Review request scripts and reply templates

Read these before you use a single line.

• No incentives. Don’t offer a discount, a gift, a draw or a complimentary service in return for a review.
• No gating. Ask every patient the same way. Don’t ask only the ones who seem happy, and don’t steer unhappy ones to a private form instead of Google.
• No staff reviews. Team members, owners and their families should not write reviews for the clinic.
• No telling people what to write. Ask for honest feedback in their own words.
• Google’s policy: https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114 Read the current version, as Google updates it.
• Your regulator. Your college or board may have its own rules on testimonials. Check them before you ask or share reviews on your website.
• Consent for texts and emails. A review request sent by text or email is a message from your business. Where the law requires consent, get it first. CASL applies in Canada. This sheet is general information, not legal advice. See /faq/do-i-need-consent-to-email-patients-casl-and-can-spam/
• Privacy. Never confirm in a public reply that someone is a patient. Don’t mention a visit, a treatment or any health detail.

More detail: /faq/what-are-the-rules-for-asking-patients-for-google-reviews/ and Ask patients for Google reviews

Ask every patient, at the same point in the visit, at the front desk after they’ve paid and booked.

“Thanks for coming in today. If you have a moment, we’d value your honest feedback on Google. I can send you the link now. Only if you’d like to.”

If they say yes:

“Great, it’s [Google review link]. It takes about a minute, and you can write whatever you like.”

If they say no or hesitate:

“No problem at all. Have a good rest of your day.”

Tips: no pressure, no tablet pushed across the desk and no waiting while they type. Don’t ask in the treatment room.

Send it to everyone who has agreed to receive texts, a few hours after the visit or the next morning. Timing is your call.

“Hi [Name], this is [Clinic name]. Thanks for visiting. If you’d like to share your honest feedback on Google, here’s the link: [Google review link]. [Clinic address], [Phone]. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Keep it short. Send one request. Don’t send a second text if there’s no reply.

Subject: [Clinic name]: your feedback

Hi [Name],

Thank you for visiting [Clinic name]. If you have a few minutes, we’d value your honest feedback on Google. It helps other people in [Neighbourhood or city] get a sense of what to expect.

You can leave it here: [Google review link]

There’s no obligation, and you can write whatever you like. If you’d rather talk to us directly, call [Phone] or reply to this email.

Thank you, [Name], [Clinic name]

[Clinic address] · [Unsubscribe link]

Include your business name, address and an unsubscribe link in every email, and honour opt-outs quickly.

Keep it short, warm and generic. Don’t confirm the person was a patient.

“Thank you for taking the time to write this, [First name]. We appreciate the kind words. Our team at [Clinic name] is glad to hear it.”

Variation:

“Thank you for your feedback, [First name]. It means a lot to our team. We’re always here at [Phone] if you have questions.”

Don’t add: the treatment, the date, the practitioner’s name, or any detail about their visit.

A neutral review is a chance to show you listen.

“Thank you for your feedback, [First name]. We’re always looking to improve and we’ve shared your comments with our team. If you’d like to talk it through, please call [Phone] or email [Email].”

Take a breath before you reply, wait a day if you’re upset, and never argue in public.

“Thank you for letting us know, [First name]. We’re sorry your experience wasn’t what you hoped for. We take feedback seriously and we’d like to understand more. Please call [Phone] or email [Email] and ask for [Name], and we’ll do our best to help.”

Do:

• Keep it under five lines.
• Offer a phone number or email, and answer when they use it.
• Say sorry for the experience, without arguing the facts.

Don’t:

• Confirm or deny that they are a patient, or refer to anything about their care.
• Share dates, treatments, fees or appointment details.
• Ask them to remove the review, or offer anything in return for removing it.
• Reply from a personal account.

If a review breaks Google’s rules (spam, abuse, a person who isn’t a customer, an obvious conflict of interest), you can flag it to Google. See Respond to negative reviews

• Everyone is asked the same way, not only the happy ones.
• Nothing is offered in return.
• Texts and emails go only to people who have agreed to receive them.
• Opt-outs are honoured quickly.
• Replies don’t confirm that someone is a patient.
• Nobody on the team writes reviews for the clinic.
• We have checked our regulator’s rules on testimonials: [date checked].