- You get two chances to respond. BBB sends the review to you before publication, and both sides can comment afterward.
- BBB advises replying quickly, acknowledging the concern, apologizing for the mistake and offering a fix, without denials or excuses.
- Write for the next buyer, not the reviewer. Your reply is public and can be read for as long as the review shows.
- Never reveal private customer details, accuse the reviewer in public or offer anything of value for a changed review.
- A reply does not change your letter grade, because BBB says reviews are not part of it.
On this page
You Get Two Chances to Respond
BBB lets the business respond twice: privately before a review is published, and publicly through comments afterward.
This guide belongs to our BBB reviews hub and covers reviews only. Complaints have a deadline and their own playbook in how to respond to a BBB complaint.
BBB says reviews are vetted and sent to the business before they are published. The business can confirm the customer interaction and respond. After publication, BBB says both the reviewer and the business can add comments, and it does not allow comments from third parties.
| Stage | Who sees it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Before publication | BBB and the reviewer | Confirm or dispute the interaction. State your position in plain facts |
| After publication | Everyone who visits your profile | Post a short public comment that a future buyer would find fair |
| After the reviewer replies | Everyone who visits your profile | Reply once more if there is something new to say, then stop |
Sources: how BBB reviews work and the BBB reviews FAQ. Menu names inside the business account change from time to time, so look for the review area in your own login rather than relying on a screenshot from a blog.
What BBB Itself Tells Businesses to Do
BBB's published business tip says to reply quickly, stay respectful, skip denials and excuses, and give the customer a way to reach you.
BBB's business tip on negative reviews, dated March 25, 2025, gives an order of operations you can borrow.
- Reply quickly. BBB notes that new reviews carry the most weight and that silence can look like you do not care.
- Stay respectful. Skip denials and excuses, acknowledge the concern, apologize for the mistake and offer a fix if you can.
- Claim your business profiles on as many platforms as you can, so you are able to respond.
- Give a way to contact you, since online replies can feel impersonal.
- Ask your customers to review you, and ask all of them, not only the happy ones.
- Be patient. Older reviews matter less over time.
BBB's page on the value of reviews adds that for negative reviews BBB advises responding promptly, acknowledging the issue, apologizing, offering a solution and following up until the matter is resolved. We add one rule of our own: write each reply for the specific review, because generic text reads as if nobody looked.
Want a Specialist to Look at Your BBB Profile?
We will check every published rating element on your file and tell you exactly what is costing you points. Free, and honest about what can and cannot change.
A Six-Part Structure for the Public Reply
A strong public reply thanks the reviewer, names the specific issue, owns what was your fault, states the fix, offers a direct contact and stops.
Thank them by name or role
One short line. Do not gush.
Name the specific issue
Repeat the problem in your own words, such as a delayed delivery or a billing error. This proves a person read it.
Own what was yours
Apologize for the part you got wrong. Do not apologize for things that did not happen.
State the fix
Say what has been done or changed, or what you will do and by when.
Give a direct way to reach you
A named person, a direct line or a dedicated email. Invite the conversation offline.
Stop
Long replies read as defensive. Aim for a few sentences.
The reviewer has already decided. The person reading your profile next month has not. Every line should answer one question for that reader: how does this company behave when something goes wrong?
Before and After: One Review, Two Replies
The same review can get a reply that hurts you or one that helps you, and the difference is tone and specifics.
For example, imagine a fictional bathroom remodeler called Brightwater Remodel and a real customer who left 2 stars because the tile crew arrived three days late.
Reply that hurts
- This customer is exaggerating. We were never three days late.
- As anyone could see from the contract, the date was an estimate.
- We have hundreds of happy customers, so this review is unfair.
- Please remove this review.
Reply that helps
- Thank you for the feedback. Your tile crew arrived later than the date we gave you, and that was our error.
- We have changed how we confirm start dates with customers the week before a job.
- Please call Dana at our office direct line so we can make this right.
- We are sorry for the delay.
The second reply admits the part that was true, states a change and gives a person to call. It does not ask for removal and it does not argue. A reader sees a company that fixes things.
Five Scenarios and How to Reply
The right reply depends on whether the reviewer is a real customer, whether the facts are true and whether the text breaks BBB's rules.
| Scenario | Reply approach | Also do |
|---|---|---|
| Real customer, fair complaint | Acknowledge, apologize, state the fix, give a contact | Fix the process that caused it |
| Real customer, unreasonable demand | Stay calm, state the policy once, offer a reasonable alternative | Do not argue the details in public |
| Real customer, facts you dispute | Give your side in neutral language and offer to discuss it directly | Keep your own records ready |
| No record of the reviewer | State that you have no record and invite a call | Dispute the interaction in writing, see fake BBB reviews |
| Contains personal information or abusive language | Reply briefly or not at all | Ask BBB in writing to apply its rule on personal information and inappropriate language |
Sample wording for the fair complaint
Thank you for telling us about this. You were right that your order arrived later than promised, and we apologize. We have changed how we confirm delivery dates. Please contact [name] directly at [phone or email] so we can make it right.
Sample wording for no record of the reviewer
We take every review seriously, and we looked for your name in our records and could not find it. If you used a different name or email, please contact [name] at [phone or email] so we can look into it.
These templates are starting points, not scripts. Change the details to fit the actual review, because readers notice generic text. For complaint wording, use our complaint response templates.
What Never to Write
Never reveal private customer details, accuse the reviewer publicly, threaten them or offer anything of value for a changed review.
You can
- Say you have no record of the reviewer
- Describe your policy in neutral terms
- Apologize and state a fix
- Invite the reviewer to contact you privately
- Ask every customer for honest reviews
You cannot
- Share order details, addresses or account information in a public reply
- Call the reviewer a liar, a fraud or a competitor without proof
- Threaten legal action you do not intend to take, since the FTC rule bans groundless threats to remove reviews
- Offer a refund or gift tied to editing or removing the review
- Post fake or insider reviews to push the bad one down
These limits come from BBB's page on encouraging reviews and the FTC's final rule announcement. BBB says it does not accept incentivized reviews. It also encourages feedback rather than suppression, and says Accredited Businesses may not use non-disparagement clauses.
Do Not Forget the Positive Ones
Replying to positive reviews is part of the same habit and costs a few seconds.
BBB's tip says to respond to positive reviews too. A one-line thank you shows a real person is reading the profile. It also gives a buyer a baseline: this company answers everyone, not only angry people.
To get more reviews the right way, invite all customers and attach nothing of value to the request. BBB says its reviews are vetted before they are published, and you can point customers to BBB's own review page. Do not hand them wording, and do not ask only the customers you know are happy.
A Weekly Routine That Keeps You Ahead
Check your BBB business account on a schedule and write down who is responsible, since most missed replies come from an unwatched inbox.
- Confirm the account email is a monitored address and a second person has access
- Check for new notices at least once a week, and daily during a busy season
- Log each review, the date, the reply date and the owner of the follow-up
- Review the last month of feedback for a repeating process problem
- Invite fresh reviews from recent customers, without incentives
In our work since 2013, the replies that read worst are rarely the angry ones. They are the ones written weeks late, by someone who clearly had not read the review. A routine fixes that.
When to Get Help
Get help when you think a review breaks BBB's rules, or when your profile has other issues that need attention.
A reply cannot remove a review, and it does not change your letter grade. If you believe a review breaks BBB's published rules, our BBB review disputes service builds the file. For a plain explanation of who can take a review down, read can a BBB review be removed. To see what is actually holding your rating down, ask for a free BBB audit. All work is results-based. We agree the result in writing, and you pay when it is delivered. We cannot promise a removal, and BBB makes the final call. Business Rating Fix, the BBB rating division of Reputation Resolutions, is independent of the BBB.
Anthony Will
Founder and CEO, Reputation Resolutions
Anthony Will founded Reputation Resolutions and has worked in online reputation management since 2013. Reputation Resolutions is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating and is a Google Partner. Business Rating Fix is its Better Business Bureau rating division.
- In online reputation management since 2013
- Reputation Resolutions: BBB Accredited, A+ rated
- Google Partner
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Fact-checked against bbb.org · Updated November 2026
