How to respond to a negative Google review, with examples
To respond to a negative Google review, thank the customer, acknowledge the problem without long justifications, offer to sort it out directly, and keep it short. Your reply speaks less to its author than to future customers reading it: they judge your business on your calm as much as on the rating.
By the Abracarda team4 min read
Why reply, even to an unfair review
A negative review left unanswered gives its author the last word. With a calm reply, you have it: future customers see a business that listens and fixes things.
Google recommends replying to reviews, positive and negative. And a customer who is contacted with a solution sometimes updates their review on their own.
The five-step method
- Thank them for the feedback, even if it's rough: it shows you read it.
- Acknowledge what went wrong, without going over every complaint: « We're sorry the wait was so long on Saturday evening. »
- Explain in one sentence, if useful, without justifying yourself: a short-staffed team, an item out of stock, a booking error.
- Offer to sort it out directly: a phone number, an email address, an invitation to come back.
- Sign with your first name and role: a human reply defuses better than a corporate message.
Example replies
Adapt them to each review: a reply copied under several reviews is spotted at once. Replace the parts in brackets.
Slow service. « Hello Emma, thank you for taking the time to write. On Saturday evening we were short-staffed and the wait was far too long: we're sorry. We've reorganised our weekends, and would be glad to welcome you back in better conditions. Mark, manager. »
A price found too high. « Hello Tom, thank you for your review. Our prices reflect the time spent and the products used, and we understand they don't suit everyone. We're available on [your number] to go through the service with you. Sarah, salon manager. »
A mistake on your side. « Hello, you're right: your Tuesday appointment wasn't kept, and that's on us. We've changed our scheduling so it won't happen again. Call us on [your number] and we'll find a new slot that suits you. The workshop team. »
A review with no explanation. « Hello, thank you for rating us. We'd like to understand what didn't work for you: could you write to us at [your email]? We'll reply personally. »
What never to write
- Disputing point by point, or accusing the customer of lying: that's the reply future customers remember.
- Revealing personal information: an appointment, a purchase, a health matter, a surname. Some professions are also bound by professional secrecy.
- Copying the same reply under every review: it gets noticed and sounds hollow.
- Threatening legal action in a public reply.
- Offering anything in exchange for deleting or changing the review.
When to report a review instead of replying
Google removes reviews that break its policies: fake reviews, abusive or hateful content, conflicts of interest (a competitor, a former employee), reviews unrelated to the business. From your profile, you can report a review: Google looks into it and decides whether to remove it.
A review that is merely harsh, even if unfair in your eyes, won't be removed for that. The best defence is then a calm reply, and recent positive reviews around it. What can and can't be removed is covered in our guide to removing a Google review.
Keeping unhappy customers from posting in anger
Many negative reviews come from a customer who found no one to talk to at the time. Giving them a way to write to you privately, without ever taking away the option to post, often solves the problem before it goes public: that's the idea behind Abracarda's Google review card.
To make sure positive reviews outnumber the rest, see our guide to getting more Google reviews.