Owner guide · Reviews

How to respond to a bad review

A bad review hurts, but the reply is read by every future guest who sees it. A calm, short reply often wins more trust than the review loses.

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Step by step

  1. Wait an hour, then reply within a day. Do not answer angry. But do not wait a week either. A reply within a day shows you care.
  2. Use their name and thank them. “Mike, thank you for telling us.” It shows a real person is reading.
  3. Say sorry for what went wrong. Be specific: “40 minutes is too long, and cold soup is not how we cook.” Do not argue about details in public.
  4. Take it offline. Give a phone number and your name so they can reach you. Fix it privately.
  5. Fix the cause. If three reviews mention slow pickup, the problem is the pickup, not the reviewers.

Reviews

What not to write

Do not call the guest a liar, do not share their order details or personal information, and do not offer money in exchange for removing the review. Keep it short; long replies read like arguments.

What Google says

Google asks businesses to keep replies short, polite and specific, to protect the guest’s privacy, and to apologize where it makes sense. You can edit or delete your reply later from your Business Profile.

EatFuti is in Des Moines, Iowa, and works with independent restaurants across the United States, most of all in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

How it works with EatFuti

  1. Run the free check. Three minutes, no sign-up. See your Google page, where your Order button goes and how your site does on a phone.
  2. Say yes. Send your photos and menu, or we take the menu from your POS or online. Online ordering is live 48 to 72 hours after signup.
  3. Your website goes up. Built for you from your photos, menu and reviews, right after ordering is live. You approve it before it goes up.

Questions owners ask

Should I reply to every bad review?

Yes, unless it is clearly spam or abusive. If it breaks Google’s rules, report it instead of arguing with it.

Can I ask the guest to change their review?

You can fix the problem and let them decide. Do not offer a refund or gift in exchange for changing or removing a review.