The under-an-hour checklist for answering every bad review you have ignored
Unanswered bad reviews tell the next customer the worst story. A one-sitting checklist for movers to answer the old ones calmly and fix what caused them.
Every moving company has a few reviews it would rather not look at. A scratched dresser, a crew that showed up two hours late, a final bill higher than the estimate. If those reviews sit there with no reply, the next customer reads them and fills in the worst version of your side of the story.
In our data, the average rating for moving companies is 4.4, and 18.6% of companies sit under 4.0 stars. That is not because movers are bad at their jobs. It is a hard job, done on a stressful day, with other people's things. But it means people shopping for a mover read the bad reviews, and your replies, closely.
This is a checklist for one sitting. Pour a coffee, set a timer for 50 minutes, and open your Google Business Profile on a laptop.
Minutes 0 to 10: find them all
- [ ] Open your reviews and sort by lowest rating.
- [ ] Make a quick list of every one, two and three-star review that has no reply. Write the customer's first name, the date and the main complaint in a few words: "damaged table," "late crew," "bill higher than quote."
- [ ] Look for patterns. If four of the seven are about final bills, that is a pricing problem, not a review problem. Note it for later.
- [ ] Mark any review that looks fake or is clearly about another company. Those get flagged, not answered. More on that below.
Minutes 10 to 15: decide your rules
Before you write one word, set three rules for yourself:
- [ ] No arguing. Even if the customer is wrong. Future customers do not care who was right. They care how you act.
- [ ] No details about the customer's move. Do not post their address, what they paid, their inventory or what your driver said they did.
- [ ] One offer to make it right, offline. Every reply gives a name and a way to reach someone.
Minutes 15 to 40: write the replies
Work from oldest to newest. Keep each reply to three or four sentences. Use this shape: thank them, own what you can, say what changed, give them a way to reach you.
For damage:
"Hi Karen, I am sorry your dining table was damaged during the move. That is not how we want any job to end. We have since added a blanket wrap and corner guard step for all wood furniture. If your claim was not settled to your satisfaction, please call me directly at our office and ask for Tom."
For a late crew:
"Hi Jason, you are right that our crew arrived much later than the window we gave you, and we did not call ahead. That is on us. We now text every customer when the truck leaves the yard. I am sorry it made a long day longer."
For a higher final bill:
"Hi Priya, I understand why the final number was frustrating. Hourly moves can run longer than the estimate when the inventory or access is different than planned, but we should have explained that clearly before the day of the move. We now walk through what can change the price on every estimate call. If you want to go over your bill, call me and ask for Tom."
Change the details to match what really happened. Do not use these word for word on every review. Google and your customers will notice copy and paste.
- [ ] For each reply, read it once out loud before posting. If it sounds defensive, cut the sentence that sounds defensive.
- [ ] For reviews older than two years, a shorter reply is fine: "Thank you for the feedback, Mike. We have changed a lot since then and would welcome the chance to earn back your trust."
The reviews guide has more on handling reviews, including the ones from customers who never booked.
Minutes 40 to 45: flag what breaks the rules
- [ ] For reviews that are clearly fake, are about a different company, or contain hate speech or personal information, use the "Report review" option on your profile.
- [ ] Do not expect a fast answer. Do not report real reviews just because they are negative. That rarely works and wastes your time.
Minutes 45 to 50: fix the cause
- [ ] Look at the patterns you noted. Pick one thing to change this month: a better estimate call, a crew-on-the-way text, a furniture wrap step.
- [ ] Write it down and tell your crew leads.
Bad reviews are mostly a symptom. The pricing and quoting guide covers how to set expectations on hourly and flat-rate moves so fewer bills turn into one-star reviews.
After the timer
From now on, reply to every new review within two days, good or bad. Put a weekly reminder on your phone.
Then work on the other side: more reviews from happy customers. The median moving company in our data has 30 reviews, and the top 10% have 427 or more. A few rough reviews do far less damage on a profile with hundreds of good ones. The benchmark report shows where you stand.
If you want someone to handle review replies and requests for you, the free 14-day trial covers any one service, no card: text or call (385) 396-5586.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, moving companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor