The short answer
Reply to reviews with no visit behind them using one short, neutral line: you have no record of the visit and invite the person to contact you directly. Leave threats and abuse unanswered and report them. Never accuse, name suspects, share customer details or threaten legal action. Report every review that breaks a Google policy, whether you replied or not.
Which reviews to answer
- Reviews describing no visit: one short reply, so readers see you noticed.
- Real customers caught up in the wave: a specific reply, as you would on any normal day.
- Threats, slurs, attacks on staff: no reply. Report them.
- Ratings with no text: no reply needed. There is nothing for a reader to weigh.
- Reviews that name a real member of staff but describe nothing they did: one short reply that does not repeat the name.
Reply within a day or so of each review where you can, so a reader who scrolls through the wave sees each one answered in the same voice. If the wave is large, start with the newest reviews, since those sit at the top for new customers.
You do not need to answer every review in the wave. A reader who sees the same calm line under ten strange reviews understands what happened.
Three replies you can copy
- 1
For a review with no visit behind it
We cannot find any record of this visit. If you were here, please call us or email us with the date so we can look into it.
- 2
For a review about something outside the business
This review does not describe a visit to us. If you have a question about our service, our door and phone line are open.
- 3
For a real customer in the middle of the wave
Thank you for telling us about the wait on Saturday. That is not the standard we aim for. Please ask for the manager next time so we can make it right.
Use your own business name and contact line. Keep the wording the same across reviews of the same kind. Read each reply aloud before you post it. If it sounds annoyed, cut words until it does not. Short replies are harder to quote out of context.
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.
What not to write
- Fake, bot, liar or scammer. It reads as a fight, and you may be wrong about one of them.
- The name of anyone you suspect, a competitor or a former employee.
- Anything about a real customer: what they bought, when, what they paid.
- A threat to sue. The FTC rule on reviews names groundless legal threats as a form of review suppression.
- An offer of a discount or refund in exchange for changing the review.
- That you have reported the review to Google.
Also avoid repeating the reviewer's claim. A line such as We never gave anyone food poisoning puts the words food poisoning under your business name, where readers and search can pick them up. Say what you can check instead: you have no record of the visit.
How to post, edit or delete a reply
On a computer, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then the Reply option next to the review. Type your reply and submit it. To change it later, go back to Read reviews and select Edit under your reply. To remove it, select Delete. Google checks replies against its content policies, and a reply that is not approved has to be edited before it shows.
Reply from a computer if you can. It is easier to paste the same wording each time and to check it before it goes live. Keep a column in your log for whether you replied and with which wording, so you can show exactly what you said and when if anyone asks.
Replying and reporting are separate
A reply does not affect a report, and a report does not stop you replying. Report each review that breaks a policy through the Reviews Management Tool, whether or not you answered it. If the attack came with a demand for money, that goes on Google's merchant extortion report form, covered in its own guide.
Worth knowing: Do not reply from a personal account or ask staff to reply under their names. Google shows replies as coming from the business, and that is the only voice that should be heard during an attack.
When to change a reply
Read your replies again a week after the wave, with a cooler head. If a reviewer edits a review to add details of a real visit, update your reply to answer those details. If the wave turns out to come from real customers after a real event, such as a mistake that was filmed and shared, replace the neutral line with an honest acknowledgment and a way to reach you. When the wave is over, leave your replies in place. They show the next customer that the business noticed and stayed calm, which is the reason for writing them.
Know which reviews you are reporting first
Before you reply, run the free review check. It reads every low review on your listing and labels each one: a broken rule such as Spam, Off topic or Abusive language, or No rule broken. The labels tell you which reviews get the neutral line plus a report, and which are real customers who deserve a real answer. That way the neutral line never lands under a genuine complaint by mistake.