The short answer
Check each low review against your dispatch log, call history and invoices. Reviews that name another company or van, carry a rival’s phone number, repeat the same text, come from a former tech or threaten a named locksmith break Google’s review policies and can be reported. A real customer unhappy with a price gets a calm reply. The free review check labels each one.
How fake reviews reach a locksmith
Locksmith searches are urgent and local. Many callers do not remember which company they phoned, especially when a call center or a search ad sent a different van to the door. Some of the worst reviews a legitimate locksmith gets were earned by someone else.
- A review describing a price bait and switch from a company with a different name, van or uniform.
- Reviews that end with a phone number for a rival lockout service.
- A burst of one star reviews after you join a new service area, all with little detail.
- People turned away because they could not prove they live at the address.
- Former techs writing about pay, trucks or how jobs are dispatched.
Which policies these reviews break
A review that names another company, or describes a van and uniform that are not yours, is about a different business. That is off topic on your listing. A review with a rival’s phone number or link breaks Google’s advertising policy, which bars phone numbers and links in reviews. Copied text from several accounts is spam.
Former techs and competing locksmiths are covered by conflict of interest. Threats against a named locksmith are abusive language.
Someone you refused because they had no ID showing the address had a real experience with you. Their review stays. Your reply can explain the rule without naming them.
See which of your reviews break a rule.
The check reads every low review on your listing and labels it. Free, and nothing is filed until you pick.
Records a locksmith can rely on
- Dispatch logs with time of call, address and the tech sent.
- Phone records showing which numbers called your line and when.
- Invoices with the price quoted and the price paid.
- ID and proof of residence forms signed at each lockout.
- Van GPS history, if you run tracking.
A review that describes a 2 a.m. lockout on a night your log shows no call to that area points straight at a mixed-up company. Note the details and keep the screenshot.
What to do now
- 1
Save every low review
Screenshot the name, date, stars and text, including any photo of a van or invoice.
- 2
Search the dispatch log
Look up each name, address and date. Mark the ones with no call, no job and no invoice.
- 3
Look for another company’s details
Note any review that mentions a business name, van color or price you never charge.
- 4
Run the free review check
Paste your Google Maps link and see each low review labelled against Google’s policies.
- 5
Tick, file, reply
File the labelled reviews and answer the rest with a short public reply.
Replying as a locksmith
Readers want to know you will show up, quote honestly and protect their home. Say what your process is, briefly.
For a review meant for another company: "We have no call or job under this name, and our vans are marked with our name and number. If you hired us, please call with your invoice number so we can look into it." For a refused lockout: "For the safety of every home we open, we ask for ID showing the address. We are sorry we could not help that night." Never post a customer’s address or door details.