Trades › Roofing
Automated Review Engine for Roofers
Every happy customer gets asked at the right moment. Unhappy ones reach you first — never Google.
The Roofing version of this problem
Roofers get hired on trust, and trust starts with stars. The best moment to ask is the day the crew pulls out and the yard is cleaner than they found it — the system just has to remember to ask, because you won't.
A homeowner choosing between two shops they know nothing about looks at one thing: reviews. Not your trucks, not your certifications — stars and recent reviews. And here's the uncomfortable truth: your happy customers would leave a review if anyone asked. Almost nobody asks. So your review count reflects your forgetfulness, not your quality.
What the Automated Review Engine does
The Review Engine asks every customer privately first: 'How did we do today? Reply 1 to 5.' Customers who indicate a great experience get routed straight to your Google review link. Anyone less happy gets a personal follow-up from you within minutes — while you can still fix it, before it becomes a public one-star. The ask goes out in the window after the job when goodwill is highest, and suppression rules keep you from asking the same customer twice in a row.
How it works
Step 1: Define the 'job complete' trigger
Invoice paid, work order closed, job marked complete — whatever your real completion signal is. The review ask must fire on reality, not on someone remembering to click something.
Step 2: Set the timing
A couple of hours after completion is the sweet spot for most trades — the relief is fresh. Coordinate with your dispatch texts so the customer doesn't get two messages back-to-back.
Step 3: Build the private survey gate
One text: 'How did we do today? Reply 1-5.' Fours and fives get the Google link. Anything lower alerts you directly with the customer's name and job.
Step 4: Verify the Google review URL
Click through it yourself. The number of review engines that route to a broken or wrong link is embarrassing — verify it once and check it quarterly.
Step 5: Set suppression
One ask per customer per window (90 days is a sane default). Asking after every single visit trains people to ignore you.
What your customer experiences
The job's done, the tech just left, and the homeowner's phone buzzes: 'Thanks for trusting [Shop] today — how did we do? Reply 1-5.' They tap 5 and land on your Google review page while the goodwill is fresh. Ten seconds of their time, and your star count compounds while you sleep.
What it costs to run
Most shops run their full automation stack for about $50–$97/month in tools — roughly the cost of a tank of gas. The Starter Pack lays out the exact tool setup with the honest cost picture, no upsell. And the first system — the Missed-Call Safety Net — is free: the PDF walks you through the 45-minute setup with the scripts, the registration steps, and a worksheet to run your own numbers.
Questions roofers ask
Should we offer a discount for reviews?
No. Incentivized reviews violate Google's policies and train customers to expect a bribe. Ask at the right moment and make it frictionless — that's the whole trick.
What if we get a bad review anyway?
Respond to it publicly, briefly, and professionally — then fix the underlying issue. A thoughtful owner response on a rare bad review builds more trust than a wall of unanswered five-stars.
How do we handle the unhappy responses?
Fast and personally. The system alerts you within minutes with the customer's name. Call them, listen, make it right. Most would-be one-stars never get written when the owner calls first.
Our leads spike after storms. Can this handle the surge?
That's when it matters most. After a hailstorm every roofer in town is slammed, and the one whose system instantly acknowledges each caller and books inspections in order wins the week. The automation doesn't get overwhelmed — it just keeps working through the queue while you're on roofs.