The 72-hour review-crisis playbook
What to do in the first three days of a review-bombing, brigading, or viral-video pile-on — with the exact template we've used to help clients recover.
A pile-on is different from a bad month. If you're getting more than five 1-star reviews in 48 hours from accounts that don't cluster with your usual customer profile, treat it as an incident.
Hour 0-6
- Do not reply to any of the reviews yet.
- Screenshot every reviewer profile — Google removes accounts after action.
- Flag the reviews via the Google Business Profile flag flow with the 'off-topic' or 'conflict of interest' reason.
- Post one holding statement on your main channel.
Hour 6-24
Start replying to the reviews that appear genuinely from customers, in the standard voice. Ignore the obvious brigade accounts — replying to them provides oxygen.
Day 2-3
Ask a small group of loyal recent customers to leave honest reviews. Not to counter the negative ones — to restore the recency signal Google weights. Never offer an incentive.
The holding statement template
Example · Public statement
Review
"(Not applicable — used on your own channels)"
Reply
"We've seen a spike in reviews over the last 24 hours and we're working through each one. If you're a customer with a genuine issue, please email us on hello@yourbusiness.com and we'll respond within the day. Thank you for your patience while we do this properly."
References
- 1.Report a review — Google Business Profile Help
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About the author
The HappyReplies Team
Editorial team
We build HappyReplies and reply to Google reviews for local businesses every day. Everything on this page comes from what we've seen work — and what we've seen backfire — across cafes, salons, clinics, and studios.
Want to talk to us directly? Get in touch.