Review response templates for home services

The workmanship dispute

The customer says the work failed or was done wrong; you may disagree. Lead with your warranty and an inspection offer - future readers care less about who's right than about what you do when something fails.

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], I'm sorry the [WORK_ITEM, e.g. "water heater install"] isn't holding up the way it should. Everything we do at [BUSINESS_NAME] carries a [WARRANTY_TERM] workmanship warranty, and I'd like to get eyes on this - I'll send [TECH_OR_MYSELF] out at no charge to inspect it. Call [PHONE] or email [EMAIL] and we'll get you on the schedule this week. - [YOUR_NAME], [OWNER/ROLE]

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], thanks for the feedback. Our notes on the [DATE] job differ from your description on a few points, and photos beat a comment thread - I'd rather walk the job with you than argue it here. I'm offering a free return visit to review the work together; if something's below our standard, we fix it under warranty. [PHONE], ask for [YOUR_NAME].

The no-show / scheduling complaint

"Waited all day, nobody came." A missed window is the most avoidable one-star in the trade - own it plainly and say what changed about your dispatching, not just this job.

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], you're right and I won't dress it up: we missed the window on [DATE] and you burned a day waiting on us. That's on our dispatching, and we've since [CHANGE, e.g. "moved to two-hour windows with a 30-minute-out text"]. I'd like to make the next visit free of charge - call [PHONE] and ask for [YOUR_NAME] and I'll schedule it personally.

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], rescheduling you [N] times is a failure, full stop - emergency calls are part of this trade, but managing them without wrecking booked jobs is our job. I'm sorry. We've [CHANGE, e.g. "set aside a daily emergency slot so booked work stays put"]. If you'll let us finish the job, you go to the front of the line: [PHONE]. - [YOUR_NAME]

The quote-vs-invoice complaint

Price-shock reviews scare off future customers more than quality complaints do. Explain your change-order process in the response - that's the reassurance readers are scanning for.

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], I understand the frustration - nobody likes an invoice that outgrew its quote. On the [DATE] job, the added cost came from [HONEST_REASON, e.g. "corroded piping we found behind the wall"], and per our policy that change was [HOW_APPROVED, e.g. "priced and approved by text before we proceeded"]. If anything on that invoice still doesn't sit right, call me directly at [PHONE] and we'll go through it line by line. - [YOUR_NAME], [OWNER/ROLE]

Hi [CUSTOMER_NAME], thanks for the direct feedback. For you and anyone reading: [BUSINESS_NAME] quotes include [WHAT'S_INCLUDED, e.g. "labor, materials, and the trip charge"], and nothing gets added without written approval first. If a charge on your invoice wasn't covered by that, I want to see it - send it to [EMAIL] and I'll review it personally and make it right if we got it wrong.

Full templates for these situations

• No-show and cancellation reviews
• Apologizing without admitting fault
• De-escalating threats in reviews
• Home services reputation management