How to Get More 5-Star Google Reviews for Your Dispensary

To get more Google reviews as a dispensary, ask at the moment a visit went right: the first-timer whose budtender walked them through the menu, the pre-order that was bagged and waiting. Ask everyone the same way, make the review one tap away, and never pay for it in points or discounts. Steady asking beats a one-off review drive.

When and how to ask

1. Know your good moments. A dispensary has more of them than most stores, because a first visit is often a little nervous and ends in relief. The table below lists the usual ones.
2. Ask at the counter first. The budtender says it plainly at checkout: "If today was easy, a review helps the next first-timer find us." A request from the person who helped lands better than any automated message.
3. Put the link where people look. A QR code on the receipt or at the pickup counter opens your review form directly (Google's tips).
4. Follow up once, the same day. One email after a first purchase or pickup. Don't ask regulars after every visit. Once every few months is plenty for someone who shops weekly.
5. Ask everyone. Don't skip customers who complained or seemed unhappy. Asking only the happy ones is review gating, which Google prohibits.

Automating requests

Automate the ask from the system that already knows the visit happened: your dispensary POS or loyalty platform. Trigger it on a completed purchase or pickup, apply the same rule to every customer, and cap how often any one person is asked.

Email is the safest channel for a dispensary. Texting needs more care:

• Registration. Business texts from a 10-digit number need A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration (The Campaign Registry), and unregistered traffic gets blocked or filtered.
• Consent. Send texts only to customers who agreed to receive them, and honor STOP every time.
• Carrier and provider rules. Carriers filter cannabis-related messages heavily, and many texting providers won't carry cannabis content at all, even in a legal state. Confirm with your provider in writing before you automate anything.
• Patient privacy. Never put anything in a subject line or text that reveals someone is a medical patient. A shared phone or inbox can expose it.

Responding to reviews

Reply to every review within a few days, and write each reply as if a first-timer, a regulator and a worried parent will all read it. Three rules keep replies safe:

• Don't repeat effect claims. If a reviewer says a product helped them sleep, thank them for the kind words about your staff and leave the claim alone.
• Don't advertise in replies. Skip product names, prices and deals. Your state's advertising rules may treat a public reply as advertising.
• Don't confirm anything private. Never confirm what someone bought or whether they are a medical patient.

Example replies (illustrations, not real reviews):

• Review: "My budtender found me something that finally helps me sleep." Reply: "Thank you for the kind words about our team. We'll pass them along, and we look forward to seeing you again."
• Review: "Turned away for an expired ID. Ridiculous." Reply: "We're sorry the visit ended that way. We're required to check a valid ID for every sale and can't make exceptions. We'd be glad to see you again with a current ID."
• Review: "Waited 40 minutes on 4/20." Reply: "That's longer than we want anyone to wait. On busy days, pre-ordering gets you through the pickup line faster. Our manager would like to hear more at the store number on our profile."

What Google prohibits

Google's review policy and the FTC's rule on consumer reviews cover most of what a dispensary might be tempted to try (Google's policy, the FTC rule):

Incentives : Points, discounts, free pre-rolls or raffle entries in return for a review. Reward visits and spend through your loyalty program instead.

Review gating : Asking only customers you expect to be happy, or screening them with a survey before sending the review link.

Fake reviews : Reviews written by staff, friends or family, reviews written by AI as if from a customer, and reviews you paid for.

Conflicts of interest : Reviews from employees, owners, or vendors and brand reps whose products you stock.

Review suppression : Threatening, pressuring or paying a customer to remove a negative review.

The Google Business Profile guide covers how reviews fit into the rest of your profile work.

How VETS Growth Marketing helps

We set up the review routine inside your POS or loyalty platform, write budtender scripts and reply templates your compliance lead approves, and check that every channel follows Google's and the FTC's rules. Everything stays in your accounts, the setup is a dated project, and we report new reviews alongside the first-time customers who arrive after reading them. Book a growth consultation and we will look at your review pace against the stores around you.