Reputation operations
Building a review routine your staff will actually keep
A review programme that depends on enthusiasm dies in three weeks. One built into existing shift routines survives staff turnover.
5 min read · Updated February 2026
The failure pattern is always the same: a burst of energy after installing the codes, then a slow return to nothing. The fix is not motivation — it is attaching the ask to something staff already do every shift.
Anchor the ask to an existing action
Pick a step that already happens: clearing plates, handing back a key, wrapping a purchase, booking the next appointment. The review ask rides on top of it and takes two seconds.
Anything that requires staff to remember a separate task will be dropped during the first busy service.
One sentence, everyone the same
Give the team a single sentence and a gesture toward the code. Variation is fine, but a default sentence means new starters are productive on day one.
Keep the sentence policy-safe: no star ratings, no “if you had a good time”, no incentives.
Brief new starters in the induction
Two lines in the induction document and one demonstration is enough. Where the codes are, what to say, and why it matters to the business.
Look at the numbers monthly
Scan counts by placement, new reviews and average rating. Fifteen minutes a month is enough to spot a placement that has stopped working — often because something got moved, covered or scuffed.
- Scans per placement, month over month.
- New reviews published.
- Any placement trending to zero — go and physically look at it.
FAQs
- Should staff be incentivised for review counts?
- Incentivising staff is permitted where incentivising customers is not, but tie it to the ask, not the outcome — rewarding review counts creates pressure to steer sentiment.
- How often should printed assets be replaced?
- Inspect quarterly. Counter stickers and table assets take the most damage; replace anything scuffed, curled or faded before it stops scanning.
Templates referenced in this guide
Packaging dot
60 × 60 mm · Takeaway bags, boxes and cup lids
Till square
90 × 90 mm · Beside the card machine
Compendium insert
105 × 148 mm · In-room information folder
Keep reading
How to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules
Most businesses do not have a review problem — they have an asking problem. Here is the timing, wording and placement that turns satisfied customers into published reviews.
Read the guideResponding to Google reviews: templates and judgement calls
Replies are read by future customers, not past ones. A framework for positive, mixed, negative and suspicious reviews.
Read the guideQR code size, contrast and placement: a printing checklist
The physical rules that decide whether a code scans in one second or not at all — distance ratios, quiet zones, contrast and material.
Read the guideCafés
Coffee customers do not linger over a bill. The ask has to sit exactly where their hands and eyes already are: the counter, the cup and the pick-up point.
Industry guideRetail
Retail reviews come from the till, the bag and the follow-up email — three touchpoints most shops never use.
Industry guideMotels
Most motel guests arrive late, leave early and never speak to anyone twice. The review ask has to work without a conversation.
Industry guide