The formula
[Their words: what happened, the way they said it.] [If it's true: "You're right."]
[What you did for them: the fix for this one customer, already done.]
[What you changed for everyone, because of them.]
– [Your first name], [Shop]
Fill it in yourself, or let the prompt below do it. About two minutes per review. Start with the worst review on your best-selling product.
The example from the video
One star from Lisa: “Way too strong, fills my whole house.”
The reply: “You’re right, it fills your whole house. We sent you a milder one, and every candle now shows its strength.”
Her words, what you did for her, what you changed for everyone. The next shopper reads a strong candle and a shop that listens.
Before you post:
- True? Use all three lines. Partly true? Say the true part, don’t argue the rest. Not true, not sure, or an accusation (“scam”, “fake”)? Thank them, invite them to write to you, add one calm fact if you have one. Health, allergy, or damage to something? Thank them, say you take it seriously, move everything to email. No “you’re right” until you know what happened.
- Line 2 not done yet? Do it first. Already wrote to them? “We’ve written to you.” Said no before? “We’ve written to you again to take a second look.” Can’t message them (often on Google)? “Please write to [email].”
- Nothing changed yet? “We’re looking at [how we pack the mugs], because of your review.” Or leave line 3 out. Never invent a change.
- Old review? Start with “Sorry for the late reply.”
- Several complaints in one review? Name the worst one. If they wrote to you and nobody answered, say that too.
The prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Fill the brackets; “unknown” is fine. It writes in the language of the review.
You write public replies to bad reviews for my online shop.
My shop: [SHOP NAME]. We sell: [WHAT YOU SELL]. Sign as: [FIRST NAME], [SHOP NAME].
Tone: [warm / plain]. Form of address: [informal / formal] (e.g. du/Sie, tu/vous, tú/usted). English spelling: [British / American].
Platform: [Google / Trustpilot / product page / Etsy]. The review was posted [how long ago].
The review, exactly as posted:
[PASTE REVIEW]
Facts (write "unknown" if you don't know):
- Is the complaint correct? [yes / partly / no / unknown]
- Is it about health, an allergy, or damage to something? [yes / no]
- Did they already write to us? [no / yes, and we answered / yes, and nobody answered yet]
- What we already did for this customer: [e.g. "sent a new mug the same day" / nothing yet]
- What we changed for everyone because of it: [e.g. "every mug ships in a double box since 12 October" / nothing]
- If nothing changed, what we will look at: [e.g. "how we pack mugs" / nothing]
- One calm fact the next shopper should know (optional): [e.g. "all our silver is hallmarked 925" / none]
- Our contact email: [EMAIL]
Write ONE reply in the language of the review, under 60 words.
If the complaint is correct: three parts.
1. Say what happened in the customer's words, short, and say it's true. Never repeat accusations (scam, fake, fraud) or health details.
2. Say what we already did for this customer. Only from the facts.
3. Say what we changed for everyone. Only from the facts. If nothing changed, say what we will look at; if that is "nothing", leave part 3 out.
If it is partly correct: say the true part, do not argue the rest, then parts 2 and 3 as above.
If it is not correct, unknown, or about health or damage: only two parts. Thank them, then invite them to write to our email (or say we've written to them, if true). Add the calm fact only if it is given. Never admit fault, never say they are wrong.
If the review is more than a month old, start with a short apology for the late reply.
If they already wrote and nobody answered, say that honestly.
Rules:
- Never invent a fix, a date, a refund, a guarantee, a policy or something we will check.
- Never promise future replacements or refunds to everyone, and never present legal rights (warranty, right of withdrawal) as a special extra.
- Never mention order numbers, addresses, full names or health details.
- Never offer money, a discount or a gift, and never ask them to change or delete the review.
- Never blame the customer or the courier.
- No "we apologize for any inconvenience". Write like a person, not a company.
Then write a second version under 35 words.
Three worked examples
1. Lost parcel, half a replacement, no answer (true)
The review, in short: the parcel never arrived, the replacement came days later with only half the order, two emails went unanswered. One star. Facts you’d fill in: correct: yes · already wrote: yes, nobody answered · did for them: sent the missing half by tracked next-day delivery and emailed the tracking link · changed: replacements now only go out complete. The reply:
Your parcel went missing, the replacement came with only half your order, and your emails went unanswered. You’re right, that’s our mistake. We’ve sent the missing half by tracked next-day delivery and emailed you the link. Replacements now only go out complete. – Sam, [Shop]
2. “Tarnished, probably fake silver” (partly true, with an accusation)
The review, in short: a silver necklace tarnished within a month, a silver dip didn’t help, the customer doubts it’s real silver. One star. Facts you’d fill in: correct: partly · already wrote: no · did for them: nothing yet · changed: nothing · will look at: how our page explains silver care · calm fact: all our silver is hallmarked 925. The reply:
Your necklace tarnished within a month, and the silver dip didn’t help. We’d like to look at it with you, so please write to hello@[shop].com. All our silver is hallmarked 925. Because of your review, we’re checking how our page explains silver care. – Mia, [Shop]
It never repeats “fake” or “scam”, and it doesn’t argue. The next shopper reads a calm shop with a fact.
3. German review, broken after three uses, shop said no before (formal “Sie”)
The review, in short (German): a sniffing ball for dogs broke after three uses; the shop had answered by email that nothing could be done. Two stars. Facts you’d fill in: correct: partly · already wrote: yes, and we answered · did for them: sent a new ball after a second look · changed: the product page now shows how the ball is meant to be used · form: formal. The reply:
Ihr Schnüffelball war nach drei Einsätzen kaputt, und unsere erste Antwort hat Ihnen nicht weitergeholfen. Das war nicht gut von uns. Wir haben uns den Fall noch einmal angesehen und Ihnen einen neuen Ball geschickt. Auf der Produktseite zeigen wir jetzt genauer, wie der Ball benutzt wird. – Lena, [Shop]
Never write this in public
- “We’re sorry for any inconvenience.” (Sounds like nobody read it.)
- “This has never happened before.” (The next shopper just read that it did.)
- “The courier is responsible.” (Sort it out with the courier, not in the reply.)
- “If it ever breaks, we replace it.” / “Two-year guarantee!” (A public promise can count as a guarantee for every reader, and rights customers have by law can’t be sold as your bonus. Say what you did for this person.)
- “We’ve refunded you” under a price complaint. (Others will try the same. Write “We’ve written to you about a return.”)
- Any discount or gift for changing or deleting the review.
- Order numbers, addresses, full names, or anything about their skin, health or pet.
- Anything you wrote while angry. Wait an hour.
Where to post it
- Shopify review apps: most let you reply publicly under the review. Judge.me: a public reply shows on the product page; a private reply goes by email only and can’t be edited later. The reviewer only gets an email if reply notifications are switched on.
- WooCommerce: Products → Reviews, hover over the review, click Reply. (Reviews must be switched on under WooCommerce → Settings → Products.)
- Google Business Profile: only after your business is verified. Google checks replies before they appear (usually minutes, sometimes longer). The reviewer gets a notification and can update their review.
- Trustpilot: replies are part of the free business account, from your review inbox.
- Etsy: one public reply per review. You can delete it but not edit it, and once you reply, the buyer can no longer edit their review. Solve it by message first.
- Amazon: no public replies to reviews since December 2020.
Good to know (EU and UK, not legal advice)
- Don’t hide or delete honest bad reviews. Removing reviews that break your published rules (insults, spam, no purchase) is fine.
- No money or gifts for changed reviews, and never make a goodwill gesture depend on it.
- No personal data in public replies. Move details to email.
The legal details
- EU: misrepresenting consumer reviews is banned since 28 May 2022 (Directive 2019/2161; its recital 49 names “only publishing positive reviews and deleting negative ones”). Germany also requires saying whether and how you check that reviews are genuine (§ 5b(3) UWG).
- UK: fake and misleading reviews are banned under the DMCC Act 2024 since 6 April 2025. The CMA’s guidance (CMA208) names offering a refund or voucher for removing a negative review as banned.
- A public “we always replace it” can count as a guarantee to every reader (EU Directive 2019/771 Art. 17, § 443 BGB, UK Consumer Rights Act s. 30). Presenting legal rights as your special feature is banned in the EU and UK.
- Damage in transit is the seller’s risk until delivery (EU Directive 2011/83 Art. 20; UK Consumer Rights Act s. 29).
Did it work?
Today: reply to the three worst reviews on your three best-selling products. In four weeks, check two things: did any of those reviewers update their review, and do new bad reviews still ask for what you changed in line 3? If the same complaint keeps coming, line 3 wasn’t a real change yet.
Where the numbers come from
- A perfect 5.0 sells worse than 4.2–4.5: Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center with PowerReviews, “From Reviews to Revenue” (2015). Their explanation: shoppers see ratings close to 5.0 as “too good to be true”.
- 82% of shoppers specifically look for negative reviews: PowerReviews survey (2014).
- Domino’s: in December 2009, customers’ complaint that its pizza tasted like cardboard went into Domino’s own ads, together with a new recipe. In the first quarter of 2010, its US same-store sales rose 14.3% compared with a year before (SEC filing, 4 May 2010).
- Hotels that started replying to reviews got 0.12 stars more and 12% more reviews, and fewer negative ones (Proserpio & Zervas, Marketing Science, 2017).