A review that names a dish
gets filed under that dish.
Google runs a dish layer under every restaurant listing, and it is fed by ordinary reviews. Mention a plate by name and the review is attached to that plate's page, where the next person deciding what to order will read it. That is a different problem to a bad review of the service, and it wants a different reply.
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The dish layer, and who fills it in
Four mechanics from Google's own documentation. Together they explain why one sentence in a review can outlive the visit that produced it.
To review a dish, a diner just mentions it in an ordinary review of the restaurant. The review then shows up on that dish's page.
Nobody has to opt into the dish layer for it to fill up. A single sentence about a dry burger becomes part of how that burger is presented to everybody who looks at it.
Both you and your customers can add dish photos and dish names, and a dish name you add takes precedence over one a customer added.
Naming the dishes yourself is the cheapest half hour on this list. It is also the only part of the layer you control outright.
A reviewer can go back and edit a published review afterwards, including the star rating and the photos attached to it.
A review is not final, which makes a reply worth writing even on an old one. People do change them, and a reply is the only prompt you get to send.
Your reply is screened against Google's content policies first, usually within ten minutes and occasionally over as long as thirty days.
There is no way to get a reply up during a bad Saturday night. The reply is for the reader next month, which is a relief once you accept it.
Answering a complaint about one plate
A dish complaint is not a service complaint, and the usual apology template does badly here. The reply is going to sit next to that dish for people who are deciding whether to order it, so the question it has to answer is whether the kitchen fixed anything.
The reply every restaurant sends
We are so sorry to hear this and we are sorry your experience was not up to our usual high standards. Please reach out to us so we can make it right. Your feedback is important to us.
The reply somebody choosing dinner can use
You are right about the wings, and that batch was sitting too long under the pass on a busy Friday. We have moved them to cooking to order, which adds about four minutes. Come back and let us know if we got there.
The second reply names the dish, so it lands on the dish page next to the complaint. It says what changed rather than that feedback matters, and it gives the next reader a reason to order the thing anyway. Nothing about it is a template.
The listings a restaurant actually gets reviewed on
Between the search listing, the review sites and the delivery apps, most kitchens are being scored in four or five places at once. Connect them and it becomes one list with drafts attached.
- Yelp
- TripAdvisor
- DoorDash
- Trustpilot
- Etsy
- Square
Google questions from restaurant owners
The dish layer surprises almost everybody.
Should the reply name the dish the reviewer complained about?
Usually yes. A review that names a dish appears on that dish's page, so a reply that names it too is a reply a person deciding what to order actually reads. It is one of the few places where repeating the reviewer's own words is doing work rather than filling space.
Can we clean up dish names somebody else added?
You can add dish names and photos to your own profile, and Google says an owner supplied dish name takes precedence over a customer supplied one. That is the part of the dish layer you control, and doing it once puts your menu language in front of everybody browsing.
Is there any point replying to a review from last year?
There is. A reviewer can edit a published review, its rating and its photos at any point, and your reply notifies them. It is the only nudge available, and old reviews sit high on a dish page for a long time.
Our reply has not appeared. Is something broken?
Probably not. Google screens replies before publishing them and says it usually takes up to ten minutes but can take up to thirty days. Waiting is the normal case, and reposting the same reply does not speed it up.
Does GetSetReply post these replies to Google?
No. We draft, you post. The draft arrives written against the review, you edit anything that is not how you talk, and you send it. Nothing is published on your behalf.
For restaurants
Replies that name the dish and say what changed
Drafted against the review in front of them, ready for you to read and post yourself.