For better or worse, online reviews are an essential component of running a successful restaurant. Customers place a great deal of trust in others’ recommendations, and reviews can be an excellent tool for growing your business. Unfortunately, negative restaurant reviews have drastically increased over the past few years, which can seriously harm your eatery’s profits – and lifespan. However, with the right response, any review – positive or negative – can benefit your restaurant and show customers you care. That’s where Otter's restaurant review templates come in!

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Review response templates keep your restaurant staff efficient, productive, and focused. Chances are that you’ve spent time navigating reviews on Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor already, so why not utilize your expertise? With our complimentary templates, you can achieve increased customer engagement, a stronger reputation, and profit growth of nearly 10%. Let’s find out why a great review response matters – and how to craft them!

How should my restaurant address online reviews?

For starters, your business should respond to every review – positive or negative – in a timely fashion. In fact, when writing a review, most customers expect a response within one day. Expedient responses build trust with your customer base and show that you genuinely care about your eaters’ experiences. They also let you highlight your business’s strengths, shaping your image and reputation. Another benefit? By including your restaurant’s name in your response, you’ll be boosting its SEO performance! 

It’s very important to maintain a professional, customer-friendly tone. Remember that when you respond to a review, you’re representing your business – being aggressive, dismissive, or snide will turn customers away. The power of effective communication is critical for dealing with online feedback. This demonstrates to all current and potential eaters that you respect your eaters, and are passionate about satisfying their demands. With a healthy attitude towards criticism of all kinds, customers will be eager to engage with your brand.

1) Do your research

Read negative restaurant reviews closely, and understand their context. When did the customer leave their review? Are they marked as a Local Guide or premium user? Did they include a photo or rating alongside their feedback? When you have a complete understanding of what the customer feels went wrong, discuss the situation with your team. This will help you respond and provide feedback in a way that treats every customer as an individual.

2) Be expedient

As mentioned above, customers really appreciate quick replies. In a busy world (and an even busier industry), being able to address eater comments and concerns quickly is priceless. This doesn’t mean that you should rush out a half-baked pleasantry – instead, focus on being concise and eliminating anything irrelevant. Zero in on specific points made by the customer, answer restaurant reviews clearly, and utilize review response templates as needed. (Hint: For support, try our ChatGPT for restaurants templates!)

3) Stay positive and professional

It’s in our nature to respond to frustration with frustration, but a harsh reply can be catastrophic for your restaurant’s identity. Customers expect business owners (especially in the restaurant industry) to be courteous, level-headed, and rational, even when dealing with complaints. If you meet these expectations, you won’t just be solving one customer’s problem – you’ll be showcasing your professionalism publicly. 

‍4) Leverage customer engagement

Think about why people write online reviews: they want to be heard. A review of any kind is already an asset for your restaurant, because it shows that your eaters are engaged. According to Sprout Social, about 79% of customers that leave negative reviews are willing to overwrite them with positive ones if their concerns are addressed. Why not make use of that engagement? Try to solve your customers’ problems ASAP in your responses, and give them a reason to change their minds.

Why would I need a review response template?

Running a restaurant takes a lot of time, effort, and energy. Effective review responses do, too. When you’re a restaurateur, the former typically takes priority. So why juggle online customer service with real-world food service? You don’t need to be an incredible creative writer to make the most of your business’s digital reviews. Our review response templates are a streamlined, accessible resource that keep your voice in control. 

After analyzing hundreds of online restaurant reviews, we’ve created 10 templates that you can apply to every type of customer feedback. These powerful resources help your team respond to eater reviews quickly and effectively, ensuring that future reviews are even better. No matter what your restaurant’s size, type, or cuisine is, our customizable responses make every review you receive valuable.

By filling out the form below, you’ll have access to a complimentary download of these review response templates. The template package contains pre-written responses for:

• Blank reviews
• Low-information reviews
• Team member-focused reviews
• Food-focused reviews
• Service reviews
• Customer inquiries
• Fake reviews
• Customer complaints

…and more!

Make every review a positive one!

With the response strategies above and our downloadable restaurant review templates below, you’ll have everything you need to incentivize incredible reviews. Make each customer feel recognized and validated from your responses, and a loyal, passionate base of regular eaters will follow. Don’t forget: every review, good or bad, is an opportunity for brand advocacy, a stronger reputation, and restaurant success!

Download your set of review response templates with the following form, and use Otter to keep customers coming back!