Reviews are word of mouth that everybody can see. When someone’s choosing between you and the next plumber, a row of recent, specific reviews can settle it. They can help you show up on Google too: Google says that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business’s local ranking. Its own local-ranking guidance is worth reading before you start chasing them.
The good news: getting them is mostly about asking properly. You don’t need software, a marketing budget or any tricks. You need a habit and a link. Here’s a system that works, plus the exact messages you can copy.
Why reviews matter more than you think
Two things happen when you build up genuine reviews.
The first is trust. A burst pipe is stressful and a new customer doesn’t want a cowboy in the house. Twenty recent reviews from real people in their town does more to reassure them than anything you could say about yourself. It’s the difference between “I think this plumber’s alright” and “loads of people round here use him.”
The second is visibility. Google says that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business’s local ranking. It does not offer a recipe for the perfect review, so do not coach customers to mention a town, a service or a star rating. Ask for an honest account of the job and let it be theirs. For the full picture on getting found locally, read our guide to local SEO for plumbers.
So reviews aren’t a vanity thing. They win you work twice — once by helping you show up, and again by convincing the person who lands on your profile.
Ask every customer, every time
The biggest reason plumbers don’t have reviews is simple — they don’t ask. The fair way is to offer the same review link to every customer once the job is finished, rather than only approaching people you think will leave five stars. If you wait until you’re home and “get round to it,” you never will.
Build it into the job, the same way you’d pack your tools or write the invoice. When you’re tidying up and they’re thanking you, that’s your cue. A simple line works:
“Glad that’s sorted. Can I ask a quick favour — I’ll text you a link in case you’d like to leave an honest Google review. No worries if you’re busy.”
Then actually send the text before you drive off, while the job is still clear in both your minds — not three days later when you’ve both forgotten the details.
Find your Google review link first
You can’t text a link you haven’t got, so set this up once and you’re sorted forever.
- Sign in to your Google Business Profile — the same place you manage your listing on Google Maps.
- Look for the “Ask for reviews” or “Get more reviews” option. Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly, with the star selector already up.
- Copy that link, then save it somewhere you can grab it fast — pinned in your phone notes, saved as a text shortcut, or as a saved message in WhatsApp.
If you haven’t claimed your profile yet, that’s job one — nothing else here works without it, and we walk through the whole thing in getting your plumbing business onto Google Maps.
The point of the short link is to skip the bit where the customer has to search for you, find the right listing and scroll to find “write a review”. Every one of those steps loses people. The link drops them straight in.
Make it stupidly easy
People want to help, but they won’t go hunting for your profile. Remove every bit of friction:
- Text the link the moment the job’s done. You can fire it off from the van while the job is still fresh.
- Email it if that’s how you already talk to the customer — handy if you send invoices by email anyway, because you can drop the link in there.
- Put a QR code on your invoice, business card or van paperwork. A QR code that opens your review link means a customer can scan it with their phone camera and they’re straight on the review screen. You can generate one free from your review link in a couple of minutes and print it onto a small “We’d love a review” card you hand over at the end of a job.
- Keep a few printed review cards in the van. A wee card with a line of thanks and the QR code costs pennies and does the asking for you when you forget.
The rule: if it takes more than two taps, you’ll lose half of them.
Copy-and-paste messages that work
You don’t need to reinvent the wording each time. Here are three honest examples — pick one, save it, tweak the name. Keep it short, human and low-pressure.
A straightforward text, sent from the van:
“Thanks again for today, Mrs Brown. If you’ve got 30 seconds, a quick Google review really helps a one-man band like me — here’s the link: [your link]. Cheers, Dave.”
A slightly warmer one for a bigger or more stressful job:
“Hope the bathroom’s all good now. It was a pleasure sorting it for you. If you were happy with the work, a short Google review would mean a lot and helps other folk round here find me: [your link]. No pressure at all — thanks again.”
An email version, to go under your sign-off or invoice:
“Thanks for having us out this week. We’re a small local firm and word of mouth is everything to us, so if you’ve a minute we’d really appreciate a quick Google review — it genuinely helps. You can leave one here: [your link]. Thanks, and don’t hesitate to call if anything else crops up.”
Notice what these don’t do: they don’t beg, they don’t promise anything in return, and they don’t tell the customer what to write. They just make it easy and give them a reason. Send the link on its own line so it’s easy to tap.
Pick a sensible moment
Timing does a lot of the work. Once the job is complete, tested and paid for is usually the cleanest moment. A boiler fixed before the weekend, a leak stopped before it ruined the ceiling, hot water back on for a family with young kids — those are all jobs a customer can describe properly once the pressure has eased.
If you do bigger installs that run over a few days, ask at the end when everything’s tested and working, not in the messy middle. And if a customer rings up weeks later to say thanks or to book you again, that’s a perfect, natural moment to mention a review too.
Do not script the review
A blank box is intimidating, but the answer is not to give customers a script. Google says merchants must not pressure people to leave a rating or request specific content. Keep the request open: an honest review about their experience is enough.
If someone asks what is useful, say that other customers appreciate a genuine account of how the job went. Do not ask for five stars, mention a particular service or town, or suggest that a review needs to be positive.
Always reply
Reply to reviews when you have something helpful to add, especially if a customer has raised a problem. Future customers read the replies. Google also recommends keeping them short, professional and relevant.
For a good one, keep it short and warm: “Cheers John, glad we got that leak sorted before the weekend. Give us a shout any time.” A reply that mentions the job again is natural and reinforces what you do.
For the rare bad one, the reply is even more important — because that’s the one prospects scrutinise. Stay calm and professional, every time. A measured reply often impresses readers more than the complaint puts them off.
Handling a negative or unfair review
It’ll happen eventually, even to good plumbers. Here’s how to deal with it without making it worse.
- Don’t reply angry. Walk away, have a brew, come back when you’re calm. Anything you type in a temper is public forever.
- Reply in public, briefly and politely. Acknowledge them, don’t argue the details, and offer to take it offline: “Sorry to hear you weren’t happy, Mr Smith. That’s not the standard we aim for — please give me a ring on [number] and I’ll do my best to put it right.” That message isn’t really for the reviewer. It’s for the next 50 people who read it.
- Sort the actual problem privately. Phone them, hear them out, fix it if you reasonably can. A genuine fix sometimes turns into an updated, positive review.
- Report it only if it breaks the rules. If it’s fake, from someone who was never a customer, or just abuse, you can flag it to Google for removal. Google won’t remove a review simply because it’s negative or you disagree with it — so don’t bank on that being your way out.
- Bury it with good ones. The best defence against the odd bad review is a steady stream of genuine ones. One grumble among thirty happy customers barely registers.
What NOT to do
A few things will hurt you rather than help — some of them break Google’s rules outright:
- Don’t buy or fake reviews. Fake reviews are against Google’s policies and easy to spot — clusters of five stars from accounts with no history, all posted the same week. It can get your profile suspended, and customers can smell it.
- Don’t offer money, discounts or freebies for a review. Incentivising reviews is against Google’s rules, even if every review you’d get is honest. Ask because you did a good job, not because you’re paying for stars.
- Don’t “gate” reviews — that is, asking happy customers for a public review while quietly steering unhappy ones to a private feedback form. Google prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. Ask everyone the same way.
- Don’t review your own business or get all your mates to, and don’t get other tradespeople to swap reviews. None of you were customers, and Google’s good at noticing.
- Don’t put people under pressure while they are still in your house. Google says not to require or pressure a customer to review on the premises. A quiet text or email after the job is a better fit.
A handful of genuine reviews beats fifty dodgy ones, every single time. Google confirms that offers in exchange for reviews, changes to reviews, or removing negative reviews are prohibited; its current review guidance also says customers can be asked through a review link or QR code.
Make it a normal finish-of-job step
A review request should feel like a normal part of finishing the job, not a campaign. Send the same optional link once, give the customer space to decide, and move on. That gives you a fair, repeatable habit without trying to manufacture a pattern Google has not asked for.
Where the reviews live
Reviews work hardest when they’re on Google and shown on your own website. Someone who finds you through a recommendation or your van will often check your site before they ring — and seeing real reviews right there, on the page where they’re already deciding, removes the last bit of doubt. It’s one of the things every plumbing website should include, and it works alongside a clear services page to turn a visitor into a phone call.
If you’re still weighing up whether a site’s worth it at all, here’s why every plumber needs a website — reviews are a big part of the answer.
Our Five Page package includes a reviews section that pulls your best Google reviews onto the page, so the work you put into asking shows up where it counts. The same plain dealing should carry through to your website’s data collection; our guide to cookie banners and privacy notices for plumbers explains when a banner is actually needed. Want a hand setting the whole thing up — profile, link, QR cards and a site that shows your reviews off? Get in touch.