How to ask customers for reviews without breaking the rules

Updated October 31, 2026

Ask every customer, the same way, soon after the job, with a direct link and no reward. This guide gives you the wording, the timing, and what Google's policy and the FTC actually say.

To ask customers for reviews, send every customer one short message within a day of the job, with a direct link to your review page, and ask for their honest opinion. Do not offer anything in return. Do not pick who gets the message based on how you think they feel. That is the whole method. Most of what goes wrong comes from trying to improve on it.

Asking is allowed. Both Google and the US Federal Trade Commission accept that a business can ask real customers to review it. The trouble starts with three habits: rewarding reviews, steering who leaves one, and telling people what to write. This guide covers the rules first, because they decide what the wording can say, and then gives you the messages.

What Google and the FTC actually say

These are two separate sets of rules, and they do not match. Google's policy decides whether a review stays up on Google. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews, in effect since October 21, 2024, is US law. Where they differ, follow the stricter one.

The incentive row catches a lot of people out. An FTC page saying incentives can be lawful does not help you on Google. Google calls offers of free or discounted goods or services strictly prohibited, and that also covers paying someone to change a review or take one down. For Google reviews, the answer is no reward of any kind. No prize draw, no 10% off, no free coffee.

This is a summary of public guidance, not legal advice. Rules differ outside the US, so check locally if you trade elsewhere.

Review gating, and why it fails

Review gating means filtering customers before they reach the public review site. The usual version is a private "How did we do?" form. Four and five stars get a link to Google. One to three stars get a thank-you and a promise that someone will be in touch.

It looks like good customer service, but it breaks Google's rule against selectively soliciting positive reviews. The FTC describes almost exactly this pattern in its Endorsement Guides. Example 11 in 16 CFR 255.2 has a marketer who asks recent buyers for feedback, invites only the happiest to post online, and simply thanks the rest. The FTC says that may be unfair or deceptive if the posted reviews end up substantially more positive than they otherwise would.

The FTC's guide for marketers puts it in one line: don't ask for reviews only from customers you think will leave positive ones.

You can still ask for private feedback. It is useful, and you should read it. Just give every customer the public link as well, whatever they tell you. The safest shape is one message that offers both, sent to everybody, with nothing depending on the answer.

When to ask

None of the sources here set a best time, so this part is practical judgement, not a rule.

• Trades and home services: the same evening or the next morning, once the work has been tested. A drain that backs up again tomorrow is better dealt with before you ask.
• Salons, clinics and classes: later the same day, after they have seen the result.
• Restaurants and shops: a printed code on the receipt or the table works better than chasing people, since you rarely have their number.
• Bigger projects: after final sign-off and final payment, not at a midpoint.

Pick one trigger and use it every time, such as "the morning after the final invoice". A fixed trigger keeps your mood out of the decision, and that is what keeps you from sliding into asking only the nice ones. Ask only people who actually used the service, as the FTC guide says.

Wording you can copy

By text

Hi Sarah, it's Ada from Ada's Plumbing. Thanks for having us yesterday. If you have a minute, would you leave an honest review of the job on Google? Good or bad, it helps other people here decide. [link]

By email

Subject: How was the drain repair at Elm Street?

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for choosing us. Could you take a minute to review the job on Google? We'd like your honest opinion, whatever it is. It helps other people nearby decide who to call.

[link]

If something wasn't right, reply here as well and I'll deal with it myself. Either way, the review is yours to write.

Ada

In person at the end of a job

"I'll send you a link to review us on Google. No pressure, just tell it how it was."

Then leave it there. Google says merchants should not require or pressure people to review while on the premises, so don't stand over them with a tablet.

On a printed card or receipt

Tell people how it went. Scan to review us on Google. Honest opinions welcome.

One reminder, if you send any

Hi Sarah, a quick nudge in case last week's message got buried. Here's the review link if you'd still like to leave one. If not, no problem at all. [link]

One reminder is plenty. After that, leave them alone. Notice what the wording avoids: no mention of stars, no "if you were happy", no suggested phrases and no staff names to include.

Getting the link

Google gives you a direct review link and a QR code from your Business Profile. Sign in at business.google.com, find the reviews section, and choose the option to get more reviews. Copy the link from there. QR codes can only be created from a computer browser, not a phone. Save the image and print it.

Customers need a Google Account to leave a review, though it does not have to be a Gmail address. Some people will not bother, and you cannot fix that. Don't offer to post it for them.

A worked example

Say you run a two-van drain and plumbing business. Every job ends with a final invoice. You make one rule: the morning after an invoice is sent, the customer gets the text above. Nobody decides who gets it. The office does not skip the customer who argued about the call-out charge.

On Tuesday you finish three jobs. One customer was delighted, one said nothing, and one was annoyed you arrived late. All three get the same text on Wednesday morning. The annoyed customer posts three stars and mentions the wait. You reply that day:

You're right, Marcus, we were late on Tuesday and we should have called. I'm sorry. The repair itself should hold, and if it doesn't, call me on the number on your invoice.

That reply does more for the next reader than a suspiciously perfect score. Google's own advice is to keep replies short and polite, use the person's name, apologise where it's due, and take complicated issues to phone or email. Never share a customer's private details, and don't use a reply to promote an offer.

Common mistakes

• Gating with a star rating first. Sending only high scorers to Google is the pattern both sets of rules warn about.
• Offering something small. "10% off your next visit" feels harmless. On Google it is prohibited, and any reviews it produces can be removed.
• Staff quotas. Google lists asking staff to get a certain number of reviews as a violation. Bonuses tied to review counts head the same way.
• Asking people to change a bad review for a refund. Fix the problem because it needs fixing. Don't make it conditional. Google removes content posted after requests to revise or remove a rating, and the FTC warns that incentives to remove a review could be an unfair practice.
• Threatening a reviewer. The FTC rule restricts threats and intimidation aimed at getting a review removed, and unfounded legal threats too.
• A burst of reviews. Google flags unusual volumes or patterns of reviews. A steady trickle from a fixed routine is what you want, so don't blast your whole customer list in one afternoon.
• Linking to your homepage. Every extra tap loses people. Use the direct link.

Violations can lead to removed reviews and restrictions on your Business Profile. In the US, the FTC rule lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations.

If you want one place for your review link alongside your booking and payment links, a links page on Programmable gives you a single address and a QR code for a card or a van. If you have no site at all, reviews matter even more, because your Business Profile is doing the work of one.

Questions

Can I offer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google prohibits incentives such as discounts, free goods or free services in exchange for posting a review, even if you don't ask for a positive one. The FTC rule is narrower, but Google's policy decides what stays on Google.

Can I ask only my happy customers for a review?

No. Google does not allow selectively soliciting positive reviews, and the FTC says the practice could violate the FTC Act. Send the same request to every customer.

Can I send customers a private feedback form first?

Yes, as long as every customer also gets the public review link, whatever they said. A form that shows the link only to high ratings is review gating.

How many times can I ask?

Neither Google nor the FTC gives a number on the pages cited here. One request and at most one gentle reminder is a sensible limit, and it stays well clear of pressure.