Timing counts more than wording
A happy customer is happiest in the hour that follows. After three days, the feeling has faded, life has moved on, and your request arrives as one more administrative chore. The rule fits in one sentence: ask while the job is still fresh. Right after the visit for a tradesperson, as they leave the till for a shop, the same evening for a restaurant, at vehicle handover for a garage. If you go through a message, aim for late afternoon or early evening rather than eight in the morning: the customer has a moment to themselves, and their phone is in their hand.
Three SMS templates to copy
SMS is still the most effective channel: it is read within the minute and leads to the right place in one click. Keep it short, put in the direct link to your review form, and sign with a first name rather than an anonymous company name.
Shop or restaurant: “Hello [first name], thank you for visiting [business name] today. If you enjoyed it, a Google review helps us a lot: [link]. Thank you! [first name]”
Tradesperson, after a job: “Hello [first name], this morning's job is finished, I hope everything is to your liking. A word on Google would really help my business: [link]. Have a good day, [first name]”
Appointment, salon or practice: “Thank you for coming in today [first name]. If you are happy with the result, a Google review takes thirty seconds: [link]. See you soon, [business name]”
Two email templates
Email works when the job is long, technical, or spread over several days. Short subject line, three-line body, a single link, no attachments.
Subject: “Feedback on our visit?” Body: “Hello [first name], we carried out work on [date] for [service]. If you were happy with the job, a Google review would help us a lot: it is often what decides the people looking for us. Here is the direct link: [link]. And if something was not right, just reply to this email and I will take care of it. [signature]”
Subject: “Thank you for your order” Body: “Hello [first name], your order of [date] has arrived safely, I hope you like it. We are a small business and Google reviews count for a lot in our sales: if you have two minutes, it is this way: [link]. Thank you very much. [signature]”
Asking out loud, and the support that goes with it
Asking face to face is still the most effective, provided it is followed by something to act on straight away. You say the line, then hand over the means to act: a card slipped in with the receipt, a small stand by the till, a sticker in the window, a contactless plaque the customer holds their phone to. That is what the NFC and QR holders from the shop are for: they remove the two steps where everyone drops out, finding the Google Business Profile and typing the text. The line itself stays short: “if you have two minutes, a Google review helps us a lot, it is all here”.
Google's three red lines
Google publishes clear rules on reviews, and profiles that stray from them risk having the reviews concerned removed, or even restrictions.
First ban: the reward. Offering a discount, a coffee, a product or an entry into a prize draw in exchange for a review is forbidden, even nicely worded, even if the review stays free. You can say thank you, you cannot pay.
Second prohibition: screening beforehand. Asking the customer first whether they are happy so that only satisfied ones are sent to Google is explicitly banned. The request must go out the same way to everyone. An unhappy customer who speaks up is in fact doing you a favour, provided you know how to reply to a negative review.
Third ban: fake reviews. The ones you write yourself, the ones from friends and family, the ones you buy. It is the fastest way to lose the trust of Google's filters, and that of your customers, who spot a made-up review very easily.
A fourth rule is not written down but is worth following: do not send forty requests on the same day from the same wifi network. A sudden burst attracts the automatic filters; a steady flow is always better.
What happens next
Asking is not enough. Replying to every review, even in one line, signals that the profile is alive and shows visitors that someone is at the helm. The subject is covered in detail in our article on managing Google reviews for a shop.
The version that runs itself
The real obstacle is never the text, it is consistency. Nobody remembers to send the message on the right evening, for every customer, a hundred times in a row. That is precisely the part we automate for a shop: the message goes out on its own at the right moment after the visit or the job, in your tone, once per customer only, and stops for those who have already left a review. The full reasoning, with the volumes to aim for and the beginner’s mistakes, is in our article on how to get more Google reviews for a shop.