Tradespeople and call-outs: getting Google reviews and replying to them, job after job

For tradespeople, reviews take over from word of mouth

When a customer needs an emergency plumber or a roofer for a quote, they compare Google profiles. They look at the rating, but also at the number of reviews: 47% of consumers wouldn't use a business with fewer than 20¹. And they want recent reviews: 74% only care about those from the last three months¹.

What Google shows for service providers

When a customer reviews a service provider, Google may ask them to choose the service performed, from your list of services or from common jobs of similar businesses; their choice then appears with their review². Hence the value of keeping the list of services on your profile up to date: reviews will talk about your actual work.

Getting a review after every job

The right moment is the end of the job, when the customer sees the result. Google mentions the end of a chat, thank-you emails and receipts among the places to share your review link³:

• a link in the text message or email sent with the invoice;
• a QR code on the paper invoice or the card left on site;
• a sentence as you leave: "A review on Google helps us a lot, even two lines."

To every customer, not just the most enthusiastic: Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, just as it prohibits offering a discount in exchange for a review⁴. To create the link, follow our step-by-step guide.

Replying to an unhappy customer

Disputes often concern three topics: lateness, price, finish. The reply always follows the same pattern: acknowledge, explain the facts, offer a solution.

Lateness: "We arrived two hours late without warning you, and that isn't acceptable: the previous job overran, but a phone call was the least we could do. We now text our customers at the slightest delay. — Karim, manager"

Price: "The initial quote didn't cover the work discovered during the job, which we carried out with your agreement. We understand the surprise: call us and we'll go through the invoice together."

Finish: "Thank you for pointing out that poorly finished seal. We'll come back and redo it free of charge: call us to book a slot."

No defensive tone, no information about the customer (address, amount), and a gesture offered in private. The full method is in our guide to negative reviews.

Replying between two jobs

A tradesperson replies to reviews in the evening, on their phone, when they remember. Yet 81% of consumers expect a response within a week¹. Better to have a simple rule: the week's reviews handled on Friday, or handed over to someone else.

ReplyTop for tradespeople

ReplyTop replies to your Google reviews while you're on site: reviews checked three times a day, a personal reply that picks up what the customer wrote about the job, critical reviews kept for your approval, and a WhatsApp alert if you turn it on. The free plan covers 5 reviews a month, with no credit card.