Review Request Timing: When to Ask and How

68% of customers will leave a review if you ask. The problem is most contractors either don’t ask at all, ask at the wrong time, or ask the wrong way.

Timing determines everything. Ask within 2 hours of completing the job and you’ll see response rates around 42%. Wait two days and that drops to 6%. Same customer, same service, same ask, but the window closed.

The best time to ask for a review is when the customer is still thinking about how good the experience was. That moment fades fast.

The 2-hour window

Right after the technician finishes the job, the customer is relieved. The heat works. The leak stopped. The problem that stressed them out is solved. They’re grateful.

Two hours later, they’ve moved on. They’re thinking about dinner, the kids, tomorrow’s meeting. The HVAC repair has already become background. Asking now means competing for attention against everything else in their life.

Two days later, they might not even remember the technician’s name.

A pest control contractor tested this directly. They switched from sending review requests the morning after service to sending them within 90 minutes of job completion. Monthly reviews went from 3 to 100+. Same customers, same service quality, just better timing.

The message doesn’t need to be complicated. “Thanks for letting us help today! If we did a good job, would you mind leaving us a quick review? [Google review link]” That’s enough.

SMS vs. email vs. in-person

SMS review requests outperform email by 3-4x. Open rates on SMS are 98% versus 20% for email. Response happens faster because the message is in their pocket.

A text feels personal. An email feels like marketing. When someone gets a text asking for a review, they’re more likely to respond right then. When they get an email, it joins the stack of unread messages and gets forgotten.

The ideal sequence: text first, email 24 hours later for those who didn’t respond, and a final reminder at 72 hours. After that, stop. Pestering customers for reviews damages the relationship.

In-person requests from the technician also work well. “If you’re happy with the work, we’d really appreciate a Google review since it helps other homeowners find us.” This plants the seed before the text arrives.

But relying on technicians to ask consistently is unreliable. Some do it every time, some forget, some feel awkward about it. Automated review requests remove the variability.

What to say in the request

Keep it short. Three sentences maximum. Link directly to your Google review page, not your website.

The ask should be specific: “Would you leave us a review on Google?” A vague “let us know how we did” doesn’t convert nearly as well because it doesn’t tell the customer what action to take.

Include the direct review link. Every extra click between receiving the request and leaving the review is a point where customers drop off. Google has a specific URL format for leaving reviews, so use it.

Don’t offer incentives. Google’s policies prohibit offering discounts, entries into contests, or gifts in exchange for reviews. Beyond policy, incentivized reviews often read as hollow and can undermine trust.

The platforms that matter

Google dominates. 81% of consumers use Google to evaluate local businesses, and reviews heavily influence both rankings and click-through rates. For home service contractors, Google Business Profile reviews should be your primary focus.

Yelp still matters in some markets, particularly on the coasts and for certain industries. But Yelp’s review filter aggressively hides reviews it considers suspicious, and there’s no direct way to request reviews there because Yelp discourages businesses from asking. Read more about Google reviews vs. Yelp if you’re deciding where to focus.

Facebook reviews are worth collecting if your customers spend time on Facebook, but they carry less weight for local search.

Industry-specific platforms like Angi and HomeAdvisor matter if you’re paying for leads there. Otherwise, focus on Google first.

Who to ask and who to skip

Not every customer should get a review request. If the job had problems, even if you resolved them, skip the automated request. A customer whose dishwasher installation required a callback is not in the headspace to leave a glowing review.

Jobs that went smoothly, finished on time, and left the customer visibly satisfied are your best candidates. Technicians can flag these in your CRM. “Great interaction, send review request” becomes a checkbox.

First-time customers who become repeat customers are gold. After their second or third job, they’re invested in the relationship and more likely to write something meaningful.

For unhappy customers, reach out personally to resolve the issue before any automated request goes out. The negative review response framework helps when things have already gone public.

The review velocity problem

Google’s algorithm weighs how recently reviews came in, not just the total count. A company with 200 reviews from two years ago ranks worse than a company with 150 reviews, 30 of which came in the last month.

This creates the review velocity problem. You need new reviews consistently, not just a high total number. One big push that generates 50 reviews and then nothing for six months helps less than 8-10 reviews per month, every month.

Automating review requests solves this. Every completed job triggers a request. Volume stays consistent because it’s tied to your job volume.

Contractors who automate review requests typically generate 3-5x more reviews than those who rely on manual processes. The consistency compounds over time.

Common mistakes

Asking before the job is done. Some contractors send the review request the morning of scheduled service. The customer hasn’t experienced anything yet. Wait until after the technician has left and the invoice is paid.

Too many follow-ups. One text, one email, maybe a second email. Three requests in a week is too many. You’re training customers to ignore you.

Generic requests. “Dear valued customer, please review us” feels robotic. Use their name. Reference the service: “Thanks for letting us replace your water heater, Mike.”

Forgetting mobile optimization. If the review link opens a desktop page that’s hard to navigate on a phone, customers give up. Test your own review request on a phone before sending it to customers.

Sending during off-hours. A review request at 9pm or 6am feels intrusive. Aim for mid-day on weekdays, morning on weekends.

Tracking what works

Monitor your review request conversion rate: reviews generated divided by requests sent. A healthy rate is 15-25%. If you’re below 10%, something in your process is broken.

Test timing changes. Track whether 1-hour requests outperform 3-hour requests for your specific customer base. Regional differences, industry differences, and even seasonal differences can affect what works best.

Watch your overall star rating as volume increases. If your average drops as review volume goes up, you might be asking customers who weren’t actually satisfied.

Building the system

The contractors generating 20+ reviews per month have this systematized. Review requests are triggered automatically when the technician marks a job complete or when the customer pays the invoice. No manual effort, no forgetting, no inconsistency.

CRMs like ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and Jobber offer built-in review automation. Third-party tools can fill the gap if your CRM doesn’t have it. The specific tool matters less than whether you’re using something.

The math is simple. More reviews means better search rankings and higher conversion rates when homeowners compare options. Asking consistently, at the right time, using the right channel, is the difference between 30 reviews a year and 200.

Start by automating the ask. Then refine timing based on what the data shows.