By Christopher Ross · Published
The short answer: ask every customer, in the same plain words, at the same point in every job or visit, and ask for an honest review of whatever they experienced. Hand them a link or QR code (the square barcode a phone camera reads) they can use later. Offer nothing in return and ask for nothing in particular. And don't stand over anyone while they write it, because Google's policy covers that too.
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Most of the awkwardness comes from the wrapping rather than the ask. "Leave us five stars and get 10% off" is the version that feels like begging, and it is also the version Google prohibits. The plain version feels like what it is: a neighbour asking a neighbour to tell the next neighbour how it went.
What Google's policy allows and doesn't
Everything below comes from Google's Maps policy on prohibited and restricted content and its help pages on getting reviews, all fetched on October 31, 2026. Google's policy lets merchants "solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review." The rest is the list of ways to break that sentence.
| The habit | Where Google's policy puts it |
|---|---|
| A discount, a free coffee or a draw entry for a review | Not allowed: incentives such as payment, discounts, free goods or services |
| Asking only the customers who seem pleased | Not allowed: selectively soliciting positive reviews |
| Steering unhappy customers away from Google | Not allowed: discouraging negative reviews |
| "Please mention how fast the crew was" | Not allowed: requesting that specific content be included |
| "Mention Dave if he helped you" | Not allowed: asking for specific content to be included |
| A target for the staff, such as 50 by month end | Not allowed: requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews |
| Making a customer write one before they leave the shop | Against the policy: merchants "should not require or pressure" reviews while the customer is on the premises |
| Asking everyone, the same way, with no reward | Allowed |
Google's policy also names "unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions" as a sign of rating manipulation. It gives no number, so I can't either. Asking steadily as customers finish, rather than in one burst after a quiet year, is the safer pattern, and that is my judgment, not Google's rule.
Five scripts, and why each one passes
Each example is an illustration of a kind of business. None is a real customer, and the wording is meant to be changed to sound like you.
1. The counter, in person. Picture a hardware store in downtown St. Catharines. At the till: "We'd love an honest Google review whenever you get a minute, good or bad. There's a code on your receipt." It passes because it asks for honesty in both directions, offers no reward, and puts the review off until the customer is home.
2. The trades job, at the door. Picture a roofer finishing a job in Welland. "That's the job done. If you'd like to tell your neighbours how it went, there's a card with a code on the clipboard. Honest is what we want." It passes because the same card goes to every customer, and nobody is asked to review it on the porch. If you want to send the link later, a text or email after the invoice is the same ask, and the note on electronic messages below applies.
3. The receipt or invoice line. "How did we do? An honest Google review helps the next customer find us. [QR code]." It is the easiest script to keep honest. The printer asks every customer, and no staff member decides who looks happy enough to get one. Google's own help page suggests putting the link or code on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat and on a printed display in your store.
The printer asks every customer, and no staff member decides who looks happy enough to get one.
4. The follow-up email. Send it the day after, to everyone, in these words: "Hi Sam, thanks again for coming in. If you have a few minutes, an honest Google review helps other people in Port Colborne find us. Here's the link. Whatever you write, thank you." It doesn't mention stars, promises nothing, and doesn't nag every week.
5. The visitor who is going home. Picture a tasting room in Niagara-on-the-Lake where most guests live two hours away. Hand them a card with the code and say: "Take one of these along. If you'd like to tell people how your visit went, it works from home." The card travels and the customer isn't pressured. Google's policy asks merchants not to require or pressure reviews on the premises, so there's no tablet at the door and no waiting while someone types.
Getting the link and the code
Google's help page says to open your Business Profile (the panel with your name, hours and reviews on Google Maps), choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews. You can copy the link or download the QR code. The page says QR codes can currently be generated only on a computer browser, not on a phone.
Customers need to be signed in to a Google Account to leave a review, and Google says one can be set up with a non-Gmail email address. That is worth a line on the card for the customer who doesn't have one, such as "You'll need to be signed in to Google."
Email and texts: a note on Canada's anti-spam law
Canada's anti-spam legislation, known as CASL, applies to commercial electronic messages. The federal government's page describes those as messages that encourage participation in a commercial activity, whether or not there is an expectation of profit. I'm not a lawyer, and I can't tell you whether a review request counts. A printed card, a paper receipt or a spoken ask is not an electronic message; an emailed invoice or a text is, which is why the scripts above lead with paper and speech. Before you build an email or text routine, get a lawyer's read on it.
When asking isn't the right move
If your customers are patients or clients whose visit would be private to mention, check what your professional regulator allows before asking for public reviews. I haven't looked at the rules for any particular profession, so don't take silence from me as permission. And if a customer is in the middle of a complaint, fix the problem first. The rule that keeps you inside Google's policy is the point in the process: if the invoice always carries the code, an unhappy customer gets the same invoice, and nobody is deciding by mood.
What happens after
Reviews can take a few days to appear, since Google checks them against its policies. After a new review, Google says the star average may take up to two weeks to update. When they do arrive, answering them takes a few minutes a week, and how to answer Google reviews has examples for the good, mixed and unfair ones. If your reviews are spread across two profiles, merging duplicate Google listings comes first.
The Better size on the pricing page includes this as a set of your own: a link, a QR code and a script written for your customers. Or email hello@niagaraseo.com with your business name, or call 905.682.4642, and I'll read your listing and tell you what your first script should say.
Common questions
- Can I offer a draw entry if I don't care what rating they give?
- No. The policy bars incentives such as payment, discounts and free goods or services in exchange for a review, whatever the rating.
- Can I ask a customer to change or remove a review?
- You can reply to it. Google's policy bars offering incentives to change a review or remove a negative one.
- Do I have to ask every single customer?
- You get to choose a rule, such as every completed job, and apply it without exception. The policy bars selecting by mood, not asking fewer people.
- Is it okay to ask my staff for reviews?
- Google's policy lists conflict of interest, including current or former employment, as grounds for removal, so I'd keep staff reviews off the profile.
Sources
Checked against Google Business Profile help pages on 2026-10-31: Prohibited and restricted content, Tips to get more reviews, Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews, About missing or delayed reviews, Understand review scores. Canada's anti-spam legislation, checked 2026-10-31 on the Government of Canada's anti-spam legislation page.