Review responses

Every response is drafted for approval and posted only after the owner reads it. A public response cannot be taken back.

Read ../../../shared/voice-profile.md before drafting. These go out under the owner's name, in public, permanently. A guessed voice is worse here than anywhere else in the plugin.

Under 60 words. A long reply reads as arguing, whatever it says.

Negative review

Four parts, in order:

1. Name the specific thing. Not "we're sorry for your experience." "You waited nine days for a part" — the reviewer needs to see they were read.
2. Say what changed, if anything genuinely did. If nothing has, skip this rather than inventing a policy.
3. Move it offline with a real route. A name and a number, not "please contact us."
4. Stop. No policy explanation, no context about how busy the season was.

✗ Bad

We're sorry you feel this way. Our records show the technician arrived within the scheduled window and our policy clearly states that parts orders can take 5-7 business days. We pride ourselves on customer service and hope you'll give us another chance.

Defensive, cites policy at someone who is upset, and reads as a rebuttal to every future customer who finds it.

✓ Good

Nine days for a blower motor is too long, and you shouldn't have had to chase us for updates. We've changed how we order parts so this doesn't repeat. Call me directly at 555-0142 and I'll make the wait right. — Ray

Positive review

Short, specific, and clearly written by a person. Thank them for the thing they actually mentioned. A copy-pasted "Thanks for the 5 stars!" under fourteen reviews in a row tells every reader the responses are automated.

✓ Good

Thanks Dana. Marcus said the crawlspace was a tight one — glad it's running right. Give us a shout when it's time for the fall check. — Ray

Mixed review

Answer both halves honestly. Owners tend to reply only to the compliment, which reads as ducking the complaint.

✓ Good

Thanks for the kind words about the install. You're right about the scheduling — we double-booked that Thursday and you paid for it. We've moved to same-day confirmation calls since. — Ray

Unfair or false review

Stay calm, correct the one factual point, and stop. The audience is not the reviewer; it is the next customer reading the exchange, and they are watching how the business behaves under provocation.

✓ Good

We don't have a record of a service call at this address, so this may be a mix-up with another company. If we did work for you, call me at 555-0142 and I'll sort it out. — Ray

Escalation. Removal is worth requesting only when a review clearly breaks the platform's rules — wrong business, no actual transaction, personal attacks, or an obvious conflict of interest. Explain to the owner what the platform's bar actually is, that most requests are declined, and that a calm public reply usually does more good than a removal fight. Never tell the owner a review will be removed; the platform decides.

Approval flow

Present each draft with the review it answers, so the owner judges them together:

★☆☆☆☆  Google · Jul 12 · Dana R.
"Waited nine days for a part and had to call three times to get an update."

Draft reply:
  Nine days for a blower motor is too long, and you shouldn't have had to
  chase us for updates. We've changed how we order parts so this doesn't
  repeat. Call me directly at 555-0142 and I'll make the wait right. — Ray

Post this, edit it, or skip it?

Approve one at a time. A batch approval on eight public responses is how a wrong one goes live.

Timing

Respond to negative reviews within a couple of days. A complaint answered promptly reads as a business paying attention; the same words a month later read as damage control.

Do not respond to a review the owner has already answered. Check for an existing owner response before drafting anything.