How to ask a customer for a review without sounding pushy
The three moments a review request actually lands, five copy-paste templates by channel, and the small wording shifts that turn a "yeah, will do" into an actual five-star post.
Most tradespeople know reviews are how the next ten customers find them. Most still do not ask. The reason is almost never laziness. It is the awkwardness of the moment - the worry that asking will make a friendly job feel transactional, or that the customer will say yes politely and then never get round to it.
Both worries are real. They are also fixable with two adjustments: ask at a different moment, and use wording that gives the customer an easy way out. A request that lands the day after final invoice payment, framed as a small favour rather than a marketing ask, converts roughly three times better than a request fired off the moment the van pulls away.
The templates below are written for that softer ask. Pick the channel the customer already uses with you, send the right one for the moment, and follow up exactly once if they do not post inside a week.
The three moments a review request actually lands
Timing matters more than wording. The same message that gets ignored on a Tuesday morning lands on a Friday afternoon, and a request sent two weeks after the job has already gone cold. The pattern across UK trade businesses is simple: ask within 72 hours of a clear positive signal, never within 24 hours of finishing the work, and never while there is still an open invoice.
- Moment 1 - Day after final payment clears. The customer has just confirmed the work was worth the money. They feel positive about you, the transaction is closed, and you are not putting them on the spot while they still owe you anything.
- Moment 2 - After a spontaneous compliment. If a customer texts "amazing job, the kitchen looks brilliant", that is the highest-converting moment in the entire job. Reply within the hour, thank them, and ask if they would mind putting a sentence of that on Google.
- Moment 3 - At a planned follow-up. If you check in after two weeks ("just making sure the tap is still running clean"), bolt the review ask onto the back of the message. The follow-up itself signals you care, which is what makes the ask land warmly.
Five copy-paste templates by channel
Match the template to the channel the customer already uses with you. A WhatsApp customer will not click an email link. An email customer feels weirdly approached by a text. The wording below assumes a happy customer - if the job had any friction, pick a different template from "How to respond to a bad review" instead of asking.
- 1. Email (day after payment clears). Subject: "Quick favour if you have two minutes". Body: "Hi [name], hope the [project] is still looking the way you wanted. If you have a couple of minutes and would not mind, a short review on Google would mean a lot - most of my work comes through people finding me there. The link is here: [link]. Totally fine if not, just thought I would ask. Thanks again for the job. - [your name]"
- 2. SMS (after a spontaneous compliment). "Really glad you are pleased with it [name]. If you fancy putting a line of that on Google for me it would honestly make my week - [link]. No pressure, just thought I would ask while it is fresh."
- 3. WhatsApp (informal customer, ongoing thread). "Glad it turned out well. Quick ask - would you mind sticking a quick review on Google? Most of my new work comes from there. Link: [link]. Whenever you have a sec, no rush."
- 4. In person (job-completion handover). "Before I head off - if you are happy with how it has gone, the thing that actually helps me most is a review on Google. I will text you the link tonight if it is easier, but most people forget by then, so if you have a minute now I really appreciate it."
- 5. Hand-written follow-up card (premium jobs, kitchens, bathrooms, full refurbs). A short card with the review link as a QR code, posted three days after the job. Costs you 50p, opens at 80% (compared with 25% for cold email), and the customer feels treated rather than chased.
Picking which platform to send them to
Most UK tradespeople should send customers to one platform per request, not three. The customer is doing you a favour - asking them to choose between Google, Checkatrade, and Trustpilot is the surest way to get nothing posted. Pick the one that matters most for your trade and lead source, and only switch if a customer specifically prefers another.
- Google Business Profile - the right default for most trades. Reviews here lift the local map pack ranking, which is where most "plumber near me" / "electrician [town]" searches end up. If you are not sure, send people here.
- Checkatrade or Trustatrader - send customers here if a significant share of your leads came through that platform. The reviews stay on the platform itself rather than helping Google rankings, but they protect your standing where you already pay for visibility.
- Trustpilot - sensible for tradespeople who do bigger-ticket work (£5,000+ jobs, multi-day projects) where customers research seriously before booking. Less useful for emergency call-outs.
- Avoid juggling all three for the same customer. Pick the one that matches where the lead came from, or default to Google. Multi-platform asks halve the response rate.
When they say yes but do not actually post
About half of customers who agree to leave a review never get round to it. That is not a personal slight - it is the same drift that buries the dentist appointment on the to-do list. One polite nudge a week later recovers most of them, but only one. A second chase past that point starts to feel like badgering.
- Wait seven days from the original ask before nudging. Sooner reads as impatient, later and they have forgotten what they agreed to.
- The nudge template: "Hi [name], no pressure at all - just realised I never resent the review link in case the first message got buried. Here it is if you have a minute: [link]. Thanks again."
- If they still do not post after the nudge, drop it. Repeated asks damage the relationship more than the missing review helps the business.
- Track who has been asked vs who has posted - even a simple column in your CMA notes on the client record stops you double-asking or missing the nudge entirely.
Three small wording shifts that lift the conversion
Most of the difference between a request that converts and one that gets ignored is in three short phrases. None of them require a marketing degree. They just remove friction and give the customer permission to say no.
- Say "most of my work comes from people finding me on Google" rather than "reviews really help my business". The first sentence gives the customer a concrete reason - they understand why it matters. The second sounds like every other ask they get.
- Always include the direct link, even if the customer already has your Google listing bookmarked. The extra ten seconds of finding it is exactly where most good intentions die.
- Add "totally fine if not" or "no pressure" at the end. Counter-intuitive but it lifts the response rate, because it removes the social obligation - and customers who would have replied yes-but-not-posted often reply yes-and-actually-post instead.
Un flux de travail simple pour de meilleurs devis
Set the review request as a scheduled task on the client record the moment the invoice is marked paid - day-after-payment is the right default trigger.
Pick one platform per request based on where the lead came from. Default to Google if unsure.
Match the channel of the message to how the customer already communicates with you. Email customers get email, WhatsApp customers get WhatsApp.
Wait seven days. If they have not posted, send the single nudge template. If they still do not post, close the task and move on.
Reply to every review that does land, even five-star ones - a one-line thank you signals to future customers that you are paying attention.
Review-asking is not a marketing skill. It is a habit. The tradespeople who consistently land five-star Google reviews are not better at the wording - they ask every customer, at the right moment, with the link in front of them. The ones who post sporadic high-quality work but cannot break ten reviews on Google have usually just forgotten to ask, or asked at the wrong time, or buried the link three clicks deep.
Pick one of the templates above, schedule the prompt to fire the day after the next paid invoice, and send it once. Then do it again on the job after that. Inside three months the trickle of fresh reviews changes how every new lead reads your profile.
Questions fréquentes
When is the best time to ask a customer for a review?
The day after the final invoice clears. The customer has confirmed by paying that the work was worth the price, and you are not asking while they still owe you anything. The next best moment is within an hour of a spontaneous compliment, when the positive feeling is at its peak.
Should I ask for a review on the day I finish the job?
No. The customer has not yet had time to live with the work, and the request can feel like part of the transaction. Wait until the invoice has cleared - usually three to seven days - then ask in a separate message that is not bundled with anything else.
Is it OK to offer a discount or gift for a review?
No, and on Google specifically it breaches the terms of service - reviews that look incentivised can be removed and the business profile can be flagged. The same applies on Trustpilot and Checkatrade. Ask for the review on its own merit, and reply warmly to whatever you receive.
How many times should I follow up if the customer says yes but does not post?
Once. A single polite nudge about a week after the original ask recovers around a third of the "yes but never got round to it" cases. A second nudge starts to feel like badgering and is more likely to damage the relationship than land the review.
Which platform should I send customers to?
Pick one per customer, not three. Google Business Profile is the right default for most UK tradespeople because reviews there lift the local search ranking. Send customers to Checkatrade or Trustatrader only if that is where the lead came from. Multi-platform asks halve the response rate.
Ressources associées
Explorez les pages produits, guides métiers et articles pertinents pour mettre en place ce flux de travail dans votre entreprise.
Fonctionnalités CMA associées
Explorez les domaines produits qui soutiennent ce flux de travail, du premier message client au devis approuvé.
CMA aide les artisans à centraliser les médias de projet, la communication client et les devis en un seul endroit, pour accélérer le travail de la première demande au devis approuvé.