When someone searches for a cleaner near them, the businesses with plenty of recent, genuine reviews get the call. The good news: most happy clients will leave a review — they just need to be asked at the right moment, in the right way.
Ask every client, not just the happy ones
It's tempting to send review requests only to clients you know are pleased. Google's review policies don't allow that kind of selective asking (often called "review gating"), and fake or incentivised reviews are illegal under UK consumer law. The safe and effective approach is simple: ask every client, in the same way.
A business doing good work has nothing to fear from this. The occasional lukewarm review, answered well, actually makes the rest more believable.
Ask at the right moment
The best time to ask is shortly after a clean, when the home is spotless and the client is pleased. A message the same day or the next morning gets far more replies than one a month later.
Make it one tap
- Send a direct link that opens the Google review box — not your profile, where they have to hunt for the button.
- Keep the message short and personal: thank them, name the clean, ask for a few words.
- Send one gentle reminder, then stop.
Reply to every review
Thank people for good reviews by name and mention something specific. For a critical review, reply calmly, acknowledge the problem and say what you've done about it. Future clients read your replies as closely as the reviews.
Don't offer rewards for reviews
Discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews break Google's rules and can get reviews removed. Reward loyalty and referrals instead — just keep them separate from reviews.
How Gleamdesk helps
After each clean, Gleamdesk asks every client for feedback with the same message and a one-tap link to your Google review page, sends a single reminder to anyone who hasn't replied, and collects every review in one place so you can reply and track ratings per cleaner.