The short answer
A solar review request template should be under forty words, sent by text from a named person, reference the specific job, and end with a direct review link on its own line. Below are the four requests and three replies most solar installers need, written to stay inside Google's rules.
- 01Use the first text at two to six weeks after commissioning, the reminder seven days later.
- 02Swap the bracketed parts. Sending them unedited is worse than not sending them.
- 03None of these mention stars, ratings or incentives, which is what keeps them compliant.
- 04The reply templates matter as much as the requests. Replies are public.
Templates are a starting point, not a script. Change the names, the system size and the town, and rewrite one sentence in your own voice so it does not sound like everybody else's automation. The structure is what is doing the work.
Template 1: the first text
Sent two to six weeks after commissioning, ideally just after the first lower bill. From a mobile number, signed by a person.
Hi [first name], it is [name] from [company]. Hope that first bill was a nice surprise. Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? Takes about a minute and it genuinely helps a small local company. [link]
37 words
Template 2: the reminder, seven days later
Shorter than the first. No guilt, no repetition of the explanation.
Hi [first name], [name] again from [company]. Just a nudge on that review if you have a spare minute. No worries at all if not. [link]
27 words
Template 3: the email version
Plain text, from a real person's address, no header image and no designed template. Subject line first.
Subject: A quick favour, [first name]? / Hi [first name], [name] here from [company]. We finished your [size] system in [town] last month and I hope the first bill looked better than the last one. If you have a minute, would you leave us a Google review? It is the main way people in [town] find us. [link] Thanks either way, [name].
Template 4: after a service call or a fix
Customers whose problem you solved well write the most persuasive reviews of all, because the review implicitly says something went wrong and the company handled it. Ask them.
Hi [first name], [name] from [company]. Glad we got the [issue] sorted. If you would be willing to leave a quick Google review about how it went, it would help other people know what we do when something needs fixing. [link]
Reply templates
Public replies are read by every future customer, so these get the same care as the requests.
| Situation | Reply |
|---|---|
| Five stars, short review | Thanks [name]. Glad the [size] system in [town] is doing what we said it would. Give us a shout any time. |
| Five stars, detailed review | Thank you [name], that is good of you to write. Passing this to [crew member] who ran the install. Enjoy the lower bills. |
| Three stars or fewer | Thank you for writing this, [name]. You are right that [specific problem] should not have happened, and we have [specific change] so it does not again. [Person] will call you today, or reach them on [number]. |
How do you sequence them?
- 01Crew lead mentions the upcoming request verbally on the last day on site.
- 02Template 1 fires automatically two to six weeks later, off the job status.
- 03Template 2 fires seven days after that, only if no review has appeared.
- 04The sequence stops. No third ask.
- 05Replies go out within a day, using the table above as a starting point.
For the reasoning behind the timing and the compliance rules these templates are written around, see how to get more reviews for solar installers and how to ask a solar customer for a review.
How do you make them sound like you?
Templates have one failure mode, which is that every solar company within forty miles is sending a version of the same message. Three small changes fix it and take about ten minutes.
- Rewrite one sentence in your own words. Read the message out loud. If you would not say it to somebody at their front door, change it.
- Reference something only you would know. The dog, the awkward hip roof, the fact they were away the week of the install. This is the line people reply to.
- Sign it the way you introduce yourself. Dan, not Daniel Whitfield, Customer Success.
And test the whole thing on yourself first. Send the message to your own phone, tap the link, and watch what happens. A surprising number of review sequences have been running for months against a link that opens a sign-in wall on mobile, and nobody noticed because nobody ever tried it.
The harder replies, in detail
How to respond to negative solar reviewsStop reading, start booking
Volt builds and runs the system this article describes: the site, the follow-up, the inbox and the review funnel, for $297 a month.
No contracts. Cancel anytime.
Common questions
- Can I send the same review request to every customer?
- The structure, yes. The content should change: name, system size, town and the actual date. Identical messages are less effective and, sent all at once, look to platforms like bulk solicitation.
- Should review requests come from a person or the company?
- A person, with a first name, on a mobile number people can reply to. Requests from a brand read as marketing and convert noticeably worse than requests from Dan who was on the roof.
- How long should a review request be?
- Under forty words for a text. The only jobs it has are saying who you are, why you are asking and where to click. Anything else reduces the response rate.
