Our positive review response example illustrates the importance of creating a personal relationship with your most loyal customers:
One of the key practices to effectively responding to reviews is to post your reply in a timely manner. Prompt responses to negative comments can turn frustrated consumers into happy customers if you offer to make it up to them for their poor experience.
The ideal time to respond to customer reviews is within 24 hours after the review has been posted. A quick and attentive reply implies how much you care about a customer experience, and it holds the potential to turn a negative response into a positive review.
Negative reviews tend to get under our skin, and sometimes it is hard not to take them personally. When replying to every review, it is important to remain professional and align each answer with the company values.
In other words, as the famous quote from The Godfather says, "It's not personal, it's business".
There is something positive in each review, and your response should find and highlight that note. Even in a negative response, seize the opportunity to showcase your local business's values and thank the customers for their time to leave you a review.
Customers who write a negative review usually do so if the management cannot resolve their issues and address their concerns on the spot. Whenever you respond to a negative review, make sure to propose a solution and a way to make up for the poor experience the customer had.
Here is an ultimate short template for responding to negative reviews:
Hi [Customer Name],
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review.
We are very sorry to hear about your experience, and our team is determined to resolve this for you.
Please feel free to contact us and give us a second chance to provide a better service.
If you need help responding to your Google reviews, we have the solution for you.
ResponseScribe is a professional review response service that creates personalized, branded and prompt responses to any online review you receive across the web. Besides the most popular review platforms, ResponseScribe covers over 50 industry-specific review sites such as Booking, HomeAdvisor, and OpenTable, ensuring we have you covered wherever your listings are.
The process is simple — create an account with ResponseScribe and connect all your listings to a single dashboard where they can be collected, monitored, and responded to. Whenever you receive a new review, we craft a personalized reply on your behalf and submit it live directly to the review site.
You can choose whether you’d like your reviews to be responded to by an AI, an expert, or a combined effort of human-written and AI-written responses. AI-generated responses take up to an hour to be delivered, while human-written responses take up to 24 hours.
Here is a response example written by the ResponseScribe team:
We never write a generic response. Before starting to respond to your reviews, we take our time to get familiar with your brand. When it comes to our AI software, we let it learn from your previous responses and mimic your brand tone and voice in the text it generates on your behalf.
ResponseScribe dashboard allows you to see your reviews and be involved in responding as much as you want to. You can review the responses, request a revision, and submit them online yourself. Or, let us do all the work taking care of your online reputation, while you focus on improving your service and growing your business.
In the ResponseScribe platform, you can also read your performance review and be up-to-date with your current ratings across different review sites. You will have access to analytics involving the average rating, number of responses, and average response time.
A well-written review response can allure potential customers into booking your service and inspire new customers to leave positive feedback if they are happy with their experience.
ResponseScribe is the ultimate tool you can rely on to take care of responding to all your reviews.
Interested?
Start your free trial today. Let’s create aspiring customer relationships for your business together.
Done-for-you review response service for local businesses.
Part of the Shout About Us family.
