Reviews
How to Get Reviews That Mention the Work You Actually Did
By Mohamed Eltoukhy, founder of EVOGENCY ·
Not all five star reviews are equal. A review that says "Great service!" helps a little. A review that says "They replaced our water heater the same day and cleaned up everything, highly recommend in Clermont" helps a lot. It tells the next customer exactly what you do, where you do it, and what it's like to hire you.
Specific reviews also give Google more to understand about your business. So how do you get more of them without telling customers what to write?
Why specific reviews matter
Customers reading reviews are looking for someone like them with a problem like theirs. When they find a review that mentions their exact issue, it feels like proof. A generic review can't do that.
Specific language also connects your business to real services and places in a natural way. You don't need to stuff keywords anywhere, because your customers do the describing for you.
Never script the review
Writing reviews for customers, handing them a template to copy, or asking them to include certain keywords crosses a line. Reviews need to be the customer's honest words. Google's policies are clear that reviews should reflect genuine experiences, and scripted reviews often read as fake anyway.
What you can do is help customers remember the details.
Ask right after the work
The best time to ask is when the job is fresh. The customer has just watched you solve their problem, and the details are on their mind. A review request sent the same day naturally produces more specific reviews than one sent two weeks later.
Make your request personal
A request that mentions the job prompts the customer to think about it. Compare "Please leave us a review" with "Thanks for having us out to fix your AC today. If you have a minute, we'd love a quick review about how it went." The second one reminds them what happened without telling them what to say.
Including the technician's name helps too. Customers often mention people by name when they had a good experience.
Let customers know what helps others
Some businesses add a light line like "Reviews that mention the service you got help other homeowners find the right help." That gives people a reason to add detail without putting words in their mouth. Keep it optional and never tie it to a reward.
Reply with detail
When you reply to a review, briefly mention the job. "Thanks, Maria. Glad we could get your water heater swapped out so quickly." Your replies add useful context too, and they show future customers you pay attention.
Ask everyone
Specific reviews come from consistently asking every customer, not from picking the happy ones. Asking only satisfied customers goes against Google's rules, and a steady flow from everyone looks and reads more trustworthy anyway. Our free Review Kit has request messages written to encourage honest, detailed reviews.
Keep reading
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