How to reply to Google reviews for tyre shops, garages, roofers and builders

A five-star review is easy to leave unanswered. A one-star is the one you draft on the way home and never send. Both need an answer. It sits on your Google Business Profile, and the next person who opens the listing can read it.

I look after profiles for tyre shops, garages, roofers and builders across Sussex. Asking for a review is a different job. I covered it in how plumbers and electricians can get more genuine Google reviews. This post is only the reply. I will not invent a figure for where that reply puts you on Maps.

Reply as the business

You can reply once the profile is verified. Sign in at business.google.com with the account that owns the listing. Open the reviews, choose Reply, write it and send it. If that button has moved, search the help for replies. Google's steps are in Manage customer reviews.

The reply shows as the business, not your personal name. The customer can still edit theirs, and the date then changes, so read it again. If Google refuses the reply, edit it. Use the business login. Do not review your own firm.

Thank them, and name the job

A good review needs a thank-you and the job.

"Thanks, [first name]. Glad the front tyres were on before you needed the car."

"Thanks, [first name]. Glad the loft is dry after the ridge repair."

A builder can do the same: "Glad the kitchen snagging is done." Change the job each time. Skip the tyre size, the house name and a slogan. Do not ask for another star.

A bad review, said calmly

Read it twice, and not from the van. If the job was yours and something went wrong, apologise, say you will put it right, and take the detail to a phone call.

"Sorry the warning light was still on when you collected the car. Please call the garage and we will book it back in."

A roofer or a builder can write the same note: "Sorry the leak is back, or the plaster is still off. Please call and I will come back."

Do not replay the row, name someone on the crew, or list the price. If it feels unfair but they were your customer, give one fact and ask them to come back. "We fitted the tyres and set the tracking that day. Bring the car back and we will check it."

They want to see that you will pick up the phone. Fix the job. Do not offer a discount, a free MOT or a free call-out to get the review changed.

What not to say

No sarcasm. It is still there after you have calmed down.

No threats. Court and solicitors do not belong under a review. This is not legal advice. If you need a solicitor, speak to one away from the listing.

No names from the crew. Sort a mistake at work, not on Google.

No bargain. Money off, or a free visit if they take the review down, is an incentive.

Leave private details out

The reply is public. Do not add a surname they did not use, a phone number, a registration or a house number.

Do not post the fault, an MOT advisory, the street or a neighbour's name. Say you will look, then phone them. "The car" and "the roof" are enough. This is not legal advice.

Report a review that is not yours

Google does not remove a review because it is harsh, or because you and a customer disagree. Their help says they do not step into that dispute. Report a review when it breaks the rules, such as spam, a fake, profanity or a conflict of interest.

Follow Google's guide to reporting inappropriate reviews. Choose Report, pick the reason and send it. Google says this usually takes several days. You can check the result, and appeal once if the review stays up. I cannot promise it will come down.

Leave a short reply while you wait. "We have no booking under that name. If this is your car, call and we will check the diary. If it is another business, I have reported it."

Do not ask friends, staff or family for five-star reviews to bury it. If someone demands money, a free job or a favour to remove reviews, do not pay. Keep the messages and use Google's report for that demand.

How soon to reply

Look a couple of times a week. Thank a good review within a few days. Answer a bad one the same day or the next morning, after you have cooled off, not while you are under a car or on a roof. Calm and a bit late beats fast and angry.

Do the good and the bad in one sitting. If they edit the review, read it again. Edit or delete your reply if the first one was written in anger.

A short checklist

1. Reply from the business account, on a verified profile.
2. Thank a good review and name the job, in a line you have not reused.
3. On a bad review, apologise, offer to put the work right, and move the detail to a phone call.
4. Leave out the registration, the address, the price and anything else that should stay private.
5. Offer nothing in exchange for a change of stars.
6. Report a review only when it breaks Google's rules, and leave a short reply as well.
7. Do the round a couple of times a week, including the reviews you would rather ignore.

If you want me to read the replies already on the listing, start with a free website and Google review. Tell me whether you run a tyre shop, a garage, a roofing firm or a building firm, and where in Sussex you work. I will say which replies I would rewrite, and which reviews I would report.