UrbanTechFlow · Ottawa and Gatineau · Published October 26, 2026 · Updated October 26, 2026 · Checked October 11, 2026

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What you can say when you ask for a Google review, and what gets reviews deleted

Ferncastle Interlock, a made-up company with a crew of four that lays driveways and walkways across Ottawa, is on its last job of the season. The joint sand is swept in, the plate compactor is back on the trailer, and the homeowner is walking her new driveway with a smile.

Ferncastle's owner takes out his phone to ask her for a Google review. He types "A five-star would really help us", then stops. He has heard that Google changed its review rules in 2026, and he is no longer sure what he may say.

The good news: he can ask. The catch: not in those words.

The short answer

Yes, ask every customer, the same way, every time. No, never ask for stars or for particular words, and never choose who gets asked.

What you may do:

• Ask every customer, with the same words, at the same point in the job.
• Send Google's own review link, or hand over a printed card with its QR code. Asking in person is fine too.
• Thank people, and reply to the reviews you get.

What you may not do:

• Choose who gets asked, or check whether a customer is pleased before you send the link.
• Ask for "five stars" or "a good review", or ask the customer to mention your town, your service or your crew.
• Stand over the customer while the review gets written. By our reading, that counts as pressure.
• Offer anything in return: a discount, a gift card, a free service call.
• Set review quotas for your crew. By our reading, a bonus per review is out too.
• Count on reviews from yourself, your crew, former employees or family. Google's policy treats all of them as a conflict of interest.

Your brother-in-law can praise your work at every barbecue. Just not on Google.

Google's review rules for contractors, in one table

Each row quotes Google's own policy, word for word, with the day we checked it.

Verified on October 11, 2026, on Google's own pages. Next check: on or before January 11, 2027.

One more reason never to ask customers to name your service in their review. When someone reviews a service business, Google may ask them to pick the service from your list. Keep that list complete.

What changed in 2026, and what didn't

You may have read that "Google banned asking for five stars in April 2026." The substance is right. The month is wrong.

Asking only the customers you choose has been against Google's rules since April 2018. The lines below arrived in February 2026. The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine keeps dated copies of web pages. Its copy of Google's policy page from February 15, 2026, doesn't have them. Its copy from February 22, 2026, does. Here they are.

• No requiring or pressuring customers to review while on the premises, and no asking for specific content.
• No attempt to influence the rating or the contents of the review.
• Two lines on staff: no review quotas, and no asking for reviews that name a staff member.
• Unusual volumes or patterns of reviews, listed as a sign of manipulation.
• Two examples of a conflict of interest: industry competitors and family.

Trade news caught up in two steps. Search Engine Roundtable reported the pressure, content and volume lines on February 20, 2026. It reported the two staff lines on April 17, 2026, almost two months after the archive shows them on Google's page. That is likely where the April date comes from.

Some review guides and some review software still screen customers first. They ask how the job went, then send the Google link to the ones who answer well. That screen is exactly the step Google rules out.

What it means for you: if you already asked everyone the same way, without naming stars, words, a town or a tech, nothing changes. If your text said "a five-star would help", or your crew handed out cards that said "mention my name", change them now.

If you run a crew

Contractors, general contractors and trades with crews feel the two staff lines most. Google bars two things: review quotas for staff, and asking staff to collect reviews that name them. So no card that says "mention my name". By our reading, no contest or bonus per review either.

Your crew can still ask. At the end of the job, the tech hands over the review link or the QR card. Same way for every customer, without suggesting what to write.

Asking in person is fine. Google's line is about requiring or pressuring someone to review while on the premises. Our reading for a contractor at the customer's door: ask, leave the link and go. The customer writes the review later, if they want to.

Ask as each job closes, rather than saving every ask for one batch at the end of the season. Google's policy now lists "unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions" as a sign of manipulation. Google publishes no threshold, so we won't invent one.

To see why a steady routine beats hoping, read "Google Reviews: Building the Machine Instead of Hoping". This post covers what the rules allow.

What happens when Google finds a problem

Google removes reviews that break its policy, and its help says reviews removed for policy violations won't be restored. Another help page admits that its automated spam detection sometimes takes down a genuine review by mistake; the owner can then contact support.

The profile itself can also be restricted for a set period. Google's help gives three examples:

• No new reviews or ratings.
• Existing reviews unpublished.
• A public warning that fake reviews were removed.

Google emails the owner if it plans a restriction, and the owner can appeal.

Google's blog added another step on April 16, 2026. After a sudden spike in spam reviews, Google removes them and pauses new reviews on the profile. It alerts the owner and shows a banner saying contributions are temporarily paused. It gives no duration.

Field reports fill in part of the rest, and they are only that: one author, five businesses, on Sterling Sky's blog. The report was first published on February 9, 2026; the page now shows September 28, 2026. Customers saw "Posting reviews is turned off for this place". In every case the author tracked in the 60 days before February 9, 2026, the block lasted the full 30 days, appeal or not. Of the 595 new reviews one business gathered from September to November 2025, 342 were taken down. The same report names three patterns that seem to raise the risk when they repeat and combine. They are reviews left inside the business, QR codes used at the counter, and bursts of reviews (the report's example: 10 or more in one day).

Where does your review count stand today? In its second step, the free check asks for your business name, town and email. It then compares your number of Google reviews with the median of the other businesses in your category. It shows which category it used.

A fake or unfair review on your profile

Google takes down reviews that break its rules, not reviews you disagree with. Report a fake one in the Reviews Management Tool. Google says the check typically takes several days. If it finds no violation, you can appeal once, and one appeal can cover up to 10 of them.

A genuine bad review stays. Google's help says it doesn't get involved in conflicts between businesses and customers.

What helps is your reply. Keep it short, calm and specific, never promotional, with no private details. Google screens replies before they show: usually within 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 days. Its tips also suggest not sending the same thank-you to everyone.

Two languages, one honest ask

Around Ottawa and Gatineau, some customers deal with you in English, others in French. "The same ask" means the same words at the same moment for everyone. It doesn't mean the same language. Send it in the language the customer uses with you, and reply to each new review in the language it was written in. That is our practice, not a Google rule: Google's pages on replies set no rule on language.

Here is a sample text that passes. It names no stars, no words and no town:

"Hi, it's Ferncastle Interlock. Thanks for trusting us with your driveway. If you have a minute, an honest Google review helps your neighbours choose: [your review link] Anything not right? Call the owner directly at [owner's cell]. Reply STOP to stop these texts."

With UrbanTechFlow, each job you mark won in your unified app gets the same honest review ask. You send it from your own phone once the work is done.

Questions owners ask

Is it OK to ask for a "five-star" review?

No. Ask for an honest review. Google's policy rules out "attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review", and asking for stars does exactly that.

Can my crew ask customers for reviews?

Yes: every customer, the same way, in person or with the link or a QR card. No quotas and no "mention my name". By our reading, no bonus per review either, and nobody stands over the customer while they write.

Can a bad review be removed?

Only if it breaks Google's policy. Report it in the Reviews Management Tool. A genuine review you disagree with stays, so answer it calmly instead.

Is review software that sends unhappy customers to a private form allowed?

No. Google calls it selectively soliciting positive reviews, and the trade calls it review gating. Keep feedback surveys separate from review asks, and switch off any setting that screens customers before the Google link.