When to ask customers for a review, and how to reply to the bad ones

For a local business, reviews do a lot of the selling. People read them before they call. Most owners know that and still don't ask, because there is never a good moment.

There is one. Here is how to find it, and what to do when a review isn't kind.

Ask when the customer is happiest

The best moment is right after the job is done and the customer has said thank you: the plumber has finished, the appointment has gone well, the delivery has arrived. Ask then, not three weeks later when the feeling has faded.

Make it one step

Send a direct link to your review page. If the customer has to search for you, find the right profile and sign in, most won't. Keep the message short, and say what you'd like: "If you were happy with the work, a short review would help us a lot."

Don't offer anything for a review

Review sites forbid rewards in exchange for reviews, and it undermines the trust you are trying to build. Don't write reviews yourself either.

Reply to every review

Reply within a day or two, in your own voice. For a good review, thank them for something specific they said. For a bad one, follow four steps:

1. Thank them for telling you.
2. Acknowledge the problem without arguing or making excuses.
3. Say what you'll do, or what you already did.
4. Move the conversation offline with a phone number or email.

Keep it short and calm. The reader is not the angry customer. It is the next person deciding whether to call you.

Read the pattern

One bad review is an event. The same complaint three times is a pattern. Look through your reviews once a month for repeated themes, such as lateness, unclear pricing or a rude phone manner, and fix the cause.

Where Renom will fit

Renom will ask happy customers for reviews at the right moment, reply to each review in your voice, flag problems early and show the trends across your reviews. Renom isn't built yet; join the early-access list to be invited as places open.