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How to Respond to Negative Roofing Company Reviews
Online roofer reviews can make or break a homeowner’s decision to hire you. Nearly half of consumers say they don’t leave reviews because they don’t think it will make a difference — meaning the reviews that do show up often come from people with strong feelings, good or bad.
Roofing companies must be intentional about managing their online reputation. Whether you’re reading through roofing company reviews, responding to negative feedback or encouraging satisfied customers to speak up, how you engage with online reviews can directly impact your business’s credibility and growth.
Let’s walk through four steps to follow that give you a proactive approach to handling reviews on roofing contractors.
Prevent
The ideal situation is for your business to avoid negative reviews in the first place. But it’s impossible to control what other people will say about your business. What you can control is how your business is perceived and the expectations you set with your customers. Here are some tips to ensure you take a proactive approach to avoiding negative roofing reviews. 
Over-Communicate
Set clear expectations regarding the installation schedule. If the homeowner seems to have reservations about your proposed schedule, walk through their concerns to find a timeframe that works best.
Establish a communication cadence where you check in with the homeowner before, during and after the job. The more the homeowner knows what’s happening on top of their home, the better.
Verify that you are up to date on knowing the warranty and product information for all the materials you plan to install. Working with a loyalty program like ROOFPRO can help qualify your business for extended warranties, which may be attractive to homeowners.
React to Problems Quickly
If issues arise, tell the homeowner right away. This includes anything from delays in material shipments, inclement weather throwing off your installation schedule and damage to the home.
Own the situation. Homeowners respect contractors who take some responsibility for delays on the job, as long as you also work to resolve the issue right away.
Minimize Call-Backs
You’re working on another job when the homeowner of the roof you worked on last week calls and asks you to inspect the shingles you just installed. It happens all the time! Even the best roofers can’t eliminate them.
Here are some recommendations to help you reduce call-backs in the future:
- Set client expectations: Many callbacks are related to unrealistic expectations. Defining your scope of work before you begin can give homeowners a clear picture of your role and help cut out complaints that are out of your scope.
- Follow best practices: This is a no-brainer — use proven techniques and quality materials when installing a new roof. The long-term effects of using reliable materials can help you win over homeowners.
- Schedule a call-back: Avoid an unexpected call-back by scheduling an after-service appointment. Go through an inspection checklist with the homeowner to help them gain confidence that their roof is in good condition.
Address Common Complaints
If you’ve received a negative roofing review in the past, take note of the complaints and do your best to focus on them in the future. For example, if you’ve gotten a handful of negative reviews about delays, try to establish clear expectations on project timelines.
Encourage Positive Reviews
It’s good practice to ask for positive reviews. Joe Mischler, Co-Owner and General Manager of Neill and Son Roofing, recommends asking personally and promptly.
“Ideally, the Project Success Manager or whoever has the strongest rapport with the customer should ask for the review within a day or two of job completion — after confirming they’re satisfied.”
You can pick and choose who you ask for a review. If the homeowner had an excellent experience with your services, send them a direct link to your review website. If you can tell they were irritated or disappointed with your service, send them a feedback survey that won’t appear publicly. That way, you can still learn how to improve without risking your online reputation.
Monitor
It can be easy for negative roofing reviews to slip through the cracks if you’re not looking for them. Fortunately, you can use a variety of online tools to help track down the reviews that may be harming your business’s reputation.
- Monitor review platforms: If you have a Google Business Profile, you’ll also want to look for reviews there. Also scan major review sites like Yelp, Angi and Trustpilot for negative reviews.
- Check social media pages: Consumers often leave reviews directly on a business’s social media channel. If you have a presence on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or Instagram, you’ll need to check these pages regularly.
- Utilize tracking tools: If you don’t want to have to click through all of these pages and review sites, you may want to invest in review tracking software. Tools like Brandwatch, Sprout Social and Google Alerts can give you a snapshot of reviews from across multiple platforms in a single location.
Respond
If you’ve monitored your review channels and found negative reviews, don’t panic! No matter how many preventative measures you’ve taken, it’s impossible to satisfy everyone. But how you respond to negative reviews is just as important as how you behave on the job.
When dealing with negative reviews, we recommend following the Five Ps:
- Prompt: Respond to negative reviews as soon as you find them. Make your response public, likely as a direct comment to the review. Shapo recommends aiming to respond within 24 to 48 hours to show that you value feedback.
- Polite: Maintain a courteous and respectful tone in your response. Don’t get defensive, even if the complaint is an unfair representation of your business. Create an environment of understanding, not an argument. Other homeowners will look at how you react and respond to negative reviews, which will influence their decision to work with you in the future.
- Private: After responding to the initial review, consider reaching out to the customer directly via either email or by phone to fully understand their perspective. One-on-one conversations can uncover the root of their misunderstanding and even reveal simple solutions.
- Personal: Make the response specific to the customer’s situation. There’s nothing worse than complaining about a service and getting an automated response in return, so make sure the customer feels understood in your response. Call them by name, reference their pain points directly and offer to follow up privately.
- Professional: No matter what, always maintain a professional approach in your communication. Trying to be too casual may give the impression that you’re not taking the complaint seriously.
Follow-Up
After you’ve made contact with the customer who left a negative review of your business, ask them if they would be willing to resolve their original review. If you left the customer satisfied, they can update their review to speak positively about how you handled the situation.
Make sure to leave a comment on their updated review to thank them for being open and communicative throughout the process.
Once you’ve followed up, it’s time to rinse and repeat. Properly managing your negative reviews is just one of many ways to enhance your professional reputation, helping homeowners choose and recommend your services with confidence.
Reputation Built Right
Reviews on roofing contractors are much more than public opinion — they’re about trust. By tracking and responding to roofing company reviews, encouraging satisfied homeowners to speak up and using each review as a learning opportunity, you can transform roofer reviews from a risk into a reliable tool for building credibility.
It’s all part of what makes your business stand out in a competitive market — and gives future customers a reason to trust your team.
Want to know more about how IKO can help you manage your business reputation? Find out how becoming a ROOFPRO can give your roofing company an advantage in the marketplace.
