Most tradies sit on a goldmine of unrealised reviews. Your customers love the work. They genuinely would leave you a review if you asked. You just never ask. The job ends, you pack up the ute, you drive to the next one, and the moment is gone.
Meanwhile the bloke next door who's been mowing the same suburb for ten years has 50 Google reviews. You have 4. When someone searches "mowing [your suburb]", he ranks. You don't. He gets the call, you don't. The work itself is probably no better than yours.
Here's why that gap exists, and how to close it without changing your whole workflow.
of homeowners check Google reviews before hiring a tradie
Australian consumer survey 2024. The number is higher for jobs over $500.
1. Why reviews drive trades calls more than any other industry
When someone hires a hairdresser, they're betting twenty bucks. When someone hires a plumber, they're betting on a stranger walking into their house with a wrench. The stakes are different, and so is the research.
Most homeowners run a Google search like "plumber [suburb]" or "arborist near me", look at the local pack, and pick from the top three. They scan ratings first, then review counts, then they read one or two of the recent reviews to check for red flags. The whole process takes 90 seconds.
In that 90 seconds, your profile either makes them call or makes them scroll. If you have 4 reviews and the next tradie has 50, you're invisible. If your most recent review is from 2022, you look retired. If you have no reply to a 1-star review from last month, you look like you don't care.
2. The biggest mistake tradies make
Most tradies fall into one of two patterns:
- The accidental asker. They mention reviews in conversation if it comes up naturally, maybe one in twenty customers gets asked, half of those follow through. Result: 1 new review every couple of months.
- The reactive asker.They ask for a review only after a particularly good job, or only when they remember to. The asks are sporadic and depend on the tradie's mood. Result: unpredictable trickle.
Both patterns have the same root cause: there's no system. Asking happens only when it crosses the tradie's mind, which is rarely. Meanwhile every job ends with a customer who'd happily leave a review if prompted at the right moment. That prompt is the only thing missing.
We worked with a Fox Mowing franchise that had 15 reviews after two years in business. We set up an SMS that fires the moment a job is marked complete in his job software. Two weeks later he had 44 reviews, all five-star. The work hadn't changed. The asking did.
3. The timing debate: before they pay or after
Old-school advice says "ask while you're still on site." Newer advice says "text them the next day." Both have merits. Here's the practical breakdown.
Asking on site (in person)
Pro: highest conversion if they say yes. The customer is right there, the work is fresh, the warm feeling is peak. Con:awkward for the tradie. Feels like asking for a favour while invoicing. Many customers say "sure" and never follow through.
Asking by SMS next day
Pro:impersonal so it's not awkward for anyone. The customer can act on it whenever they have a free moment. The link is one-tap. Con:slightly lower follow-through rate per ask, but you ask 100% of customers instead of the 30% you're brave enough to ask in person.
Net winner: SMS the next day, every single time. The volume more than compensates for the slightly lower per-message conversion.
4. The SMS template that works for trades
Keep it casual. Australian customers respond best to plain language and a real first name on the sender side. Don't write like a corporate email.
Hey [name], [your name] here from [business]. Cheers for the job today, [specific thing about the job] looked great when we packed up. If you've got 30 seconds would you mind leaving a quick Google review? Even one line helps us a lot. Link: g.page/r/[id]/review
The variables you fill in:
- [name]:Customer's first name. Not "mate" or "hi there."
- [your name]:The tradie's actual first name. Personal. Not the business name as sender.
- [specific thing about the job]:"the lawn", "the gutter", "the leaky tap". Specific to what you did for them.
We've got a full set of SMS templates for review requests across all industries, if you want to compare wording.
5. Quick wins for franchise vs sole-operator tradies
If you're a sole operator
Your biggest constraint is time. You can't do the work AND send the reviews from your ute. The fix: hook the SMS sending to your job-management system or even a Google Sheet your partner updates. Tick a box at end of day, the SMS goes the next morning.
Sole operators have one advantage: customers remember you. Every review can name you specifically. That's a strong ranking signal and converts well for prospects who want a real person to show up.
If you're a franchise operator
Your biggest constraint is brand consistency. The reviews need to sound human and personal, but they're for the franchise, not you specifically. Use the franchise name in the review request but sign off with your real first name so the customer knows who they're reviewing.
Franchises have one advantage: pre-existing brand authority. New customers searching "Fox Mowing [suburb]" or "Jim's Plumbing" trust the brand before they trust you specifically. Your job is to convert that brand trust into a localised reviewed profile that ranks for your suburb.
6. The "ripped me off" review
Every tradie eventually gets one. A customer claims you charged too much, or did the wrong job, or were rude on the phone. Often it's a misunderstanding. Sometimes it's a competitor. Occasionally it's a legitimate complaint.
Three rules:
- Don't reply in anger.Sleep on it. The customer's next 10,000 prospects will read your reply forever.
- Don't defend the price publicly.Move it private. "The price difference was due to extra work we should've flagged in advance. Please call me on [number] and I'll sort it." Don't justify the original number in the reply.
- Check if it's a real customer first.If their name doesn't match anyone in your records and they mention a service you don't offer, it's probably competitor or fake. Different framework (see our guide to removing fake reviews).
We've got a longer guide to responding to negative reviews with examples specifically for trades complaints.
7. The takeaway
Tradies have the easiest review-acquisition problem in any industry. Your customers want to support you. They'll write glowing things about your work if asked. The only thing you're missing is the system to ask consistently.
Set up the SMS to fire the day after each job. Use the casual template, mention what you did, sign off as a real person. After a month you'll know if it works for you. After three months you'll be at the top of the local pack for your suburb.
And once you're ranking, the calls come in. Not from marketing. From customers who searched "tradie near me", saw your reviews, and dialled the number. Free leads forever, built on work you were doing anyway.