Key takeaways
- Ask when the customer can see the fix, then send the link by text as the job closes in your field service software.
- After a 2 a.m. emergency, send the request the next morning, not while the customer is mopping up.
- Reply to every review. The next homeowner reads how you handled the angry one more closely than the five-star ones.
- No discounts for reviews, no asking only happy customers, no reviews from staff or family. Google and the FTC both prohibit them.
To get more Google reviews, a plumbing company has to ask every customer at the moment the problem is visibly solved: the drain runs clear, the hot water is back, the ceiling stops dripping. Make the ask automatic from your field service software, put the tech's name in it, and never pay for a review or choose which customers get the link.
When and how to ask
- Ask in person when the fix is visible. Before packing up, the tech runs the water with the customer, shows the camera footage of the cleared line or points out the new water heater. Then one sentence: "You will get a text from us. If we did right by you, a Google review helps other people find us."
- Send the link when the job is closed. A text with a direct link to your review form, the tech's first name and the job: "Thanks for having [tech name] out to fix your water heater today."
- Wait until morning after a night emergency. A homeowner whose basement flooded at 2 a.m. is relieved but worn out. Send the request at a reasonable hour the next day, once the house is dry and they can think about how the call went.
- Ask at the finish line on big jobs. For a repipe or a water heater replacement, ask after the final walkthrough or the passed inspection, not halfway through, while the walls are still open.
- Send one reminder, then stop. One follow-up two or three days later is plenty. More than that turns gratitude into irritation.
Reviews that name the work, such as "cleared our main sewer line" or "installed a tankless heater", also help you show up for those searches.
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
Automation makes sure every completed service call gets the request, not just the ones a tech remembers on a good day.
- Trigger it from the job, not the calendar. Set the request to send when a job is marked complete or the invoice is paid in ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro or Jobber, either through the software's own review feature or a connected texting tool.
- Send it to every customer. Including the one whose visit went sideways. If something went wrong, call them as well. Do not hold back the request.
- Fill in the details automatically. Use the customer's name, the tech's name and the job type from the job record.
- Register the number first. Carriers can block review texts sent from a U.S. 10-digit number whose brand and campaign are not registered for A2P 10DLC (The Campaign Registry). Text only customers who agreed to it at booking, and make STOP work on every message (the FCC's rules).
- Watch the replies. Route text replies to someone in the office. "The toilet is running again" is a callback, not a review.
Responding to reviews
Reply to every review, because the next homeowner reads your replies to judge how you handle a bad day. Keep replies short, specific and free of customer details.
| The review | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Five stars, mentions the job | Thank them, name the tech and the work | "Thanks, [first name]. [Tech name] will be glad the new water heater is keeping up." |
| Five stars, no text | A short, warm thanks | "Thank you for trusting us with your plumbing." |
| Unhappy with an after-hours price | Explain calmly, offer to talk | "Night calls carry an after-hours rate, which we quote before starting. We would like to go over the invoice with you. Please call the office." |
| Unhappy with the work | Apologize, offer to come back | "We are sorry the drain slowed again. We want to send someone back. Please call us so we can set a time." |
| You cannot find them | Say so, without accusing | "We cannot find a job under this name. Please call so we can look into it." |
If a review breaks Google's rules, such as one from a competitor or someone who was never a customer, flag it and still reply politely (Google's review policy).
What Google prohibits
Google prohibits anything that makes reviews less honest, and the FTC's rule on fake reviews adds legal force for some of the same practices (the FTC rule).
Incentives : Discounts, gift cards, raffle entries or a free drain cleaning in exchange for a review, even for an honest one.
Review gating : Asking only the customers you expect to be happy, or a "how did we do?" survey that sends only high scores to Google.
Fake and insider reviews : Reviews written by staff, family or friends without disclosing the connection, reviews bought from a vendor, and reviews written by AI as if from customers.
Review suppression : Threatening or pressuring customers over a negative review, or showing only the good ones on your site as if they were all of them.
Writing it for them : A tech typing a review on the customer's phone. It reads as the business reviewing itself, and it is not the customer's own words.
Reviews feed your Map Pack visibility, covered in how plumbing companies rank in the Map Pack. The customers who review you are also the ones to keep, which keeping plumbing customers coming back covers.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We wire the review request to the job-complete step in your field service software or CRM, register the texting, and give your office reply wording for each row of the table above. It is a short project with a finish date, built in accounts you keep. We report reviews received next to booked calls, so you can see the proof turning into work. Book a growth consultation and we will show you where your review flow breaks today.
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
- The Campaign Registry (A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration), The Campaign Registry
- 47 CFR 64.1200: Delivery restrictions (TCPA rules), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations