How to respond to negative Google reviews

By Steve Clune, Back Office Bot · Updated November 14, 2026

The rules

• Reply within a day or two. A fast, calm reply shows you care.
• Keep it short. Three or four sentences.
• Don't argue the details in public. Even if you're right, a back-and-forth looks bad.
• Take it offline. Give a name and a number so they can reach a real person.
• Never share private details about the customer, the job or what they paid.

A simple formula

Thank them, own what you can, say what you'll do, and invite them to call. For example: "Thanks for the feedback, [Name]. We're sorry the job didn't go the way you expected. That's not the standard we hold ourselves to. Please call me directly at [number] so I can make it right. [Your name], owner."

Example replies

"They showed up late." "You're right, [Name], and we're sorry. Your time matters, and we should have texted you as soon as we were running behind. We've changed how we send arrival updates. Thanks for letting us know."

"Too expensive." "Thanks for the review, [Name]. We price for licensed techs, quality parts and a warranty we stand behind, but we know price matters. If you'd like, call me and I'll walk through the estimate line by line."

"The problem came back." "We're sorry to hear that, [Name]. Our work is under warranty, and we want to come back out at no charge to check it. Please call [number] and ask for [name]."

"Never called me back." "That's on us, [Name], and we apologize. We missed your call and should have gotten back to you. We've since set up an automatic text so every caller hears from us right away. If you still need help, please call [number]."

A review from someone who was never a customer. "We can't find any record of working with you. If we've made a mistake, please call us at [number] so we can sort it out." Then flag it to Google (see below).

Can you get a bad review removed?

Google removes reviews that break its policies, such as spam, fake reviews, conflicts of interest, harassment or off-topic content. In your Google Business Profile, open the review and choose to report it. Google won't remove a review just because it's negative or you disagree with it.

The real fix: more good reviews

One bad review hurts most when you only have six. When you have sixty, it barely matters. Ask every customer after every job. Use our review request text templates, or let BOB send them automatically. See review generation.