Key takeaways
- Time the review text for when the client gets home, not when the visit is marked complete.
- Send the link to every client. Asking only the happy ones is review gating, and Google bans it.
- A discount on the next clean in exchange for a review is an incentive. Google prohibits it and the FTC rule bans buying reviews.
- Never reveal a client's schedule, address or how your team gets in, even in a friendly reply.
To get more Google reviews as a cleaning company, ask at the moment the client sees the result. For most residential clients that is the evening they walk into a clean house, not noon when the team drives off. Send a direct link by text from your cleaning software, ask every client, and never trade a discount for a review.
When and how to ask
- Time the text for the walk-in, not the checkout. If the team finishes at 1 p.m. and the client gets home around 6, send the request at 6. A text that arrives while they are at their desk gets read and forgotten.
- Ask every new client after the first clean. The first visit is usually the deep clean, the biggest visible change you will ever make in that home. Send the link to everyone, whether or not you think the visit went well.
- Ask recurring clients who have not reviewed, once, after a few months. A family on biweekly service who has never been asked is your easiest review. Send the same request to all of them on a schedule, such as after their third month, not only to the ones who seem pleased. Then stop asking.
- For move-out cleans, ask after the walkthrough. The tenant knows the clean worked when the landlord signs off. A request sent before that asks them to judge something they have not seen yet.
- For commercial accounts, ask the person who signs off on the work. That is usually the office or facility manager, after a quarterly walkthrough or a one-off project such as a post-construction clean. Some companies do not let staff post reviews for vendors, so ask once and accept the answer.
- Have team leads mention it in person. When a client is home at the end of a visit, a quick "it would really help us" works. A small card on the counter with a QR code to the review form reaches the clients who are not home.
The review loop
- Job finished
- Ask every customer Same time, same way, no filtering
- They leave a review
- You reply Thanks and specifics, no private details
- The next customer reads it
Then the next customer
Automating requests
Automate the request so it goes out after every first clean without anyone remembering to send it. Jobber, ZenMaid and most cleaning CRMs can send a message after a visit is marked complete. Set a delay so the message lands in the evening, and limit it to the first visit, so recurring clients do not get a request every other week.
- One reminder at most, a few days later, then nothing.
- Skip clients who have already reviewed. Keep a field for it in the client record.
- Use a separate message for commercial accounts, addressed to the contact who manages the service.
- Register your texting. Business texts from a 10-digit number in the U.S. need A2P 10DLC registration through The Campaign Registry, or carriers may block them (The Campaign Registry). Get consent to text when the client books.
The marketing automation guide for cleaning companies covers the rest of the follow-up sequence.
Responding to reviews
Reply to every review within a couple of days, and write each reply as if the next reader is deciding whether to hand you a house key.
Thank the client by name and mention the service ("glad the move-out clean got your deposit back"). If they named the cleaner, pass the thanks on. Never write anything that tells a stranger when a home is empty, which days the team visits, where the client lives or how the team gets in. A cheerful "see you next Tuesday while you're at work" is a security problem.
| Complaint | How to reply |
|---|---|
| Missed spots or rooms | Acknowledge it, say you have contacted them to come back, and leave the detail out of public view. |
| Something broken | Say you take it seriously and are handling it directly. Do not argue about value in public. |
| Late or missed visit | Own it, say what changed, and keep it short. |
| Something missing from the home | Say you are in touch privately and take it seriously. Never accuse the client or name the cleaner. |
| Not a client you can find | Say politely that you cannot find a record, invite them to contact you, and flag the review if it breaks Google's policy. |
What Google prohibits
Google prohibits paying for reviews in any form, asking only happy clients, and reviews that do not come from real clients (Google's review policy). In cleaning, these show up in specific ways:
- Incentives. A discount on the next clean, a free inside-the-fridge add-on or a gift card draw in exchange for a review all count, even if the client would have left five stars anyway.
- Gating. A survey that sends only the 5-star answers on to Google, or a team lead who hands the card only to clients who seemed pleased.
- Reviews from your side. Cleaners, office staff and family members reviewing the business.
- Buying reviews or posting fake ones. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews, including AI-written ones, buying reviews, and suppressing negative ones, for example by threatening a client with legal action over an honest review (FTC rule).
Reviews that keep arriving also help you in the Map Pack, which the Google Maps ranking guide explains.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We set up the review request inside your cleaning software, timed for the evening of the first clean, with registered texting and one reminder. We draft replies that protect client privacy. Everything runs in your accounts, and we report reviews alongside the recurring clients they help you win. Book a growth consultation and we will check your current review flow against the competitors near your best clients.
Sources
- Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user-generated content policy), Google Maps Help
- 16 CFR Part 465: Use of consumer reviews and testimonials, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- Tips to get more reviews, Google Business Profile Help
- The Campaign Registry (A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration), The Campaign Registry