Automatic review requests email your customers a few days after a booking is checked out and ask them to review your business on Google or Facebook. Each email has a button for the review site you choose. Once a customer clicks a button, says they have already reviewed you, or you mark them as having reviewed, they are never asked again. You set it up once in Email settings.
Automatic review requests: where to find them
Go to Settings, then Email settings, and scroll to the Review requests section. Staff who can open Settings can change it. Review requests are only sent from paid accounts, so a trial account does not send them.
The wording of the email is a template called Review Request Template (type Review Request). You edit it with your other email templates under Settings, then Email templates.
On each customer page, in the Communication Preferences area, there is a tick called Has already reviewed us - don't send review requests.
What automatic review requests do
Send one email per customer, a set number of days after their booking is checked out, with a Google button and/or a Facebook button.
Record when the customer clicks a button, so they are not asked again.
Give the customer an "Already left us a review? Let us know" link, which stops further requests when they press its button.
Let you tick a customer as having already reviewed you, for the customer who tells you at the door.
Add an unsubscribe link to the bottom of every email.
How to switch on automatic review requests
Open Settings, then Email settings, and find Review requests.
In Google review link, paste your Google review link. To get it, open your Google Business Profile, choose Ask for reviews (sometimes Get more reviews) and copy the link it gives you.
If you want a Facebook button too, paste your Facebook page address with /reviews on the end into Facebook review link. Leave it blank to show only Google.
In Days after checkout, choose how long after checkout the email goes. Most kennels use 1 to 3 days. The default is 3 and you can choose 0 to 60.
In Ask the same customer again after (days), choose how long to wait before asking a customer who never clicked. The default is 180 and you can choose 0 to 3650.
Turn on Send review requests and press Save.
Links must start with https://, have no spaces and be no longer than 500 characters. If you try to turn review requests on without any link, or save a link that is not valid, the page does not save at all, including your other email settings, and you see a red message under the Review requests section. Fix the link and save again.
What your customer gets from a review request
The default email has the subject "How was [pet name]'s visit to [your business name]?". It thanks the customer, asks for a review, shows a Review us on Google button and a Review us on Facebook button, and says "If there is anything we could have done better, just reply to this email". Replies go to your reply-to address, the same as your other emails.
Both buttons go through a KennelBooker link, which records the customer's first click, and then send them on to your own Google or Facebook review page. The email also has an "Already left us a review? Let us know" link. That link opens a page asking "Already left us a review?" with one button, Yes, I've already left a review. Pressing it stops all further requests and shows a thank-you message. Just opening the page does not.
The email is sent from your own sending address, in the same way as your booking emails. A small line at the bottom says "Prefer not to get emails like this?" with an Unsubscribe link. Using it turns off the customer's Marketing Emails tick, so they are not sent review requests or other marketing emails.
Who is asked for a review, and who never is
A customer is sent a review request when all of these are true:
Their booking has been checked out and its checkout date falls within the window you set with Days after checkout.
They have an email address that has not failed or been marked as spam, and their Booking Notifications and Marketing Emails ticks are both on.
They are not deleted and are not blocked from booking online.
They have never clicked a review button, said they have already reviewed you, or been ticked by staff.
They have not been sent a review request within the last number of days you chose in Ask the same customer again after (days).
No incident is logged on that booking.
Sales (retail sales) and cremation bookings never get a review request. If a customer has several checked-out bookings at the same time, they get one email, for their most recent booking, and each booking is only ever asked about once.
A customer who is ticked as already reviewed, or who has clicked a button, is skipped for good.
Marking a customer as already reviewed
Open the customer from Customers.
In Communication Preferences, tick Has already reviewed us - don't send review requests. It saves straight away, without pressing Save.
Under the tick, a line shows when the last review request was sent and whether the customer opened the Google or Facebook link or said they had already reviewed you. To start asking them again, untick it. The tick only shows for an existing customer, and only if review requests are switched on or the customer already has request history.
Editing the review request email
Open Settings, then Email templates, and edit Review Request Template. It works like your other templates, so your usual placeholders such as the customer's first name, the pet names and your business name work in it. These four are specific to review requests:
[review_buttons] shows the Google and Facebook buttons, for whichever links you have saved.
[review_google_link] is the Google link on its own, to use inside a link you build yourself.
[review_facebook_link] is the Facebook link on its own.
[review_already_link] is the "I've already reviewed you" link.
Use these placeholders instead of pasting your review link into the template. The placeholder links record the click, so the customer is not asked again. A link pasted straight in will not be tracked.
What automatic review requests do not do
They do not pick only happy customers. Every eligible customer gets the same email. Google does not allow asking only customers you expect to be happy, so there is no filter by how the visit went.
They do not collect or show reviews. The review is written on Google or Facebook. KennelBooker does not read it, show it or know what it says.
They cannot tell whether a customer actually left a review. They know about a click, or what the customer or you tell it.
They do not send text messages or app notifications. Review requests are emails only.
They do not send to customers who have not ticked Marketing Emails, and they do not send from trial accounts.
They do not catch up on old bookings. When you switch them on, only bookings whose checkout date is in the last few days are asked. Older checkouts are not.
They do not send a reminder. Each booking is asked once.
They are not translated. The review page and the unsubscribe line are in English. The email itself uses your template wording.
Troubleshooting automatic review requests
"Add your Google or Facebook review link before switching review requests on."
You turned on Send review requests without a link. Paste at least one link into Google review link or Facebook review link and save again.
"Review links must be full web addresses starting with https:// (no spaces), up to 500 characters."
One of the links is not valid. Copy it again from Google or Facebook, make sure it starts with https:// and has no spaces, and save again.
"Review request settings couldn't be saved just now. Everything else on this page was saved."
Try pressing Save again. If it keeps happening, contact support.
A customer says they didn't get the review email
Check that their email address is correct, that Booking Notifications and Marketing Emails are ticked on their customer page, and that nobody has ticked Has already reviewed us. Also check that the booking was checked out within the last few days and has no incident logged. Ask them to look in spam. A customer who has already clicked a review button in an earlier email is not sent another.
A customer got a review request but had already reviewed us
KennelBooker cannot see Google or Facebook, so it only knows what the customer clicks or what you tick. Tick Has already reviewed us on their customer page and they will not be asked again.
Nobody is getting review requests at all
Check that Send review requests is on and saved, that at least one valid link is saved, that your account is a paid account, and that you have checked out bookings in the window you set in Days after checkout. If all of that is right, contact support.
The review button in the email does not open my review page
Check the link saved in Google review link or Facebook review link by opening it yourself, and replace it if it does not work. If you removed a link after emails went out, the customer sees a thank-you page instead.
Automatic review requests: frequently asked questions
Do automatic review requests cost extra?
No. Automatic review requests are included for paid accounts and the emails do not use any extra allowance.
Can I choose which customers get a review request?
Not one by one. Every eligible customer is asked. You can stop a single customer being asked by ticking Has already reviewed us on their customer page, or by turning off their Marketing Emails tick.
Can I send review requests only to customers who had a good stay?
No. Every eligible customer gets the same email. Google does not allow asking only customers you expect to be happy. Anyone unhappy is invited to reply to the email, which comes to you.
How long after checkout is the email sent?
You choose, with Days after checkout. The default is 3 days and you can choose 0 to 60. The email goes out on the day it is due, based on the booking's checkout date and your business's local time.
Will a customer be asked every time they stay?
No. A customer who has clicked a review button, said they have already reviewed you, or been ticked by staff is never asked again. A customer who was sent a request but never clicked is asked again only after the number of days in Ask the same customer again after (days), 180 by default.
Does the customer need to log in to leave a review?
Not to open the link from KennelBooker. Google and Facebook may ask them to sign in to their own account to post a review.
Can I use only Google, or only Facebook?
Yes. Save only the link you want. The email shows a button for each link that is saved.
Where do I find my Google review link?
Open your Google Business Profile, choose Ask for reviews (sometimes Get more reviews) and copy the link it gives you. Paste it into Google review link in Email settings.
Can I change the wording of the email?
Yes. Edit Review Request Template under Settings, then Email templates. Keep the placeholders such as [review_buttons] so the links stay tracked.
Does the customer see an unsubscribe link?
Yes. Every review request has an Unsubscribe link at the bottom. Using it turns off the customer's Marketing Emails tick.
Are review requests sent for daycare, grooming and other services, or only boarding?
For every checked-out service except sales and cremation. Boarding, daycare, grooming and other visits all count.
Will it ask customers who have an incident logged on their booking?
No. If an incident is logged against that booking, the customer is not sent a review request for it.
Can I see who was sent a review request?
On each customer page, the line under Has already reviewed us shows when the last request was sent and whether they clicked. There is no report of all requests at the moment.
Can I turn review requests off?
Yes. Turn off Send review requests in Email settings and press Save. Your links and settings are kept.
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