How to encourage customers to leave a review

There are many ways to encourage customers to write an online review for your restaurant. Some of the most common and effective are:

👩‍💼  Direct, in-person requests from staff

📧 Email requests 

💻Via your website or social media page

🧾 On receipts, signage, or postcards

To boost your chances of getting reviews, engagement is key, whatever the nature of your business. Whatever you do, make it easy and straightforward for customers to follow through.

The importance of customer reviews

Do you want your restaurant to be successful? Encourage customers to leave a review to boost your overall star rating out of five.

Studies show that customer reviews matter and can have a huge impact on your online reputation. 

In the UK, 76% of users read reviews about local businesses, and 77% of potential customers check comments online before making a reservation at a specific restaurant. Particularly in the hospitality sector, online reviews are incredibly influential, as is the detailed information you can find on the restaurant’s website. 

It’s no surprise that happy customers are more likely to leave a positive review about their dining experience on Google, TripAdvisor, TheFork and other specialised online platforms. However, what you may discover is that responding to and partaking in guests’ reviews of their dining experience can increase the restaurant’s revenue and strengthen the brand’s reliability in the eyes of potential guests. 

By engaging with customers through review requests and promptly responding to both positive and negative comments, you will show how much you care about your clientele and prove that you value customer service. 

How to encourage customers to leave a review in person

First and foremost, be sure to train staff to ask for and actively listen to customer feedback before requesting a review. Why? It is important to show customers that you are genuinely interested in what they have to say, rather than simply trying to improve your online reputation. 

Engaging with customers and asking them for feedback in person is an invaluable way to discover how they really feel about your food, service and their overall dining experience. 

People are often very happy to tell you just how and why they have enjoyed themselves. Why not give them an opening to do so? Their star ratings and positive and negative reviews can help you understand your strengths and any issues that need to be addressed.
 

If customers seem happy about their dining experience, let them know how much you appreciate their enthusiasm. Then you can ask them if they wouldn't mind sharing their comments on Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp, your website or social media pages. 

Make sure to train staff to encourage customers to write reviews without being pushy.

Make sure that both your staff and customers understand that your number one priority is making your guests feel appreciated, welcome and happy. However, it is perfectly natural to ask for a comment, so there is no need to feel awkward about it,  Getting positive reviews is important, but the focus should always be on delivering an exceptional culinary experience 👍.

What should you do if a customer tells you they are not happy about an issue? 

• Always start by thanking your guest for letting you know.  
• Train staff members so that they can find out what went wrong. 
• Respond politely, no matter how irritated the customer is.  
• Try to propose a solution.  

Keep in mind that if a customer leaves a negative review, it is not necessarily a catastrophe. Studies show that if a business answers a negative comment politely and honestly and addresses the complaints, many consumers would still be willing to give it a chance.  

The bottom line: if you receive a negative review, treat it as an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and genuine commitment to customer satisfaction. 

Did you know?

80%* of consumers would be likely or highly likely to leave a good review if their initial negative experience turned into a positive one.

67%* of consumers will consider leaving a review for a positive experience, while only 40%* will consider leaving a review for a negative experience. A middle ground of 33%* will consider both.

How to encourage customers to leave a review via email

It is especially important to ask your most loyal customers to leave reviews. After all, if they keep coming back, they are likely to rave about the restaurant experience you are providing😁. 

One way to do this is by email. We recommend keeping the message short, polite and simple with a link to the platform you are targeting (Facebook, TripAdvisor, your website page, Google Reviews, etc.).  

This is worth doing because while your loyal clientele may have already mentioned you to their friends and family, they may have never thought about writing a review online. Ironically, if you have become a dependable local favourite, they may not see any reason to evaluate you. 

In short, if you don’t ask for a review, you may never get one! And these really are too good to miss. 

Did you know?

53% of consumers said they would be likely to leave a review after a positive experience if requested to do so by email or text.

For those already working with TheFork, guests who book a table on TheFork app automatically receive an email after their meal encouraging them to publish a review about their experience. The cherry on the cake is that all reviews published on your restaurant page on TheFork are left by verifiable guests who honoured their bookings.

Here, you can find out how TheFork helped restaurateurs grow their businesses and gather thousands of positive reviews. 

“TheFork helped us go through a difficult time when we opened in the middle of COVID [...] Coming out of the pandemic, TheFork has helped us to grow our business, increase our customer database, and gather thousands of reviews”. 

— Atul Joshi, General Manager, Colonel Saab

“Whitcomb’s at The Londoner has a very high review score on TheFork, so it's great for us because our diners love it, they book again, and they leave good reviews that attract more diners. It's a great partnership for us”. 

— Peter James, Senior Key Account Manager at TheFork

TripAdvisor is a perennially popular platform for people who want to leave reviews. But how do you direct your clients there? We have an easy solution: with TripAdvisor Wi-Fi, your guests can access a free Wi-Fi network via a preconfigured page when they enter their email addresses or social media identifiers. 

Once connected, TripAdvisor Wi-Fi Plus sends your customers a notification, asking them to write a review on your restaurant’s page. With just a simple notification, it can help you to collect up to 70% more reviews on your page.* 🚀

How to ask for customer reviews on your social media page

While consumer use of Facebook to evaluate local businesses has dropped from 54%** in 2020 to 48%** in 2021, Facebook is still very influential when it comes to growing an online reputation. 

If your restaurant has a Facebook page and you would like to encourage customers to leave reviews there, make sure that the ‘Reviews’ tab is enabled and optimised for maximum visibility. 

You can also embed Facebook reviews into your website or send loyal customers a direct Facebook review link. Make sure to provide fresh, engaging content to keep the conversation going with your customers, such as information about special events, seasonal menus, or other news about the restaurant.

 Always remember to engage with customers who take the time to leave comments or write a review. If you see that a customer has posted pictures of your restaurant or a dish, why not drop them a line thanking them and asking for permission to re-post the picture?

How to get customers to leave reviews with signs, postcards and receipts

📝Signs: Leave a small, tasteful sign on each table and next to the register with a QR code linked to your social media page. Include a short call-to-action, telling customers that you are always happy to hear from them and asking for their feedback.

🖼️Postcards: Take advantage of holidays or special events (i.e. Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Easter, wine tasting…) to offer customers an attractive, free postcard featuring your logo with a holiday greeting and a link to where customers can leave feedback.

🧾Digital or paper receipts: Include a link to a customer review page on Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor or your website at the bottom of your receipt, thanking your customers for their business.

Sources: *

**Brightlocal consumer review survey 2022