Every completed job in your field software is a customer who can tell the next buyer whether you showed up, fixed it and charged what you said. Most of those customers never write anything, not because they are unhappy, but because nobody asked at a good moment.
Automation fixes the asking. It can also create new problems: requests that go out days late, requests sent only to happy customers, and incentives that break platform rules. This guide covers how to set up review requests, vendor-neutral, and the rules from Google and the FTC that shape what you can automate.
It belongs with estimate follow-up and reactivating old customers as revenue that comes from work and customers you already have.
The trigger decides everything
A review request is usually triggered by an event in your field software, most often a job marked complete or an invoice marked paid. That makes a sloppy status a reputation problem.
- Techs who close jobs at the end of the week send review requests at the end of the week. The customer who loved Monday's visit hears from you on Friday.
- Jobs closed in bulk by the office can send a burst of requests at once, some for work that is not actually finished.
- Invoices paid later delay requests for customers who pay on a net term.
- Jobs that need a callback can be marked complete while the customer is still unhappy.
Before you pick any tool, answer these four questions about your own software:
- What event starts the request: job complete, invoice sent or invoice paid?
- How long after that event does it go out?
- Who can mark a job complete, and when do they do it in practice?
- How do you stop a request for a job with an open complaint or a return visit?
Fix the status habits first. The best review tool in the world sends late requests if your techs close tickets late. Pull a report of time from job completion to job closed status for the last 60 days. That gap is your real delay.
What good timing looks like
There is no published study we can point to that gives an ideal minute count, so be skeptical of anyone who quotes one. The sensible pattern is simple: ask while the visit is fresh, usually the same day, and not at 2 a.m. or during dinner. Test the timing against your own response data.
A workable sequence:
| When | Channel | Message |
|---|---|---|
| A few hours after the job closes | Text or email | One short request with a direct link to your review page |
| 3 days later, if no review | One reminder, different wording | |
| Stop | No third request |
Two requests is enough. A customer who ignored both has answered.
Message examples
Text
Hi [First name], this is [Name] at [Company]. Thanks for choosing us today. If you have a minute, an honest review helps other homeowners find us: [link]. If something was not right, reply here and I will fix it. Reply STOP to opt out.
Subject: How did we do? Hi [First name], [Tech name] finished your [job] on [date]. If you can spare two minutes, we would appreciate an honest review: [link]. If anything about the visit fell short, reply to this email and [Name] will make it right. [Name], [Company]
Note what these do not say: "leave us five stars," or "if you are happy, click here." That wording matters, and the next two sections explain why.
Google's rules on review requests
Google's Maps user-contributed content policy covers merchants as well as reviewers. As of our reading, the policy says:
- Do not offer incentives for reviews. The policy lists payment, discounts and free goods or services in exchange for posting a review as rating manipulation, and says such reviews will be removed.
- You may ask for genuine feedback. The policy allows merchants to solicit or encourage content that represents a genuine experience, and says not to require or pressure customers to leave reviews.
- Do not selectively ask for positive reviews. The policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews and discouraging negative ones.
- Fake engagement is removed. That includes paid reviews and content posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person.
Read the policy yourself, since platform rules change: Google's Maps user-contributed content policy.
The practical consequence for automation is the "review gate": a flow that asks "How was your visit?" and sends happy customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private form. That pattern is the selective solicitation Google's policy describes, and the FTC has addressed a related version (below). A cleaner approach is one request to every customer, with a way to reach a manager that sits alongside the review link, not instead of it.
The FTC rule on fake reviews and suppression
The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials took effect on October 21, 2024. In its August 14, 2024 announcement, the Commission said it voted 5-0 to approve the final rule. As the FTC describes it, the rule:
- Bans fake or false reviews, including those from people with no actual experience and AI-generated reviews, and bans buying or disseminating them when you knew or should have known they were fake.
- Bans offering compensation or incentives conditioned on a particular sentiment, positive or negative, whether the condition is stated or implied.
- Requires that insider reviews, such as those from officers, managers or employees, disclose the connection.
- Bans using unfounded legal threats, physical threats, intimidation or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove negative reviews.
- Bans misrepresenting that a company-controlled site gives independent reviews.
The FTC's staff question and answer page adds useful detail for a contractor. Emailing all your customers to ask for reviews is not a violation, even if everyone who responds gets an incentive. Asking only customers you believe are satisfied may violate the FTC Act under the Endorsement Guides. Wording such as "tell us how much you loved your visit" implies a positive review. You may respond publicly to a negative review, but you may not knowingly or recklessly make false accusations about the reviewer. The staff page itself says it is guidance, neither definitive nor a safe harbor.
Read both sources: the FTC announcement of the final rule and the FTC consumer reviews and testimonials rule Q&A.
Note that the FTC says an incentive for reviews is not banned by the rule as long as it is not tied to sentiment, while Google's policy bars incentives for reviews outright on Google. For a contractor, the safe design is to follow the stricter one: no incentives for Google reviews. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your program with counsel.
What to automate
- The request itself, triggered by a clean job-complete status
- The single reminder, only for customers who did not respond
- Suppression rules: no request when a job has an open invoice dispute, a callback, a warranty claim or an unresolved complaint tag
- Opt-out handling, across texts and email
- Alerts: a low-star review, or a reply to the request that reads like a complaint, goes to a manager the same day
- Reporting: requests sent, reviews received, average rating, by tech and by location
What to keep human
- Replies to reviews. Write them yourself or review them before they post. An automated reply to a one-star review shows the owner is not reading.
- Recovery calls. A customer who replies "the tech left a mess" needs a call, not a template.
- Credit to techs. A named mention in a review is worth recognition, and it is the best coaching feedback you get.
Texting customers for reviews carries the same consent and opt-out considerations as other texts, so read TCPA texting rules for contractors before you automate.
Measure the result
Do not count only stars. Track these:
- Request-to-review rate: reviews received / requests sent
- Time from job completion to request, which exposes sloppy closing
- Reviews per technician per month, which shows who is handled well and who gets skipped
- Average rating and the share of reviews that mention a tech by name
- Low-rating alerts and how fast they were answered
- Booked jobs from Google Business Profile calls and direction requests, if you track them
We do not cite a benchmark for request-to-review rate, because we could not find a trustworthy independent one. Vendors publish figures from their own customers. Set your own baseline for 60 days and improve against it.
Choosing a tool without choosing a vendor
Review software ranges from features inside your field service platform to standalone products. We are not a reseller of any of them. Ask each vendor:
- Which event in my field software triggers a request, and can I choose it?
- Can I suppress requests by job tag, status or customer?
- Does it send every customer the same request, or does it filter by satisfaction?
- How does it handle opt-outs and carrier registration for texts?
- Can I export my review data if I leave?
A tool that gates reviews by satisfaction should be a no, given the rules above.
If you want review requests tied to your job-close data, with suppression rules and weekly reporting, that is part of how we build AI operations and admin automation, and the reporting side comes with the Booked-Jobs Recovery System.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to ask customers for Google reviews?
Asking is allowed. Google's policy permits asking for genuine feedback, and the FTC's staff guidance says emailing all customers to request reviews is not a violation of the rule. Incentives and selective solicitation are where the risk lies. General information, not legal advice.
Can I give customers a discount for a review?
Google's policy lists discounts in exchange for reviews as prohibited incentives on Google. The FTC rule bars incentives conditioned on a positive or negative sentiment. The conservative approach is to offer none.
Should I only ask happy customers for reviews?
No. Google's policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews, and the FTC's staff guidance says asking only customers you believe are satisfied may violate the FTC Act. Ask everyone, and give unhappy customers a way to reach you.
When should the review request go out?
Soon after the job closes, while the visit is fresh. The trigger is your job-close status, so late closing means late requests. Audit how long your techs take to close tickets.