Automated review requests, with the guardrails built in.
Automating the ask is easy. Automating it without annoying customers, tripping a carrier filter, or breaking Google's rules is the part that takes real plumbing. Every rule below is enforced in our database, not in a checklist.
- 30-day cooldown per customer
- Auto-stop after a review
- STOP honored instantly
- US · CA · MX
Most automation failures are not technical. They are governance failures.
The classic version: a list gets imported twice, the same customer receives four requests in a week, one of them replies with something unprintable, and the owner turns the whole system off. The automation worked exactly as built. Nobody built the rules.
So we put the rules where they cannot be bypassed. A customer asked in the last thirty days cannot be queued again. A customer who has already reviewed is suppressed permanently. A customer who replied STOP is suppressed permanently. Consent has to exist before any send. These are database constraints — a bug in the sending code cannot get around them.
Timing is treated the same way. Requests only go out during business hours in the customer's own timezone, spaced and randomized so a carrier sees a working business rather than a blast, and sent at the hour your particular list has historically clicked.
The messages themselves keep improving. Each variant is tested against the one measure that counts — reviews actually posted, not opens — and the sender shifts toward whatever earns them for your trade and your area.
The rules, in order of how often they save you
- 01Thirty-day cooldownNo customer can be asked twice inside thirty days, no matter how many times they appear in an import or how many jobs close.
- 02Suppression on reviewThe moment a customer's review shows up on the profile, every queued and future request for them is cancelled.
- 03Opt-out is permanentA STOP reply suppresses that number forever, across every campaign, without anyone needing to remember to remove them.
- 04Consent and geographyConsent is required before a first send, and numbers outside the US, Canada and Mexico are refused outright for 10DLC compliance.
Automation with and without guardrails
| DIY automation | RapidLocal | |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate asks | Common after any import | Blocked at the database |
| Already reviewed | Keeps getting messaged | Suppressed automatically |
| Opt-outs | Manual list | Permanent, instant |
| Send timing | Whenever the job closes | Business hours, best-click hour |
| Message testing | Set and forget | Tuned against reviews posted |
| Gating unhappy customers | Frequently offered | Never — policy violation |
Common questions
How often can you ask a customer for a review?
Once, then leave them alone. We enforce a thirty-day cooldown per customer and suppress them permanently once they review or opt out, so repeat jobs never turn into repeat nagging.
Are automated review request texts legal?
Yes, with consent and a working opt-out. We require consent before a first send, honor STOP immediately and permanently, and only message US, Canada and Mexico numbers to stay inside 10DLC rules.
Text or email — which works better?
Text, by a wide margin, for most local service work. Customers without a mobile number get an email carrying the same branded request, so nobody is skipped.
What happens if a customer replies to the message?
Replies land in your inbox on the dashboard. STOP is processed automatically; anything else is a real conversation and gets routed to you.
Can I control how aggressive the follow-ups are?
Yes — gentle, standard, or assertive. That setting changes spacing and how many touches a non-responder gets before the sequence stops.
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Last reviewed and updated by the RapidLocal team.
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