Replying to Google reviews as a UK business, with wording you can adapt

Short answer: reply promptly, mention something specific from the review, and never negotiate a review's wording or rating in exchange for anything. In the UK, that last point isn't just good manners — it's covered by consumer protection law.

Search "google my business" and you'll find plenty of generic advice about replying to reviews. What most of it misses is that UK businesses now operate under a specific legal backdrop: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) bans fake and misleading reviews, and the CMA publishes practical guidance for traders on how reviews should be collected, displayed and responded to.

Structuring a reply that holds up

A reply should do three things: acknowledge a genuine detail from the review, add one useful fact (an update, an apology, an explanation), and close with a next step if one is needed. Two to four sentences is usually enough — Google's own guidance discourages long, repetitive or copy-pasted thank-yous.

Illustrative examples for UK contexts

These are illustrative examples only, not real customers or real businesses.

Positive (illustrative): "Brilliant service, sorted our boiler the same day." > Thanks for the kind words — glad we could get to you quickly. We keep a few same-day slots free for exactly this kind of job, so ring the mobile number on our profile if it happens again.

Mixed (illustrative): "Good haircut but the salon was freezing." > Thank you for the feedback on the cut, and sorry about the temperature — we've had the heating looked at since. Hope to welcome you back soon.

Negative (illustrative): "Nobody turned up for our appointment." > We're sorry to hear this — a missed visit isn't good enough. Please call the office quoting this review so we can look into what went wrong and put it right.

What never to write

• Any offer of a discount, refund or free extra in return for changing or removing a review — this is exactly the kind of incentivised review activity the CMA's guidance and Google's own rules both prohibit.
• Personal information about the reviewer beyond what they've already disclosed.
• Arguing publicly about whose account of events is correct.

How quickly is quickly enough?

There's no statutory response time, but a sensible target for a business in Bristol, Glasgow or anywhere else is to check reviews every working day and answer negative ones first, while the issue is still fresh and fixable.

Worked example: a Nottingham café replying to a week's reviews

This is an illustrative example, not a real client, showing how a small café in Nottingham might work through a typical week of reviews using the approach above.

On Monday, a one-star review arrives overnight saying an order was missing an item and nobody at the counter could help when the customer called back. Because negative reviews are answered first, the owner replies within the day: acknowledging the missing item specifically, apologising, and asking the customer to email a named address with their order details so it can be looked into — no discount or refund is offered inside the public reply itself, since that kind of exchange belongs off the public thread and must never be conditional on changing the review.

By Wednesday, a three-star review mentions good coffee but a long queue at Saturday lunchtime. The reply thanks the customer for the specific detail about timing, mentions that a second till is now staffed on Saturdays between certain hours, and invites them back — again, two to three sentences, no generic "thanks for your feedback" filler.

On Friday, a five-star review praises the flat white and the window seats. Rather than a one-line "thanks!", the reply picks out the flat white by name and mentions that the seasonal roast changes each month, giving the customer a reason to return and try something new. Across the week, the owner never offers anything in exchange for a review being amended, and negative reviews are consistently the first ones answered each morning, exactly as the checklist below sets out.

Checklist

• Negative reviews answered before positive ones
• No incentives offered anywhere near a review
• Replies mention a specific, true detail
• Escalations moved to phone or email, off the public thread

Where Local SEO AI helps

Review management pulls every Google review into one inbox, flags ones needing urgent attention, and drafts a reply in your business's tone for you to edit and approve — nothing posts automatically, and live posting to Google is awaiting Google's connection approval. For reviews that look fake or breach Google's policy outright, see handling negative or fake reviews; for asking honestly in the first place, read asking for reviews without gating. See plans on pricing.

Frequently asked questions

Does the DMCC Act require me to reply to every Google review?

No, the Act doesn't set a reply requirement. It bans specific practices, such as fake reviews, suppressing genuine negative ones, and paying or incentivising people to write or remove reviews. Replying is best practice for customer service and reputation, not a legal obligation, but any reply you do post must stay honest and can't offer anything in exchange for a change.

Is it against the rules to offer a refund publicly in a reply to a negative review?

It's better to move that conversation off the public thread. Publicly promising a refund or discount specifically in return for editing or removing the review is the kind of incentivised activity the CMA's guidance on fake and misleading reviews warns against. Handling the refund normally through your usual customer service channel, separate from the review itself, avoids that risk entirely.

Can I ask a customer to update a negative review from Bristol or Glasgow after I've fixed the issue?

You can let a customer know an issue has been resolved and that you'd welcome them back, but you should not ask them to change their review score or wording as a condition of that resolution. Customers are always free to update a review themselves once satisfied, without being asked to.

Do bank holidays change how quickly I should reply to reviews?

There's no fixed rule, but if your business closes for bank holidays it's reasonable that reviews left over that period wait until you reopen. Setting accurate special hours for bank holidays on your profile, alongside a note in your review process to catch up promptly afterwards, keeps customer expectations realistic.