Reviews & reputation
Automatic review requests: ask every customer for a Google review, without breaking the rules
A plumber finishes 120 jobs in a month. Most customers are happy. Some say so at the door. The plumber means to ask them for a Google review and remembers to do it twice.
Meanwhile, a competitor two streets away has a review from last Tuesday, another from Thursday and three more this week. A new customer searching for a plumber sees both profiles. One looks busy and trusted. The other looks like it might have closed.
The short answer
Send every customer the same short message with your Google review link soon after the job is done. Send one reminder. Ask everyone, not just the happy ones, and never pay for a review.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What it is | A text or email with your Google review link, sent automatically when a job, visit or order is marked done |
| What it is not | Fake reviews, paid reviews, or a filter that only sends happy customers to Google |
| Who it suits | Trades, clinics, salons, agencies and local shops that finish jobs every day but rarely ask |
| Cost range | The Google link is free; review tools from about $75 a month; a custom build has a setup fee and a monthly fee |
| What to do first | Get your review link from your Business Profile and decide which event counts as "job done" |
Why recent reviews matter more than ever
The best recent numbers come from BrightLocal, which sells review and local search software. Its Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 was published in February 2026. It asked 1,002 US adults how they use reviews.
97% said they read reviews for local businesses. 74% look for reviews from the last three months. 32% want reviews from the last two weeks.
Star ratings matter too. 68% said they will only use a business with four stars or more. 31% want 4.5 or more.
The useful part is about asking. 78% said a business had asked them for feedback in the past year. Of those, 83% went on to leave a review. People leave reviews when they are asked. Most businesses just do not ask often enough.
One caution. This is a self-reported survey from a vendor. It does not tell you what share of your customers will reply to your text. Measure that yourself.
What Google and the FTC allow
This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
Google is happy for you to ask. Its help page on creating a review link or QR code suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails and at the end of a chat. What it bans is in its prohibited and restricted content policy.
Under that policy, businesses must not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". They must not offer "payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" in exchange for a review. And they "should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews". The policy also names staff being told to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews with specific content.
The FTC's rule on consumer reviews took effect on 21 October 2024. Section 465.4 bans incentives tied to a review "expressing a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative". Section 465.7 bans threats and intimidation used to stop or remove a review. The FTC's announcement says it can seek civil penalties against knowing violators.
The common trick to watch for is called review gating. A tool asks "How did we do?" first. Happy customers get the Google link. Unhappy ones get a private form. Google's policy bans that kind of selective asking, so do not use it.
How to automate it, step by step
- Get your review link. Open your Business Profile on a computer, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google says the QR code can only be made in a computer browser.
- Pick the trigger. That is the moment a job is marked done in your job software, a visit is checked out, or an order is delivered.
- Check permission. Only text customers who gave you their mobile number and agreed to texts about their job.
- Wait a short while. Send the request once the customer has felt the result. For most trades jobs, a couple of hours after completion works.
- Send one short message with the link and your name. Use the same message for every customer.
- Send one reminder a few days later, only to people who have not left a review. Then stop.
- Reply to every review that comes in, good or bad, and flag the bad ones to the owner the same day.
Here is a message that works for a trades business. Change the names.
Hi Sarah, it's Dan from Northside Plumbing. Thanks for having us today. If you have a minute, a Google review helps other people find us: [your review link]. Anything we could have done better? Just reply here. Reply STOP to opt out.
Example review request text
It asks everyone the same way. It offers a private reply as well as the public review, without steering anyone away from Google. It says who is texting. And it tells people how to stop.
Email works the same way. Use the same words, and put the link on a button. Use whichever one the customer gave you permission for.
The texting rules
Text messages in the US are policed by carriers as well as the law. CTIA, the wireless industry group, sets out three kinds of message in its Messaging Principles and Best Practices. Informational messages, sent after a customer gives you their number, need express consent. Promotional messages need express written consent. Every message should say how to opt out, using standard STOP wording.
A review request is not a sale, but people do not all agree on which bucket it falls into. The safe route is simple. When you take the booking, ask permission to text about the job, and say that includes a review request. Keep a record of it.
Business texts sent from a normal 10-digit number also need carrier registration, called A2P 10DLC. Twilio's US SMS pricing page notes registration fees apply. Our post on missed call text back covers registration in more detail.
Your options compared
Prices come from each provider's own page, checked in October 2026.
| Option | Typical cost | Good at | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google review link by hand | Free | Starting today, with no new software | Depends on someone remembering after every job |
| NiceJob | Starter $75 a month, Pro $125, no contract listed | Automated review requests and follow-ups by text and email | Another tool to connect to your job software |
| GatherUp | $99 a month for one location, with 300 texts and 3,000 emails a month | Single and multi-location review requests | Text allowance caps busy single locations |
| Podium | Quote only, priced per tech | Reviews inside a bigger messaging and phone platform | No public price; you buy the whole platform |
| Custom build | Setup fee plus monthly fee; our builds start at $200. Texts on Twilio cost $0.0083 per segment plus carrier fees | Fires from your own job system, and ties reviews to the job and the tech | Only worth it when an off-the-shelf tool cannot see your job data |
A sum you can redo with your own numbers
Here is the sum for a trades business finishing 120 jobs a month. The reply rate is my assumption. Measure your own after the first month.
| Line | How to get it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs finished per month | Your job software | 120 |
| Customers you can text | Those with a mobile number and permission | 90% (assumed), so 108 |
| Share who leave a review | Reviews divided by requests, after a month | 10% (assumed), so about 11 |
| Reviews now, asking by hand | Count last month's new reviews | 2 |
| Tool cost | The plan you choose | $75 a month |
| Cost per new review | Tool cost divided by reviews | About $7 |
Eleven reviews a month means a new one every few days. That is the recency most searchers in the BrightLocal survey said they look for.
When it backfires
Gating. A "rate us first" screen that only sends happy customers to Google breaks Google's policy, and the policy says content that breaks it will be removed.
Asking before the job is really done. A request that lands while the heating is still off gets you a one-star review. Trigger on the right event, not the booking.
Texting old customers in bulk. People from two years ago may not remember you, and some will report the message as spam. Start with new jobs.
Too many reminders. One reminder is polite. Three is pressure, which Google's policy also mentions.
Staff quotas. Telling techs to "get five stars" or to bring in a set number of reviews is named in Google's policy. Ask for honest reviews and leave it there.
Ignoring bad reviews. Automation brings in more reviews of every kind. Someone needs to reply to the bad ones quickly and fix what went wrong. Google says on its review management page that you must verify your business before you can reply.
What we build, and when we say no
If you finish a handful of jobs a week, get your Google link, save the message above on your phone and send it yourself. You do not need us for that.
We build the next step for businesses with steady volume. The request fires from your job software when a job is marked done, checks permission, waits, sends, and sends one reminder. New reviews land in one place with the job and the tech attached, and the owner gets an alert for anything under four stars. It works alongside a missed call text back and appointment reminders on the same number. Our workflow automation service connects the job system and the texting. Our AI automation service can draft replies to reviews for a person to approve.
We say no when an off-the-shelf tool already plugs into your job software, or when the real problem is the service rather than the asking. New to all this? Our plain-English answers to 24 questions about AI automation is the place to start.
Questions people ask
How do I get my Google review link? Open your Business Profile on a computer, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google gives you a link and a QR code that open the review box for your business. Google says the QR code can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone.
Can I ask only my happy customers for a Google review? No. Google's content policy says businesses must not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers. Ask every customer the same way. If you want private feedback too, ask for it in the same message, not as a filter in front of the review link.
Can I offer a discount for a review? Not for a Google review. Google treats incentives such as discounts, free goods or payment in exchange for a review as fake engagement and removes those reviews. The FTC rule on consumer reviews also bans incentives tied to a positive or negative review. A plain thank you is fine.
When should I send a review request? Soon after the customer has felt the result, while they still remember your name. For a trades job that is often the same day it is marked done. For a clinic it is after the visit. For an online order it is a few days after delivery. Send one reminder, then stop.
Do I need permission to send review requests by text? Get clear permission to text the customer about their job, and say that may include a review request. CTIA, the US wireless industry group, expects express consent for informational texts and express written consent for promotional ones. Put STOP wording in every message. This is not legal advice.
How much does review request software cost? Google's review link is free. In October 2026, NiceJob listed plans at $75 and $125 a month, GatherUp listed $99 a month for one location with 300 texts, and Podium asked for a quote. A custom build that runs from your job system has a setup fee and a monthly fee.
Find out how many reviews you are leaving on the table.
Bring last month's finished jobs to the free audit. We count how many customers were asked, check your texting permission, and tell you whether a review tool, your job software's own feature or a build is the right step. If a free link and a saved message will do, we say so.
Book the free audit →Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, February 2026
- Google Business Profile Help, create a Google link or QR code to request reviews, checked October 2026
- Google, prohibited and restricted content policy, checked October 2026
- Google Business Profile Help, manage customer reviews, checked October 2026
- Federal Register, Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 22 August 2024
- 16 CFR 465.4, buying positive or negative consumer reviews, checked October 2026
- 16 CFR 465.7, review suppression, checked October 2026
- FTC, final rule on fake reviews and testimonials, checked October 2026
- CTIA, Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023
- Twilio, SMS pricing in the United States, checked October 2026
- NiceJob, pricing, checked October 2026
- GatherUp, pricing, checked October 2026
- Podium, plans and packages, checked October 2026