Reply to restaurant reviews and ratings: good, bad and unfair

Reply to every rating, good or bad, within a day or two, in four short lines: thank the person, say what you heard, say what you will do, and invite them back or offer a way to talk. You are not writing to the reviewer so much as to the next hundred people who read the page, and a calm, specific, kind reply tells them more about your business than the rating did.

Why do replies matter?

Because they show what a place is like when something goes wrong, and something always goes wrong. A diner deciding between two places reads the worst rating and your answer to it. A defensive reply loses them. A kind one wins them. A good reply to a four-star rating that mentions slow service also tells the next reader that you listen.

Replying also changes how you run the place. When a rating names a dish or a night, you have a free report from a customer.

How do you reply to a good rating?

Thank them by name, mention one specific thing they liked, and say something real about it. "Thank you, Aoife. The lamb shoulder is Seán's favourite too, and he will be glad you said so. Come back for the Sunday roast." Do not paste the same thank you under every rating; readers notice, and the replies are public.

How do you reply to a bad rating?

Use four steps.

1. Thank them. "Thank you for telling us."
2. Say what you heard, in your own words, without arguing. "You waited forty minutes for your main, and it arrived cold."
3. Say what you will do. "We have changed how we fire tables on busy nights."
4. Offer a way to talk. "If you'd like to tell us more, message us here and we'll make it right."

Do not argue about the facts in public, even when you are sure they are wrong. Do not blame the customer, the weather or the staff. Do not offer a free meal in a public reply; ask them to message you. Do not reply in anger: write it, wait an hour and read it as a stranger would.

What about an unfair rating?

Some ratings are about something that was not you, or something that did not happen, or an attempt to get a free meal. First, check the facts quietly in your own records. If a rating is untrue or breaks the community rules, you can report it, and a moderator will look at it. You cannot make a rating disappear because you disagree with it. If you cannot get it removed, reply once, briefly and factually: "We have no record of a booking under that name, and we would like to look into this. Please message us." Then let it go.

How do replies work on Mosey?

In the dashboard, the Reviews page lists your ratings with the reply controls. Replies are published under your venue's name, so the person who can reply is someone with the review permission: owners and managers by default, and anyone else you grant on the Team page. The person who wrote the rating gets a notification when you reply the first time; an edit afterwards is quiet. The page shows who replied and last edited. A reply can be deleted.

The same page has a card that lets you ask your recent customers for a rating, once a week, with one button. You do not see who is asked, which stays with Mosey. Use it after a good week, not a bad one.

What should a reply never say?

• Anything personal about the reviewer, or anything that identifies them beyond their name on the page.
• Details of their booking, order or payment beyond what is needed.
• Anything you would not say to their face with other guests listening.
• A promise you cannot keep.

What do the replies to a few typical ratings look like?

A five-star rating that says "best brunch in town": "Thank you, Niamh. The eggs are Cian's pride and he will be delighted. The brunch menu changes in April, so come and see what is new." A three-star rating that says the food was good but the room was loud: "Thank you, Paul. You're right about the noise on Friday nights, and we are trying lower music and softer panels. Try us on a weekday lunch for a calmer table." A one-star rating about a dish: "I am sorry the pasta was cold, Maeve. That is not how it should leave the kitchen, and I have spoken to the team. Message us here and we would like to make it right."

Each reply is short, specific and kind, and none argues. Copy the shape, not the words.

How do you make replying a habit?

Pick one person and one time. Open the Reviews page on Monday morning, reply to everything new, flag anything that needs the owner, and note a pattern on the team board: "three mentions of slow desserts". Share the good ratings at the next pre-service briefing, and read the bad ones aloud too, without names, so the team hears what guests say. Read the guide to getting more reviews, and the win-back guide for people who have stopped coming. See how Gold is earned and how the dashboard is priced.