A 1-star Google review lands, from a name nobody in your office knows.
One owner put it plainly: "I have never dealt with this person in my life and have never booked them."
Left alone, it reads like a real complaint you ignored. The next homeowner reads it before they call.
Another owner worried that "replying to the review will make Google think it’s legit and not remove it."
I read Google's pages. None says a reply keeps the review up. None says it helps take it down.
To respond to a fake review, check your job records and your calls first. If nothing turns up, report it to Google.
Then post one short, calm reply. Say you can't find this job in your records. Give the phone number already on your listing. I'd post it the day the review lands.
As I see it, a reply like that gives the reviewer little to fight back about.
Don't call it fake in your reply, even if you're sure. You might have their job under another name, and then you've called a customer a liar in public. That's my choice, not a rule.
One exception: if someone asks for money to take the review down, don't reply, and don't pay.
Google says not to deal with them, and I count a reply as dealing with them. Google has its own form for reporting a demand for money.
The check, the report and the reply take about 15 minutes in all. That's my estimate.
Here for the reply only? It's in the box near the end.
Before you reply, check whether they were ever a customer
Search your job records for their name. Then search by the date, the street or the work they describe. Check your calls and estimates for the name too, and ask the crew.
Your records are whatever you keep: invoices, texts, estimates, your notebook, and the call logs on your phone and the crew's.
Open the review on your phone. Read the name, the date, and any service it shows.
Google may ask a reviewer which service you did. If they write a review, the service they picked shows in it. Check it against the work you do.
Why search more than the name? A real customer can post under another name, like a spouse's, a tenant's or a nickname.
Then text the crew: "Anyone know a [name], or a job on [street]?" Someone may remember a name your records don't show.
Or they may mean another company. One roofer thought a reviewer "must have reviewed the wrong company".
A lead who called you, or got an estimate, isn't a stranger. You have a record of them: the call, or the estimate. So don't post a reply that says you have no record. It wouldn't be true.
Found the job after all, or a call or an estimate? Then it's a bad review, and it gets a different reply. That reply is in my playbook on bad reviews.
Say a roofer gets a 1-star from a name nobody in the office knows. Nothing comes up under the name, the date or the work it describes. Nobody on the crews knows it either.
So nothing turns up. Report it first, from your phone. How?
Report it to Google, from your phone
Report it from your listing, which Google calls your Business Profile.
Google takes a review down only if it breaks Google's rules, like spam. Its rules ban a review that isn't based on a real experience. Google decides whether this one breaks them.
In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right. Tap Read reviews.
Next to the review, tap Report. Google's page gives two example reasons, "Spam" and "Profanity", and doesn't list the rest. Pick the one closest to what's wrong. Then tap Send report.
You may read advice to wait. Google's AI Mode, a tab in Google search, told me to "hold off on replying until you’ve tried to get it removed".
I read the source it gave, a thread in Google's own help forum. It doesn't say a reply changes whether the review comes down. So I wouldn't wait.
Google says a report is typically looked at within several days. One owner wrote that reports sit at "Decision pending" for one to two months.
Say the roofer reports it from the phone, picking the closest reason.
But that can take days, and the next homeowner reads the review today. So what goes under it in the meantime?
Reply once, the same day
Post one calm reply the same day. Thank them, show you understand how they feel, and say you have no record of a job under their name. Then give your number, and sign your first name.
Will a reply make them angrier, or bring more? One owner held back, afraid they'd "put in five more bad reviews". So the reply below is short, and doesn't argue.
Why thank someone who may have made it up? They may be a customer under another name. And the next homeowner reads how you answer.
In my playbook on bad reviews, I answer an unfair review with plain facts, not a sorry. I call it the two-fact reply. Here there's just one fact to give: you have no record of them.
Here's the reply:
Thank you for the review. A bad experience is frustrating, and I'd want to hear about it. We have no record of [the job it describes] under this name. If I've missed something, call me at [number]. [Your first name]
Fill in the brackets from the review. Then the reply could only be about this review. If the review names no job, write "a job".
If the review names work you don't do, add one line: "We don't [do that work]."
For the number, give the business number already on your listing. Google's rules allow it.
If someone else answers that number, tell them a call about this review may come. Ask them to take the date and the street of the job.
Why the same day? A report can take days, and a reply is quicker. Google checks each reply before it shows, and that usually takes up to 10 minutes. Sometimes it's 30 days.
So your reply usually reaches the next homeowner first. That's my reasoning, since no Google page I read says how soon to reply.
Why no sorry? A customer once complained to my business about a purchase we had no record of. I didn't apologize. I asked her to show the purchase came from us. She took the complaint back, and apologized.
Under a Google review, you ask the same way, by giving your number. If they were a customer, they can call and tell you.
Of 419 owner replies to bad reviews I counted, 28 said there was no record of the person.
Most asked them to get in touch: 22 of the 28. But 8 said sorry anyway, and 3 called it fake or a lie. Some did more than one.
Got more than one? In each reply, name the work that review describes. Pasting the same reply under every review is against Google's rules, as I read them.
Sign it with your first name. Google shows the reply as your business's, and never your name, so type it.
Say the office manager drafts the reply that afternoon, for the roofer to sign.
But before you post it, check it. A few words can break Google's rules, or a law. What may a reply never say?
Before you post: what this reply may never say
Google checks every reply against its rules before it posts. Leave out the word "fake", any guess at who wrote it, their name, and any request to take it down.
| Never put in this reply | Whose rule |
|---|---|
| "Fake", "liar", or "scam" | My choice |
| A sorry for a job that didn't happen | My choice |
| Who you think wrote it: a rival, a former employee | Google's, my reading |
| Their full or last name, without their OK | Google's |
| An insult, an attack, or anything that could be defamatory | Google's |
| Asking for their address, invoice or phone number | My choice |
| A request to take the review down | My choice |
| A groundless legal threat, to get the review taken down | The FTC's |
| A false public accusation, made knowingly or recklessly, to get it taken down | The FTC's |
| The same reply pasted under every review | Google's, my reading |
"Google's" means its rules say it in so many words. "Google's, my reading" means Google's words don't name it, and I read them as covering it.
"The FTC's" means its rule says it in so many words. "My choice" means that's my choice, not a rule.
Why not "fake"? Say they were a real customer under another name. Then calling it fake would be a false accusation.
The FTC's rule on reviews bans a false public accusation, made knowingly or recklessly. It also bans a groundless legal threat, a physical threat, or intimidation.
All of them count only when used to stop a review, or get one taken down. If you called it fake without checking your records, I'd read that as reckless. That's my reading of the rule.
I read Google's pages, and the FTC's rule, at the source, between September 26 and October 14, 2026. I didn't read any defamation law. The table's "defamatory" row is Google's rule, not a law.
I didn't read any state's laws, and some states add their own. This isn't legal advice. Check your state's rules, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on them.
The reply is for the next homeowner, not the stranger. So it never asks them to take it down.
Three of the 28 replies did. One roofer asked a reviewer to "please be respectful and remove her review", and it's "still out there".
Say the office manager's draft asked the reviewer to take it down. The roofer cuts that line, and posts the rest.
What if it's a rival, or someone who used to work for you?
Report it the same way. Google's rules ban reviews with a conflict of interest. Google says that may include staff past or present, or a competitor.
One owner found reviews from a former contractor who now works for a competitor.
In the reply, say only what your records show. Leave out who you think wrote it. Google's rules ban accusing someone of wrongdoing without proof. As I read them, saying a rival wrote it is that kind of accusation.
What if they're asking for money to take it down?
Don't reply, and don't pay. Google says: "Do not engage with or pay the malicious individuals." I count a reply as engaging with them.
Paying, Google says, "doesn't guarantee the removal of reviews."
Google says these scams may start with a sudden run of 1- and 2-star reviews. Then comes a demand for money, goods or services to remove them.
Take clear screenshots of every message that asks for money or favors to remove reviews. Add a link to each review. Then send them with Google's extortion report form.
That form is only for when someone asks you for money. A review with no demand is reported from your listing, as above.
Once it's clean, post it. So what happens next?
What happens next
Google checks your reply, then posts it under the review, and tells them you replied. Short and calm, it gives them little to fight back about. Your report is typically looked at within several days.
Your report's status is on Google's Reviews Management Tool. Open it from that link, signed in to the account that manages your listing. "Decision pending" means it hasn't been looked at yet.
"Report reviewed - no policy violation" means it stays up. You can appeal once, from the same page. Then it shows "Escalated", and Google emails you its answer.
Google said no after that? Your reply still stands under the review. Getting one taken down is another question.
If they call, find out who they are. Stay calm, and ask for the date and the street of the job.
Found their job under another name? Then it's a bad review, so edit your reply to fit. Did they mean another company? They can still change their review.
If they change the review to say more, don't argue in public. The next homeowner reads both sides. One reply is enough, and that's my choice, not a rule.
If more 1-stars land at once, report each one. If someone then asks for money, follow the steps for that above.
Say a week later, the report still shows "Decision pending". The reply has been under the review the whole time.
Here's all of it, in one box.
The Move: check, report, then reply once
Keep it on your phone, or send it to whoever helps with your replies.
The Move
Today, the review is reported to Google, with one calm reply under it. In seven days, you check your report's status.
About 15 minutes, including the time to look through your records. That's my estimate.
When: The day it lands. Report it first, then reply the same day.
Today
- Open the review. Read the name, the date, and any service it shows.
- Search your job records, calls and estimates for the name.
- Nothing? Search by date, street or the work they name. Ask the crew.
- Asked for money to take it down? Don't pay or reply. Google says not to deal with them. Screenshot it, and send it with Google's extortion form. Stop there.
- Found a job, a call or an estimate? Then it isn't a stranger. Use my reply for a bad review instead.
- Nothing found, and no demand? In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right. Tap Read reviews.
- Next to the review, tap Report. Pick the closest reason, then tap Send report.
- Before you post, read your reply once more. Take out the word "fake", any guess at who wrote it, and their name. Take out any request to take it down.
- Next to the review, tap Reply. Type it, then tap Reply.
The reply
Thank you for the review. A bad experience is frustrating, and I'd want to hear about it. We have no record of [the job it describes] under this name. If I've missed something, call me at [number]. [Your first name]
In seven days
Open Google's Reviews Management Tool, signed in to your listing's account. Read your report's status.
The check
Today: your report is in, and your reply is posted, or waiting on Google's check. In seven days, read your report's status. Whether it says pending or no violation, your reply is still under the review.
If it doesn't work
You can't see Reply. Your listing must be verified. Sign in to the account that manages your listing.
Not sure which account? Ask whoever set the listing up, before you start.
No Reply on your phone? Search "my business" on Google, signed in to that account.
Google asked you to edit it. Read it again as in step 8, then edit.
It hasn't shown up. Google checks each reply first. That usually takes up to 10 minutes. Sometimes it's 30 days.
"No policy violation." Appeal once, from the Reviews Management Tool.
Already reported it weeks ago? Post the reply now. Google's page doesn't say a second report helps.
They answered back, angrier. Don't reply twice, because a second reply starts an argument in public.
When it doesn't fit
If you already replied, and it says something it shouldn't
Edit it. Google lets you edit or delete a reply. Rewrite it as the reply above.
If you reported it weeks ago, and it still says "Decision pending"
Post your reply now. The next homeowner has been reading the review with nothing under it. None of Google's pages I read says a reply changes the report.
I wouldn't report it again. Google's page doesn't say a second report speeds anything up. If Google later says "no policy violation", you can appeal once.
If it's only stars, with no words
Check the record the same way. Nothing found? Report it, and post the reply above, with "a job" in the brackets. It fits even when the review has no words.
If the office writes your replies
Let them draft it. You read and sign the bad ones, since each ends with your name and number. Who writes your replies day to day is a guide of its own.
If it's on Yelp too
Yelp says a review belongs to a place the reviewer "visited or contacted". So on Yelp, a lead's review is a bad review, not a stranger's. Report only a review with no record of any contact.
To report one, open the Yelp for Business app. Tap the three dots next to the review, then Report Review. Yelp says it generally lets reviewers stand behind what they write, and a report may take several days.
Yelp's rules apply to your reply too, so don't attack the reviewer.
If it pulled your rating down
Ask every customer, starting today. Each new review counts in your average as much as a bad one. My playbook on how many reviews you need works out the rest.
Google says it itself: "A mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy."
Your phone can run all of this. Here's what it can lead to.
What the report and reply can lead to
The homeowner reading your reply has two or three rivals open beside you. Whether the review comes down is Google's call, and I can't promise it will. Either way, it no longer stands without your side under it.
The next homeowner reads that 1-star, and your reply under it. Now the reply says what your records show, calmly, with your number.
In seven days, tell me in the box below what your report's status says. I read every reply.
