The short version
- 01Reply to complaints for the next hundred readers, briefly, calmly and with a real next step.
- 02Since October 2024, US rules ban fake reviews, paying for a particular star rating, and burying the bad ones.
- 03Write a one-page crisis plan now, with two-factor login and at least two admins per account.
The most common review tip on the internet can now get you fined: offering customers a discount on their next purchase for writing a positive review.
Please don't do that. Since October 2024 it's been illegal in the US.
Reviews carry more weight than ever, the rules around them have teeth, and the newest threat to your reputation might be a convincing fake of your own logo, voice or face. Here's what to do now.
Respond like someone is watching (they are)
Every public reply to a complaint has two audiences: the person who complained and everyone who reads it later. The second group is bigger and it's the one deciding whether to hire you.
A good reply is short. Thank them, acknowledge the specific problem without arguing about the details, say what you're doing about it, and give a direct way to reach a real person. Then actually follow up. If you got it wrong, say so plainly. People forgive mistakes faster than they forgive excuses.
Speed matters, but so does temperature. Never reply while you're angry. Give it an hour, have someone else read it, then post.
Reviews: what's now off-limits
The FTC's rule on consumer reviews took effect October 21, 2024, and it gives the agency civil penalties for violations. Among other things, it bans:
- Writing, buying or posting fake reviews, including ones that misrepresent who wrote them or whether they used the product.
- Offering anything in exchange for a review that expresses a particular sentiment, like a discount for five stars.
- Undisclosed reviews from your own employees or managers.
- Suppressing negative reviews through threats or intimidation, or presenting only the good ones as if they were all of them.
- Buying or selling fake followers, views or other indicators of influence.
Google goes further than the FTC. Its Maps policy bars offering any incentive at all for a review, prohibits selectively asking only happy customers, and as of April 2026 also bans staff review quotas and asking customers to name specific employees. When Google catches fake engagement, it can remove reviews, block new ones for a period, hide existing ones, and put a warning on your profile telling customers fake reviews were removed. That warning is far worse for business than a few honest three-star reviews.
The clean approach: ask every customer, the same way, with no strings attached. Then let the reviews be what they are.
Off-limits
Discounts for good reviews
Asking only happy customers
Staff review quotas
Fair game
Asking with no strings attached
Asking every customer the same way
Flagging reviews that look fake
