Reviews

---
name: reviews
description: Use when planning how to get product reviews or feedback, when to ask, what to do about the average rating, or how to respond to reviews and public complaints — e.g. "when should we send the review request", "should we remove this 1-star review", "how do we reply to this complaint", "we need more reviews", "our rating is 4.9".
---

# Reviews

Get more reviews and answer complaints in a way that wins over the people watching. Counterintuitive parts: an imperfect rating sells more than a perfect one, asking too soon reduces reviews, and the best first question is not "rate us".

## When to use

- The review-request email or sequence
- A negative review or a too-perfect average
- Replying to a public complaint
- A product launch that needs a healthy review profile

## When not to use

- Referral mechanics → `referrals`
- Loyalty, returns, packaging → `post-purchase`

## Inputs

Collect, or state your assumption:

- Product and how long it takes to judge (instant: soda; slow: skincare, a course)
- Current ask timing and wording; average rating; reviews the user wants to remove
- Whether reviews get replies; complaint volume, channel, and tone (polite vs rude)

## Procedure

1. **Ask at 9–13 days** after purchase or delivery. A request at 24 hours *reduced* reviews, worst among younger customers. Earlier only for products judged instantly; later for products that take weeks to evaluate.
2. **Lead with a positive open-ended question.** Before any rating: "What did you enjoy most about [product]?" (free text). Responders spent 131% more afterward; even receiving the request helps. Usual questions follow. Automate it.
3. **Never gate the public review by score.** Routing low scores to a private form and high scores to the review site is unsupported by the evidence and treated as deceptive by regulators (US FTC, UK CMA). Everyone gets the same path.
4. **Get reviews in early at launch.** Ask *all* early customers as soon as step 1 allows — the same path for everyone, no picking the happy ones (that is selective solicitation, see step 3). The point is speed: a negative first review left the average 0.29 stars lower a year later on Amazon and Best Buy, so make sure the first review isn't left to chance by waiting.
5. **Leave the imperfection.** 4.0–4.5 stars sells more than 4.5–5.0; perfect looks suspicious. A negative review irrelevant to most buyers helps: an espresso machine with four 5-stars rated 16% better with an irrelevant 1-star added. † Reply; don't remove.
6. **Reply to every review.** When companies started responding, ratings rose 0.12 stars and review volume 12%.
7. **Public complaints: once, fast, warm, then private.** You're replying to everyone reading, not the complainer. Reply fast and only once: empathy, an explanation if you have one, a private channel to continue. Replied-to posts get boosted on X and LinkedIn, so that one reply is what people see. High volume → a separate support account.
8. **Rude complaints: humor about the situation, never the person.** Onlookers engaged more and were 18.3% more likely to buy than with no response. If it isn't funny, use step 7.
9. **Describe the product as an experience** in copy (people sharing coffee, not bean origin) — such products collect more reviews. †

## Output

1. Solicitation plan: trigger, day offset, first question, follow-ups.
2. Rating policy: what to leave, reply wording for an irrelevant negative.
3. Templates: public complaint reply with private handoff; rude-complaint reply with situational humor; positive-review reply.

## Common mistakes

- Asking 1 day after delivery — reduces reviews; 9–13 days.
- Opening with "rate 1–5" — open with what they enjoyed most.
- Score-gating — unsupported and legally risky.
- Removing an irrelevant 1-star — it makes the rest credible.
- Protecting a 4.9 — 4.0–4.5 sells more.
- Replying to a complaint repeatedly in public — once, then private.

## Quick reference

| Situation | Do |
|---|---|
| Request timing | 9–13 days (earlier if judged instantly, later if slow) |
| First question | "What did you enjoy most?" |
| Launch | Ask all early customers promptly; same path for everyone |
| Average rating | 4.0–4.5; leave irrelevant negatives |
| All reviews | Reply to each |
| Public complaint | One fast empathetic reply → private |
| Rude complaint | Humor about the situation |

† No primary citation on file for this rule — a practitioner tip, not a measured finding.

Evidence and effect sizes: see [reference.md](reference.md).