How homeowners pick a technician
When the system fails, people search on their phone and scroll. They look at stars, but they read the newest few reviews for specifics: showed up when promised, explained the problem, cleaned up, wasn't pushy. Strangers will let a stranger into their house based on those lines.
Your techs already earn these. The trouble is that a happy customer, cool again at last, goes back to their evening and never writes a word. The ones who do write often arrived angry about a late arrival or a bill.
Ask once the system is running
The best moment is shortly after the job, when the house is comfortable again and the tech's name is still fresh. Asking on the doorstep puts everyone on the spot, and technicians are not salespeople. Better to let the follow-up do it.
With Centera, after a job every customer gets the same message with a direct link to your Google review page, and a line to tell you directly if they would rather. You set the timing, so a quick filter swap and a full system replacement can be handled differently.
One ask for everyone, and a direct line to you
- Everyone gets the same ask. Each customer receives a direct link to your Google page and can leave a review in a few taps, whatever they think.
- Anyone can reach you directly. The same message says "or tell us directly." If a customer leaves a low rating anywhere, you are pinged right away with the job and the tech, so you can call, reply and make it right.
- You reply to reviews from the same place. A short, plain reply to a complaint, with an offer to call, shows the next homeowner how you handle problems.
What to do with the feedback
Reviews double as a free report card on your crews. If three customers in a month mention a tech who explained the problem with a flashlight and a spare part in hand, you know who to send on the tricky explanations. If two mention arrival windows, that is a dispatch problem, not a tech problem. Read the new ones on Monday with your coffee and pass the kind ones to the person they name.
Tying it to the truck and the invoice
We also prepare a review card with a QR code that opens your Google review page. Leave one with the customer, tuck one into the invoice folder, or print the QR on a sticker beside the unit. The same QR works for a maintenance customer who reads it three months later and finally has a minute.
Where reviews come from and where they do not
We do not write reviews, buy them or give discounts, free tune-ups or gift cards in return for them. Google forbids paying for reviews, and a company that does it risks losing the reviews it has. Every review on your page should come from someone whose house your team actually worked on.
That is slower than faking it, but it holds up. A mix of detailed praise and a few fairly handled complaints reads like a real company, because it is one.
See how your listing compares in the free report, or talk it through in the 15-minute review.
Questions owners ask
Can I offer a discount for a review?
No. Google does not allow rewards for reviews, so we do not set that up.
When is the request sent?
Every customer gets the same request after a job. You choose the timing, such as later the same day for a quick visit.
What if the customer is angry about the bill?
They get the same Google link as everyone, plus a direct line to you, and you are pinged if they rate low anywhere, so you can talk it through and reply.
Do customers need an account?
No. They receive a link, and the review happens on Google.