> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.servicebooked.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The review funnel

> How a star tap becomes a public review — and how to choose what happens to unhappy customers.

When a customer taps a star on your review page, what happens next depends on the **funnel mode** you choose in **Reputation → Settings**. Every mode is built to grow your public reviews — they differ only in how a low rating (1–3★) is handled.

## Funnel modes

### All → public review (default, recommended)

Every customer — whatever they tapped — is taken straight to your Google review page. Nobody is filtered out.

This is the default and the **Google-policy-safe** choice. Google's review policies prohibit "review gating" (steering only happy customers toward public reviews), so sending everyone to Google keeps you on the right side of the rules.

### Feedback first

Happy customers (4–5★) go straight to Google. Unhappy customers (1–3★) first see a private feedback form — they tell you what went wrong — and are then **still offered** the public review link.

You get an early heads-up on bad experiences *and* stay compliant, because the public path is never withheld. Their feedback also lands:

* In your **inbox** as a conversation
* On the contact's **interactions** timeline
* As a **notification** to your owners and admins

You see it within seconds, so you can call, email, or fix the problem before it festers.

### Filter low ratings

Happy customers go to Google; unhappy customers (1–3★) see the private feedback form **only** — they are not offered the public link.

<Warning>
  This is **review gating**, and it violates Google's review policies. Google can remove the affected reviews or suspend your Business Profile. The setting exists for completeness, but we don't recommend it — use **All → public review** or **Feedback first** instead.
</Warning>

## Is this compliant?

**All → public** and **Feedback first** are compliant: every customer can reach your public review page. **Filter low ratings** is the gating mode — it withholds the public path from unhappy customers, which Google prohibits.

Whatever mode you choose, the rule that matters is: **acknowledge negative feedback**. When you collect private feedback, respond within 24 hours — that's how you turn an unhappy customer back to neutral or positive.

## Setting your Google review URL

The redirect target is your Google review URL, set in **Reputation → Settings → Google review link**. It's the same field as **Settings → Business** and what the onboarding wizard collects — set it in any one place and it applies everywhere. Get the URL by:

1. Going to your Google Business Profile.
2. Clicking **Get more reviews**.
3. Copying the link (usually `https://g.page/r/<long-id>/review`).

If you connect your Google Business Profile, that link is used automatically and this manual field is the fallback.

For non-Google destinations (e.g., Yelp, Trustpilot), see [Google Business Profile setup](/reputation/google-business-profile) — we currently support Google as the primary destination; multi-platform is on the roadmap.

## What if they don't tap a star?

The page shows the five stars and a short prompt. If they leave without tapping, nothing happens — no negative impact, just no feedback collected. They can return later via the same link (links don't expire).

## Privacy in private feedback

When a customer submits 1–3★ feedback (in **Feedback first** or **Filter low ratings**), we record their star rating, text feedback, IP address, user-agent, and timestamp — for fraud prevention (same-IP spam) and audit. It's visible only to you (org owners and admins) and never shared externally. If a customer asks for deletion, deleting the contact removes their feedback with it.

## Replying to reviews

Collecting private feedback is separate from replying to the public reviews you receive on Google. To draft and post replies from ServiceBooked, connect your Google Business Profile.

## Next

<Card title="Connect Google Business Profile" icon="link" href="/reputation/google-business-profile">
  How to get your Google review URL and enable review replies.
</Card>