A one-hour checklist to ask last season's painting customers for reviews
Exterior season is wrapping up. A one-hour checklist to pull your finished jobs, write the review text, send it in batches and handle the replies.
You painted a lot of houses this year, and if you are like most painting contractors, your Google review count barely moved. The customers were happy. Nobody asked them, or somebody asked once on the last day while packing drop cloths, and the moment passed.
The good news is that a customer who was happy in June is still happy in October. Here is how to ask all of them in one sitting.
Why now
Exterior season is ending in most of the country. In a month you will be chasing interior work and winter cabinet jobs, and homeowners searching for those will look at your profile first.
The median painting company on Google has 11 reviews, and 46.1% have fewer than ten. If you painted 50 houses this year and got reviews from 25 of them, you could move from the middle of the pack to well above it in a week. Customers you finished in the last few months are your best shot. They still remember the crew's names.
The checklist
Set a timer for one hour. Work through these in order.
1. Pull the list (10 minutes). Open your invoicing or CRM and export every job completed since March. You need name, mobile number, the job (exterior, interior, cabinets, deck), the month, and the crew lead. If you only have a paper calendar, write them on a sheet. Do not skip anyone because you think they might not have been thrilled. You will sort that out next.
2. Mark the ones to skip (5 minutes). Cross off anyone who had an unresolved complaint, an open warranty issue or a payment dispute. Those need a phone call, not a review request. Everyone else stays.
3. Get your direct review link (5 minutes). In your Google Business Profile, find "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews" and copy the short link. Paste it into a note on your phone. Test it once in a private browser tab to make sure it opens the review box directly.
4. Write the text once (10 minutes). Keep it short and specific. Use the job and a name. Here is a version to adapt:
"Hi Karen, this is Dave from Northside Painting. We painted your house back in July, and I hope the color is still making you happy. If you have a minute, a Google review would help us a lot this winter. Here is the direct link: [link]. Thank you either way."
For interior or cabinet jobs, swap in the room: "We did your kitchen cabinets in August."
5. Send in batches of 10 (15 minutes). Send from your own phone or your business texting line, not a mass email. Ten at a time, a few minutes apart. Personalize the name and the job in each one. It takes about a minute per text once you have the rhythm.
6. Reply to everyone who answers (10 minutes, spread over the day). Some will say "Done." Thank them. Some will mention a peeling spot on the trim. Thank them and book a touch-up visit. That turns a quiet complaint into a loyal customer, and often into a review later. Some will not answer. That is normal.
7. Set the follow-up (5 minutes). Put a reminder five days out. Send one gentle nudge to people who did not reply: "Hi Karen, just floating this back up in case it got buried. No worries if not." Then stop. Two asks is enough.
What to do with the reviews
Respond to every new review within a day or two. Mention the job and the neighborhood if the customer did: "Thanks, Karen. Glad the sage green worked out on the Elm Street house." That helps future customers see what you do and where.
The reviews guide covers the bigger system: asking on the final walkthrough, a review card in the touch-up kit you leave behind, and a pace that keeps your count moving all year.
Make next year easier
Before you close the laptop, decide one thing. Who on the crew asks at the final walkthrough on every job? Write their name down. A batch like this works once a year. A walkthrough habit works every week.
Two quick checks while you are in the profile
- Hours. 39.4% of painting listings show no hours at all. Add yours.
- Services. Make sure interior, cabinet refinishing and any winter work are listed as services, so the people searching in November find them. The Google Business Profile guide walks through the full setup.
Want someone to run the review asks for you? Try any service free for 14 days, no card, text or call (385) 526-5679.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, painting contractors among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor