Am I allowed to ask guests for Google reviews?

Yes. What Google’s policy forbids is selectively asking only happy customers, discouraging negative reviews, offering incentives in exchange for a review, and pressuring guests to leave one while they are on the premises. Ask everyone, plainly, and let them choose.

Can I offer a discount or a free drink for a review?

No. Google’s policy prohibits offering incentives, such as payment, discounts or free goods and services, in exchange for posting a review, and reviews gathered that way are at risk of removal. Thank guests for their time instead, and make leaving a review as easy as possible.

When is the best time to ask for a review?

Soon after the visit, while it is fresh: the same evening or the next morning suits most venues. Asking at the table puts guests on the spot, and Google’s policy says not to pressure guests to review while they are on the premises, so an email after they leave is the cleaner route.

Should I reply to every review?

Yes, where you can. Thank positive reviewers by name and answer negative reviews calmly, saying what you have done about it, because future guests read the replies as well as the reviews. In Stampede the AI drafts a reply to every review in your brand voice, which you approve in a tap, edit first, or let post on its own for positive reviews.

How should I handle a bad review?

Reply publicly, briefly and without arguing: acknowledge it, say what you are doing about it, and offer a way to talk directly. Then fix the cause. If a review breaks Google’s content policy, for example because it is fake or off-topic, you can report it, but Google decides what is removed and disagreeing with a review is not enough.

Has a venue’s rating actually gone up?

Sankey’s, a family group of pubs and seafood restaurants in Tunbridge Wells, saw its Google rating across its venues on Stampede go from 4.59 to 4.80, comparing the same window year on year. Over that window, two in three reviews were replied to from inside the platform.

What does Stampede charge for reviews?

One flat price per venue. There is no fee per review or reply, and no charge for the AI drafting your replies, so your cost does not climb as your reviews do.

A guide for operators

More Google reviews. Here’s how.

Ask every guest, make it one tap, and answer what lands.

The short answer

1Ask every guest, soon after their visit.
2Make it one tap, and never reward a review.
3Reply to every review, good and bad.
4Fix the themes that keep coming up.

Read the steps

GoogleBookingsWi-Fi

Reviews

every review, one voice

Google

Bookings

Wi-Fi

Reviews

every review, one voice

Powering 2,500+ UK venues

The problem

Unanswered, in public.

Clive’s one-star has sat on Google for nine days, unanswered.

The Larder on Google, this week

Before

2 reviews · 0 replies

Google · 9 days agoNo reply

Clive E.

“Waited forty minutes for our mains.”

Google · 6 days ago

James C.

No reply

RepliesWhen someone remembers

A one-star review, unanswered for nine days
James’s five stars, never thanked
Reviews checked by hand, when someone remembers

After

Every review answered

Google reviews · this week

James Carter

Replied

Clive Edwards

Replied

Aisha Rahman

Replied

Replies in your voice, posted to Google

Reply to ClivePosted

Sorry we kept you waiting, Clive. We have added a second chef on Saturdays, and we would love to cook for you again.

Clive’s one star answered calmly, in public
James’s five stars thanked in your voice
Every Google review in one place as it lands

Same week, same venue. The difference is answering every review, in public, in your own voice.

How venues fix it

Four habits.

Within Google’s rules, whatever review tool you use.

Google’s rules on asking

Ask every guest, not only happy onesNo pressure on the premisesNo discounts or freebies in returnMaps user-generated content policy

Step 01

Ask every guest

Ask everyone who visited, not only the guests you think were happy: Google’s policy forbids asking selectively. Ask soon after the visit, and never pressure anyone at the table.

Your review link

g.page/r/the-larder/reviewOpens your Google review formNot your website, not a search pageCopy link

Step 02

Make it one tap

Link straight to your Google review form, not your website or a search page, and put it in your post-visit email. Every extra step loses people. Never offer anything in return.

James C. · Google

Sun“Lovely Saturday. The lamb was perfect and the team could not have been kinder.”

AI reply · sent in your voice

Step 03

Reply to every review

Thank the good ones by name and answer the bad ones calmly, saying what you have changed. Replies are public, so you are writing for the next guest as much as the reviewer.

In Stampede

Google reviews are pulled in and the AI drafts a reply to each in your brand voice. Approve it in a tap or edit it first, and it posts back to Google.

See reviews

What guests mentionThis month

Friendly, attentive team12The lamb7Slow mains on Saturdays3Scored for sentiment, review by review

Step 04

Act on the themes

Read reviews for patterns, not one-offs: the same slow starter or the same friendly server, week after week. Fixing what keeps coming up improves the next visit, and its review.

In Stampede

Every review is scored for sentiment, and the things guests keep mentioning, good and bad, are surfaced.

See reviews

Proof

The proof.

Operators running on Stampede, in their own numbers.

Food at the George & Dragon, a Sankey's venue

4.59 → 4.80Google rating, year on year

2.3×average bill from email bookings

“Having everything under one roof is simply superior, full stop.”

Matthew Sankey, owner, Sankey'sRead the story

A Sunday roast at an ART Hospitality venue

24,604covers in a single month

0.3%no-show rate across eight venues

“You innovate at a rate I have never seen in a software company.”

Edwin Kirk, founding director, ART HospitalityRead the story

A dish being finished at Howies, Edinburgh

3,920guests enriched with real spend

6 weekstheir first six weeks with Stampede

“Every payment lands on the guest who made it now. Everything a guest does with us, online and in our venues, finally joins up in one view.”

Louis Scott, Howies, EdinburghFull story coming soon

89%
Wi-Fi marketing opt-in rate: 55p
average value of a guest contact: 2,500+
UK venues run on Stampede

How we measure these figures

Keep reading.

The terms this guide uses, defined in plain English, and the sources it relies on.

Sources

Google: Maps user-generated content policy, prohibited and restricted content

How we compare

Compare us.

Honest, sourced comparisons against the tools venues switch from, checked against the record and dated.

Stampede vs 1-2-5 Insights

Stampede vs HGEM

All comparisons

More guides

Seven more fixes.

The other problems venues search for, each with the steps that fix it.

Deposit · Sat 20:00 · 6£60.00
Megan O’NeillBooked on your page
Card ending 2291Mon 12:40Paid, and recorded on the booking
Guide · 4 steps
How to reduce restaurant no-shows
Four habits that stop booked tables sitting empty, whatever system you run.
Tue · 13:10
2× Set lunch£52.001× Rioja, bottle£34.00
Customer: none£86.00
Guide · 4 steps
How to collect guest emails and data
Wi-Fi, bookings and ordering, each asking once, with consent.
BookingsLapsed
Graham WhitleyEvery fortnight
12 JuneTable for 229 MayTable for 2Nothing since94 days
Guide · 4 steps
How to bring back guests who stopped coming
Spot who stopped coming, then give them a reason to return.
Pre-order · Olivia’s party12 of 16 ordered
OliviaShort rib
CallumHake, brown butterGF
AishaWild mushroom risottoV
GillianSquash tartVG
+8 more ordered · 4 still to choose
Guide · 4 steps
How to take group bookings and pre-orders without the admin
The enquiry, the deposit and every plate, sorted before the night.
Seated · Table 12On every device
Priya Shah6th visit · party of 3
Pre-order · from your Square items1× Lobster linguine1× Margherita1× Falafel bowl2× Pale ale, pint
For the team
- £30.00 deposit, already on Square
- A friend at the table is vegan and gluten-free.
Guide · 4 steps
What to look for in a booking system for Square
What a venue on Square should ask of a booking system, in four checks.
Read the guide
Points on spendYour rate · 1 per £1
Callum Reid23 visits
Flat white · £3.40+3Round for six · £52.50+53Earned off the till, nothing keyed in
On a stamp card
The same one stamp for each
Guide · 4 steps
How to run a restaurant loyalty programme that works
Reward what guests spend, skip the app, and give them a reason to return.
Day planner · TueQuiet night
171819202122
T1
T2
T4
T6
T9
T12
14 of 60 covers booked
Guide · 4 steps
How to fill quiet nights
Ask the right guests, give them a reason, and count the covers it brings.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Answer every review.

See your Google reviews and AI replies in your voice running on your venue, in a walkthrough with our team.

More Google reviews. Here’s how.