Asking New Zealand customers for Google reviews without breaking the rules

Short answer: ask every customer for a review, not just the ones who seemed happy, soon after the job's done, using one direct link or QR code that goes to the same place for everyone. Don't offer anything in return, and don't filter who gets asked based on how the interaction went.

Google is explicit that reviews should reflect a genuine experience, and that offering incentives — discounts, freebies or anything else — in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing one, is against its policies. In New Zealand, this overlaps with obligations under the Fair Trading Act 1986, which the Commerce Commission enforces against misleading conduct, including manipulated online reviews.

What review gating looks like

Review gating is asking customers how their experience went first, and only sending the ones who say "great" on to leave a public review — quietly routing anyone unhappy elsewhere. It produces a review page that looks better than the real spread of experiences, and it's the kind of selective practice the Fair Trading Act's rules against misleading representations are designed to catch, alongside Google's own policy against it.

A simple, compliant approach

Send the same review link to every customer, ideally within a day or two of the job finishing — a plumber in Hamilton finishing a callout, or a physio clinic in Wellington after a first appointment, are both better moments than weeks later when the detail has faded. A QR code on an invoice or a text message with a direct link both work; what matters is that the destination is identical for every customer, happy or not.

Timing and channel

Mobile is how most people will open the link, so a text message with a one-tap link tends to outperform email for response rate. For trades covering a wider region — Auckland through to Hamilton, say — asking at the point the invoice is settled, while the job is fresh, works better than a bulk request sent out weeks later.

Where this sits alongside directories

Finda and NoCowboys both carry customer reviews too, and the same rule applies there: ask everyone, offer nothing, and never selectively filter. Consistent, honest review requests across Google and these directories build a more believable profile than a suspiciously perfect one on a single site.

Keeping requests consistent without gating

Local SEO AI's review requests feature sends the same link to every customer you add, with no branching based on sentiment — this is software you control, and no request goes out without your setup being approved by you first, ahead of any live Google connection. See our guide on replying to reviews for what to do once responses start coming in, and pricing, billed in GBP (£).

Asking everyone, every time, in the same way, is the simplest way to stay both compliant and credible.