---
title: "Get more Google reviews: locksmith request templates · LockCommand"
description: "Free text and email templates that get locksmiths more Google reviews the way Google allows: ask every customer, no rewards. Copy one, or check a message you wrote."
url: https://lockcommand.com/tools/review-request-templates
---

[Free tool · no account needed](https://lockcommand.com/tools)

# Review request templates to get more Google reviews

Pick text or email, a tone and the job. Add your shop name, the customer's first name and your review link, and copy a message that follows Google's review rules.

## Your message

Example values: change them to yours

Leave empty for “Hi there”.

Get it in Business Profile: Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Or build one with the [review link and QR maker](https://lockcommand.com/tools/review-link-qr).

## Ready-to-copy texts

### The ask

Same day, once the job is done and paid.

Hi Maria, thanks for choosing Example Lock & Key for getting you back in. Would you leave us an honest Google review? It takes a minute and helps people nearby find a locksmith they can trust: https://g.page/r/CExampleReviewLink/review Reply STOP to opt out.

258 characters · 2 texts

### One reminder

3 to 5 days later, only if they haven't left a review. Then stop.

Hi Maria, Example Lock & Key again. If you have a minute this week, we'd love your honest Google review: https://g.page/r/CExampleReviewLink/review No need to reply. Thanks! Reply STOP to opt out.

196 characters · 2 texts

Send the same message to every customer, happy or not. No discounts, gifts or prize draws for reviews. Those are Google's rules, and the templates follow them.

## Check a message you wrote

Paste your own review request. The checker flags common wording that breaks Google's review rules and counts text message length. The example below breaks two rules on purpose.

Found: “10% off”, “If you were happy”, “5 stars”

- Google bans offering anything (money, discounts, free service, gifts, donations or prize entries) in exchange for a review.
- Google bans discouraging negative reviews or asking only happy customers. Ask everyone the same way, for an honest review.

As a text: 98 characters, 1 text. Up to 160 characters fit in one text (153 per part when split).

LockCommand texts each customer a review request from your shop's number a couple of hours after a finished job is paid, once you've added your Google review link.

[Send review requests automatically](https://app.lockcommand.com/sign-up?from=tool-review-request-templates)

## How to use it

Most customers who had a good lockout or rekey never think to leave a review. They will if you ask while the job is fresh and make it one tap. That is the whole method for getting more Google reviews as a locksmith: ask every customer, the same day, with a direct link. These templates do that, and they stay inside Google's rules, which matter more than they used to: Google removes reviews it thinks were bought or filtered, and can restrict the profile.

### Google's review rules, in plain words

- **Ask every customer.** Google's policy bans discouraging negative reviews or selectively asking for positive ones. Messages like "if you were happy, review us; if not, call us first" break that rule. So does sending the Google link only to people who rated you well somewhere else first. That trick is called review gating.
- **No rewards.** No discount, free key copy, gift card, donation or prize draw in exchange for a review. Google calls that fake engagement.
- **No pressure.** Google says businesses shouldn't require or pressure customers to review while they're on the premises. Hand over a card or send a text and leave it.
- **No quotas or scripts for techs.** Google's policy lists asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews with specific words, as rating manipulation. Don't pay techs per review either.
- **No reviews from your own people.** Google counts reviews from current or former staff, family and competitors as a conflict of interest.

### How to use the templates

1. Get your review link from Business Profile: Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Or build it from your Place ID with the [review link and QR maker](https://lockcommand.com/tools/review-link-qr) .
2. Pick text or email, the tone that sounds like you, and the job.
3. Type the customer's first name and copy the message.
4. Send it the same day, once the job is done and paid. If there's no review after 3 to 5 days, send the reminder once. Then stop.

### When to ask, by job

| Job | Best moment | Best channel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| House or car lockout | Within a couple of hours, once they're inside and calm | Text, plus a card at the door |
| Rekey or lock change | That evening, after they've tried the new keys | Text |
| Car key | The same day, after the key starts the car and the fob works | Text |
| Commercial job | When the invoice is paid | Email to the person who booked it |

### Text length

Every text shows its length. A plain text fits 160 characters in one message and 153 per part once it splits. One curly apostrophe, emoji or accented letter like á switches the whole text to another alphabet where the limit drops to 70, and 67 per part. Characters like [ ] and € count as two. Phones join the parts back together, but texting services usually bill per part. The templates use straight apostrophes for that reason, and the tool straightens any you paste into the shop name. Business texts should also say how to opt out, so the "Reply STOP" line is on by default.

### A worked example

The friendly lockout text for Maria from Example Lock & Key, with the example g.page review link and the opt-out line, comes to 258 characters, so it sends as 2 parts. The short tone comes to 157 and fits in one. The example in the checker breaks two rules on purpose: "if you were happy" and "5 stars" ask only happy customers, and "10% off" is a reward. Rewrite it as "Thanks for choosing us today. Would you leave an honest Google review?" and the checker comes back clean.

The checker reads words, not intent. A clean result means none of the common problem phrases showed up, not that a message is approved by Google.

### Answering the reviews you get

Google lets a verified business reply to every review, and the reply shows under it as your business. Thank people for the good ones and talk about the work in general words. For a bad one, stay calm, say what you'll do, and take the details offline. Never post an address, a car or anything from the job. People reading reviews judge the reply as much as the stars.

To send these requests without thinking about it, LockCommand's [customer texts](https://lockcommand.com/features/customer-texts) send the review request from your shop's number after each paid job.

### Sources

- [Prohibited & restricted content (fake engagement and rating manipulation)](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) , Maps user contributed content policy, Google.
- [Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/16816815) , Google Business Profile Help.
- [Manage customer reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050) , Google Business Profile Help (replying to reviews).
- [How long can a message be?](https://www.twilio.com/docs/glossary/what-sms-character-limit) , Twilio docs (160 and 153, 70 and 67).
- [3GPP TS 23.038](https://www.3gpp.org/dynareport/23038.htm) , the GSM 7-bit alphabet and its two-character extension set.

Last checked October 2026.

## Questions

### How do locksmiths get more Google reviews?

Ask every customer, the same day, with a direct link to the review box. A short text after the job is paid works best, with one reminder a few days later. Hand a review card at the door for lockouts.

### Can I offer a discount for a Google review?

No. Google's policy bans offering incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods or services in exchange for a review, and counts reviews posted because of an incentive as fake engagement.

### Can I ask only happy customers to review?

No. Google's policy bans selectively asking for positive reviews and discouraging negative ones. Send the same request to every customer.

### When should I send a review request?

The same day, once the job is done and paid, while the customer still remembers the tech's name. Send one reminder a few days later if there's no review, then stop.

### How long can a review request text be?

160 characters fit in one text. Past that it splits into parts of 153. A curly apostrophe or an emoji drops the limit to 70 per text, so keep to plain characters.

### Can my techs or my family leave reviews for the shop?

No. Google treats reviews from current or former staff, family and competitors as a conflict of interest, which its policy doesn't allow. Your techs can ask customers, but not with quotas.

### Can my techs ask customers on the spot?

They can mention it and hand over a card, but Google says businesses shouldn't require or pressure customers to leave a review while they're there. A text after the job is safer.

## More for your shop

- [Review link and QR maker Check your Google review link or build it from your Place ID, then print a QR card for the van and invoices.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/review-link-qr)
- [Google verification checklist Step by step: Google Business Profile, Local Services Ads advanced verification and suspension appeals.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/google-verification-checklist)
- [Customer texts Booking confirmations, ETA texts, receipts, review requests, missed-call text-back and AI reply drafts.](https://lockcommand.com/features/customer-texts)
- [Phone script builder Questions to ask on every kind of locksmith call, in English and Spanish, with your greeting.](https://lockcommand.com/tools/phone-script-builder)
- [SMS terms How shop texts work, how to opt out with STOP and get help with HELP.](https://lockcommand.com/legal/sms)

## Let LockCommand do this on every job

The AI receptionist quotes from your price book, books the job and texts the customer. Create your account and set up your shop in a few minutes.

[Create your account](https://app.lockcommand.com/sign-up?from=tool-review-request-templates) [See pricing](https://lockcommand.com/pricing)

Already have an account? [Log in](https://app.lockcommand.com/sign-in). Questions first? Email  [support@lockcommand.com](mailto:support@lockcommand.com) .