When exactly should we ask after an install?
Right after the final walkthrough, while you are still in the driveway. The crew lead sends the text before loading the trailer. Waiting for the invoice to clear usually costs you a week, and by then the fence is just part of the yard. A same-day ask gets answered far more often than a Friday batch.
What if we are waiting on a gate operator or HOA sign-off?
Wait until the customer considers the job finished. If an automatic opener is back-ordered, ask after it is installed and tested. If the HOA held up a section, ask once that run is standing. Send one request per job, not one per phase, so the customer is never chased twice.
Someone left one star about our spring lead time. What do we say?
Reply publicly and be straight. Name the reason the schedule slipped, whether it was rain, frost in the ground or a full spring backlog, say what you changed, and give a direct way to reach you. Do not argue about the deposit in public. The calm reply is what the next buyer reads.
A neighbor who never hired us reviewed our property line work.
Reply politely, say you set the fence to the survey the homeowner provided, and invite them to call you. You can also report a review that did not come from a customer to the platform. Removal is up to them and is never guaranteed, so a steady reply matters more than the dispute.
Can we take money off a gate in exchange for a review?
No. Incentives of any kind break platform rules, and reviews earned that way can be removed along with others on your profile. Ask everyone, every time, and let the volume do the work. A free post cap or a discount ties your reputation to something the platform can take away.
Should we skip customers we think are unhappy?
No. Filtering who gets the link is review gating, and it is against platform rules. It also hides problems you could fix, like a crew that leaves concrete spoil behind. Ask everyone. A profile with a few honest complaints and good replies looks more credible to a homeowner comparing bids.
Do more reviews get us into the map pack?
Reviews are one signal among several, including proximity to the searcher, your categories, your service area and how complete your profile is. No one can guarantee a ranking, and we will not. What we can do is keep reviews arriving, keep replies current and keep your profile accurate week after week.
Do reviews matter for AI answers?
Assistants summarize what is public about your business. When your reviews, service pages and profile agree on the materials you install, the towns you cover and whether you handle repairs, you are easier to describe accurately. Nobody can promise an assistant will mention you, and we make no claim that it will.