Google review management for a hair salon
A hair salon lives on its local reputation. Asterias follows your Google reviews live, writes an answer that picks up what the customer actually mentioned (the stylist named, a colour that worked, the waiting time), and leaves every decision below four stars to you.
Why it’s different for a hair salon
In a salon, most bad reviews are not about a technical mistake. They are about the gap between what was asked for and what was understood, which is what makes them delicate to handle in public.
The four recurring complaints
The colour that is not the one in the photo
The number one cause, and the one where the reply turns on a single word. Apologising for a mistake concedes one where there may not have been any; explaining that blonde does not go over a dark base in one session reads as a lecture. The reply acknowledges the disappointment, notes that lightening is often built over several appointments, and offers to continue the work without setting terms in public.
Too short
Irreversible and experienced as such, which explains how sharp some of these reviews are. Here the reply argues nothing: it acknowledges, offers to see the person again to work on the shape, and stops. Any justification makes worse a feeling they will see in the mirror for three months.
The price, discovered at the till
Almost always a length, technique or product supplement that was not announced. The reply does not defend the price, it accepts that the amount should have been said beforehand, which is true, and says what changes in the salon. One of the rare reviews where a promise about process beats an apology.
Waiting, or an appointment that overran
Common on Saturdays. The reply explains that a salon books to average durations and that a colour behaving badly pushes everything back, suggests the quietest days and times, and does not promise it will never happen again.
Two replies, in full
I came in with a photo of ash blonde, I left orange. I was told that was normal. It is not what I asked for.
Hello, and thank you for writing it down, unpleasant as it is to read. Leaving with a colour that is not the one you came in for is a real disappointment and we understand it. On a dark base, lightening almost always goes through several stages before reaching the target tone, and those warm tones are the first of them: that is something you should have been told clearly before we started, not afterwards. Call us on [phone] and we will book you in to carry the work through to the result you wanted.
It says neither "that is normal" nor "we got it wrong". It explains the process, accepts the real failing, which was the information not given, and offers a concrete next step.
First time at the salon and I came out delighted. Léa understood exactly what I wanted even though I explained it very badly.
Thank you so much, and that compliment goes straight to the point: understanding what someone wants when they do not have the words for it is the heart of the job. We will pass it on to Léa. See you very soon.
It names the stylist and picks up what was actually said, rather than thanking someone for "your trust". Three lines are enough.
When the reviews arrive
Saturday produces the most reviews, in both directions: it is the day of volume, of waiting, and also the day clients take the time to write in the evening.
May and June concentrate weddings and ceremonies, so emotionally loaded requests and sharper reviews than the rest of the year.
September and January are the months of a change of look, so colours and short cuts, so reviews about the gap between expected and obtained.
December brings festive volume, with tight slots and more complaints about waiting.
Every rating, its own treatment
4 and 5 stars
Answered automatically
A personal thank-you that picks up what the customer liked, published after a natural delay. Nothing for you to do.
3 stars
You approve
Asterias drafts an answer that acknowledges the problem and gives a reason to come back. It lands on WhatsApp or Telegram: one button to publish, one to rewrite.
1 and 2 stars
Nothing without you
Never published automatically by default. You get the review and a suggested reply. Send it, rewrite it, or let it go.
Common questions
A client says the colour went wrong. Should you apologise?
Acknowledge the disappointment, yes. Apologise for a mistake, only if there was one. On a multi-session lightening the failing is not technical, it is in the information not given beforehand. That is what the reply accepts, and that is what makes it credible.
Can you offer a free correction in the reply?
Offering an appointment, yes. Announcing that it is free in public, no: it turns the listing into a complaints desk and attracts reviews written to get a gesture. Terms are settled on the phone.
Should ratings with no comment be answered?
Asterias deliberately does not. A listing where every bare star carries the same thank you is exactly what an automatic reply looks like. You are told when a bare rating arrives, though, because one star with no words is worth knowing about.
Are reviews naming a particular stylist a problem?
No, they are an asset: they are what a new client reads to decide who to book with. The reply picks the name up, which is only possible if it is written from the review rather than from a template.
Try it on your own reviews
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