How to get more 5-star reviews as a man and van
Plenty of happy customers never leave a review simply because nobody asked them properly. Here’s a routine your crew will actually stick to.
By Michael Miller, founder of Requiq · · 3 min read
Reviews do two jobs for a man and van business. They help you show up in the Google map pack, and they’re what customers read before they decide who to ring. Yet a lot of businesses doing great work have a handful of reviews from three years ago.
The problem usually isn’t the work. It’s that nobody asks, or they ask at the wrong moment, in the wrong way. Here’s a routine that fixes that.
Ask at the right moment
The best time to ask is right at the end of the job, when the space is empty and the customer is relieved. That’s when they’re happiest with you. Wait three days and they’ve moved on.
Have whoever’s on the job ask in person: “If you’re happy with how it went, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? I’ll text you the link now. It takes about a minute.”
Make it take seconds
Get your direct review link from your Google Business Profile and save it as a text shortcut on every crew phone. Send it by text or WhatsApp while you’re still there, with a short, friendly message using their name:
The fewer taps between the customer and the review box, the more reviews you get.
Follow up once (only once)
If they haven’t left one after a couple of days, one polite reminder is fine. More than that is nagging.
Ask everyone, not just the ones you think are happy
This one matters. Google’s policies don’t allow “review gating”: only asking customers you expect to be happy, or filtering unhappy customers away from Google. Ask everyone the same way. If someone isn’t happy, you want to know and fix it anyway.
What not to do
- Don’t buy reviews, and don’t ask friends and family to pose as customers. Fake reviews are illegal in the UK, and Google removes them and can restrict your profile.
- Don’t offer discounts, freebies or prize draws in exchange for reviews. That breaks Google’s policies.
- Don’t write reviews for customers, even if they ask you to.
Reply to every review
Reply to every review, good and bad. It shows customers there’s a real person behind the business, and it’s a good habit for your profile.
For good reviews, keep it short and personal: thank them by name, mention the job (“glad we could get the garage cleared before the move”), and that’s it.
Handling a bad review
It happens to everyone. How you reply matters more than the review itself, because future customers will read both.
- Don’t reply angry. Wait until you’ve calmed down.
- Thank them and acknowledge the problem, without arguing about the details in public.
- Offer to sort it out offline, with a name and a number.
- If you fixed it, say so.
If a review is fake (someone who was never a customer) or breaks Google’s policies, you can report it from your profile. Google decides whether it comes down.
Turn reviews into more calls
Good reviews shouldn’t only live on Google:
- Show recent Google reviews on your website, especially near your phone number and quote form
- Mention specific praise in your Google Business Profile updates
- Use them on your quote follow-ups
A simple weekly routine
- Every job: ask in person, text the link before you leave
- Two days later: one polite reminder if needed
- Every week: reply to every new review and check for any you missed
Do that consistently and your review count builds steadily: real reviews from real customers, which is exactly what both Google and your future customers want to see.
Reviews are a big part of our SEO for man and van work, and they feed directly into CTR and conversion optimisation, because more good reviews means more people tap “call”.