Reply now, even six weeks late. Answer the negative reviews first, acknowledge the delay in one short clause, address the specific point, and set up notifications and a weekly slot so this December goes differently.

The reviews that arrived while you were busy

December is the busiest month for many small businesses, and it is also when many customers leave reviews: after a Christmas order, a party booking or a last-minute gift.

Nobody had time to answer them. By the end of January, many listings have a run of unanswered reviews, some glowing, some mixed, and perhaps one sharp two-star about an order that was not ready.

Each week makes replying feel more awkward, and it is tempting to leave them and start fresh with whatever arrives next.

Reply anyway. A late answer does more good than silence, provided it is done well.

Who a reply is really for

A reply on Google My Business appears publicly under the review, marked as a response from the owner. The reviewer may see it, but far more people will read it later.

Those people are deciding whether to choose you. They read the complaints first, and then they read how the business answered.

A complaint with no reply reads as a business that does not listen. The same complaint with a calm, specific answer can read as a point in the business's favour.

Unanswered praise matters less, but a listing where nobody has replied to anything since November looks unattended.

Which to answer first

The second is the easiest to overlook. A four-star review that mentions a long wait at the counter is a complaint, and readers notice whether it was acknowledged.

Acknowledging the delay

Mention the delay once, in a clause, and move on. Something like "Sorry for the slow reply, December got away from us" is enough.

A paragraph of apology about the apology does not help. The reply is about the reviewer's experience, and three sentences on how busy the business was put the business at the centre instead.

Do not pretend it is not late, either. The reply shows its date, and saying so plainly reads as honest.

Where the matter was settled in person or by phone in the meantime, say so in a line, so a reader sees the outcome as well as the complaint.

Answering the negative ones

A good reply to a complaint is short and has three parts: thanks for telling us, the specific point acknowledged, and what has changed or what happens next.

Acknowledge without arguing. If the order was late, say it was late, and if there is context, give it in one sentence without making the customer wrong.

Keep details of the order and the customer out of the public reply, and offer a direct line instead: a name and a phone number or email address.

Where something genuinely changed because of the complaint, say so. It is the most useful sentence a later reader can see.

Answering the positive ones

Thank people specifically. If the review mentions the stollen, or the staff member who found the lost order, mention them back.

Avoid one reply pasted under twenty reviews. Readers scroll, and identical replies read as though nobody was really there.

Two sentences is plenty, and leave out the sales pitch. A thank-you that ends by promoting this week's special reads as an advert.

A worked example

A neighbourhood bakery takes pre-orders for Christmas cakes and meat pies through December, and its counter is three deep for most of the month.

Reviews arrived throughout: a dozen warm ones, two mixed, and one two-star from a customer whose order was not ready at her pickup time on the 23rd.

Nobody replied to any of them. The listing's notification emails went to the former employee who had set it up, so the owner did not know most of them existed.

In late January she answered them over two mornings, the two-star first: a brief apology for the slow reply, an admission that the order system had failed that day, and the change made since.

Pre-orders now get a pickup time by text the day before. The positive reviews each got a short, specific thanks, notifications now go to the bakery's own address, and a weekly slot is in the calendar.

Turning on notifications

Most unanswered reviews are not ignored; they are unseen.

Google My Business can email you when a new review arrives, but it emails only the people listed as owners and managers, and only if notifications are switched on in the listing's settings.

Check both. A listing set up by a former employee or a marketing company may be notifying an inbox nobody reads.

Facebook recommendations, which replaced star reviews last year, and the other sites where customers review you have notification settings of their own.

A routine for this December

The routine that prevents a backlog is simple: one person owns review replies, and checks once a week, every week.

In the busy season, make it every two or three days. A two-line reply written between customers is better than a perfect one written in February.

A few saved opening lines help, as long as the rest of each reply is written fresh. They save time without making every answer identical.

Put a reminder in the calendar now for the start of December. The month will arrive before anyone thinks about reviews again.

The counter-case

Not every review should be answered the same way.

Reviews that are abusive, or from somebody who was never a customer, are better reported to Google through the listing than argued with in public.

Clinics and other health businesses need care even with kind replies, since confirming that somebody is a patient discloses something they may not have chosen to share.

But for most businesses the answer is simple: reply to December's reviews now, briefly, and set up the routine.

This week

  1. Turn on review notifications for the right address.
  2. List every unanswered review since November.
  3. Answer the negative ones first.
  4. Mention the delay once, briefly.
  5. Thank the positive ones specifically.
  6. Check Facebook and the other review sites.
  7. Book a weekly slot for new reviews.

Step one is the one that prevents the next backlog. Most reviews go unanswered because nobody saw them, and no routine survives notifications going to an inbox nobody reads.

The other December leftover on the same listing is covered in holiday hours still showing in January.

Frequently asked questions

Is it too late to answer December's reviews?

No. A late reply does more good than silence, because the people reading it are future customers deciding whether to choose you, not only the reviewer.

Should I apologise for replying late?

Once, briefly, in a single clause about December getting away from you. A paragraph of apology puts the business at the centre instead of the reviewer.

How should I answer a negative review?

Thank them, acknowledge the specific point without arguing, and say what changed. Keep order details out of the public reply and offer a direct line instead.

Do positive reviews need replies too?

Yes, briefly. Thank people specifically, mentioning what they mentioned, and avoid pasting one identical reply under every review, since readers notice.

Why do reviews go unanswered?

Usually because nobody saw them. Notifications are off, or going to a former employee or an old agency. Check the listing's settings and the addresses on it.

How often should we check for reviews?

Weekly for most businesses, and every two or three days in the busy season. One person should own it, with a reminder in the calendar.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Reviews from December still unanswered?

Answer the negative ones this week. We will check where your review notifications go and who can reply on the listing.

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