Reviews for builders, renovators and landscapers

A builder, renovator or landscaper is asking a client to trust them with months of work and a large sum of money. Before anyone signs, they read reviews, and they read them slowly. In growth areas full of new estates, where half the street is getting a backyard done at the same time, those reviews travel fast.

Long projects need a different approach

A cafe asks at the end of a ten minute visit. A builder cannot wait until the end of a six month job and hope the goodwill is still there, because by then the client remembers the delays as clearly as the result. The trick is to find the high points.

The moments that work

• Handover. The finished deck, kitchen or garden, walked through together. This is the biggest emotional peak of the project and the best single moment to ask.
• A visible milestone. Frame up, the first room finished, the turf going down. Some clients are happy to review mid project, and those reviews show future clients how you handle the messy part.
• After the first season. For landscapers, a garden that has grown in over a few months is a better advertisement than a freshly planted one. A follow up then catches a second, often more detailed, review.

Where a card fits

Hand a card over at the handover walkthrough, with the keys or the warranty paperwork. It sits in the folder the client keeps, which means the reminder survives long after you have left the site. Put the review link in the final invoice as well.

Photos sell the next job

Builders and landscapers have the best before and after material of any trade. Ask the client if you can photograph the finished work for your own Business Profile. Recent, real project photos do a lot of work next to the reviews. See Google Business Profile photos.

Handling a disputed review

Construction disputes happen, and some end up on Google. Never argue variations, delays or payment in a public reply, and never mention the client’s address or project details they have not shared. Acknowledge it, say how to reach you, and take it offline. If there is a genuine legal dispute, get advice before replying at all. See how to reply to a bad Google review.

What not to do

• No discount off the final invoice for a review. That is an incentive, and Google bans it.
• No reviews from subcontractors, suppliers or family. That is a conflict of interest.
• Ask every client, including the ones whose project ran long. How you handled it is exactly what the next client wants to read.