Key takeaways
- Reviews on FIG come only from diners whose visit was scanned, so each one is about a real visit. You can reply in public.
- Reviews show the diner's first name and last initial. You never see a diner's phone number or email.
- Answer in a few lines: thank, be specific, say what you will do, and keep it calm. Write for the next reader, not just the writer.
- One low rating moves the average less than it feels like. Ten 5-star reviews and one 1-star give 4.64; thirty and one give 4.87.
- Paying FIG never hides, changes or reorders a review. A fair reply is the only tool you have, and it is a good one.
The short answer
Reply to every review with the same four steps: thank the person, name something specific, say what you will do if there is something to fix, and stop. Keep it to a few lines and write it for the next person who reads it, because most readers are future diners deciding whether to come. On FIG, reviews come only from diners whose visit was scanned, and you can reply in public. Ten minutes a week is enough for most small restaurants.
The examples below are templates to adapt. They are not quotes from real diners or real restaurants.
What you can and cannot see
| On FIG | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Reviews come only from scanned visits | Each review is about a real visit, one per visit. You are not answering people who never came |
| Restaurants get stars, deals get likes | A low star rating is about the visit. A low-liked deal is about the offer. Reply to each on its own terms |
| You can reply in public | Everyone who reads the review reads your answer too |
| You see a first name and last initial | Never a phone number or email. Do not ask for contact details to resolve something |
Paying FIG never hides, changes or reorders a review. You cannot remove a review you dislike, which is exactly why diners can trust the ones they read. How diners read a page.
Why replies matter more than the rating
A calm, specific reply to a bad review tells a future diner more about your restaurant than ten five-star ratings do. They are reading to find out two things: is the food good, and what happens when something goes wrong. A good answer to the second question can win a diner who would otherwise skip you.
The reader to write for is not the person who complained. That person has already decided. It is the stranger scrolling at 5 pm, deciding where to eat.
What a diner sees next to your reply
At the top of your reviews a diner sees the average, the number of reviews and five bars from 5 stars down to 1. They can sort by Newest, to see how you are doing now, or by Lowest, to see what goes wrong when it goes wrong. Our guide for diners suggests reading a couple of the low ones and how the restaurant replied, so that is where your reply does the most work. Read yours as a stranger would. How diners read a restaurant's reviews.
The arithmetic of one low rating
It helps to know how much a single low review moves your average, so a bad night does not feel bigger than it is.
| Reviews so far | Total stars | Average before | Average after one 1-star |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 reviews, all 5 stars | 20 | 5.00 | 21 ÷ 5 = 4.20 |
| 10 reviews, all 5 stars | 50 | 5.00 | 51 ÷ 11 = 4.64 |
| 30 reviews, all 5 stars | 150 | 5.00 | 151 ÷ 31 = 4.87 |
These are round example numbers. A new restaurant feels one bad review a lot. A restaurant with many reviews barely moves. Either way, the bars show the whole shape of your ratings, not just the average, and the reply shows what you do about it.
Replying to a good review
A good review is easy to answer and easy to get wrong. Avoid a copy-and-paste "Thanks for your feedback!" every time. Three lines are enough.
"Thank you, [first name]. We are glad you enjoyed the [dish you named]. We hope to see you again on a quiet afternoon."
Name the dish or the detail they mentioned. If they praised a team member, pass it on and say you did. Do not offer a discount in the reply: let the deal speak for itself.
Replying to a bad review
Take a breath before you type. A reply written in anger lives on the page for years.
- Thank and acknowledge. "Thank you for telling us, [first name]. We are sorry the wait was long."
- Be specific, not defensive. Say what you understand happened: "A tour group arrived at the same time as the lunch rush." One sentence of context is fine. A paragraph of excuses is not.
- Say what changes. "We now add prep time when the room fills, so wait times are honest." If nothing will change, do not promise it.
- Invite them back, once. "We would like another chance." Then stop.
"Thank you for telling us, [first name]. We are sorry the service was slow on your visit. We were short-staffed that evening and should have said so at the door. We have since changed how we handle busy nights. We hope you will give us another try."
Do not argue facts in public, do not name staff, and do not share anything about the diner's order beyond what they wrote. If the review is unfair, one calm correction is enough, such as "Our kitchen is closed on Mondays, so we think this may be about another restaurant."
Replying to a rating with no words
A diner on FIG picks the stars and can add a few words or a photo if they like, so some reviews are only a rating. One line is enough for a good one. For a low rating with no words, do not guess what went wrong: say you are sorry the visit fell short, say you would like to do better, and stop. A long reply to a silent one-star rating reads as defensive.
"Thank you for rating your visit, [first name]. We are sorry it fell short, and we would like another chance to get it right."
If the review has a photo, thank them for it and talk about the dish, not the diner.
When a review is really about the deal
Restaurants get stars and deals get likes, so a star rating is about the visit. Diners still sometimes use their words to talk about the offer: "the 2-for-1 only covered one dish." Each deal shows its days, hours and dishes, so your reply can say what the deal covers, once, in plain words. If it was unclear, say so, and fix the deal's wording, because the next diner will read it the same way.
"Thank you, [first name]. We are sorry the deal was not clear. It covers the [dish] on [days] between [hours], and we have made that easier to see."
How much time it takes
- 5 reviews a week, about 3 minutes each: 15 minutes.
- 15 minutes × 52 weeks = 780 minutes, or 13 hours a year.
- If a dull week has none, you spend none.
Use your own volume. Most small restaurants will have fewer, especially at first.
Set a time. Ten minutes at the end of a Tuesday shift is better than a hundred good intentions. Give one person ownership, and a second for holidays.
A reply checklist
- Did I thank them by first name?
- Did I mention something specific from their review?
- Am I writing for the next reader as well as for them?
- Did I avoid blaming the diner or the staff?
- If there is something to fix, did I say what I will do, and will I do it?
- Is it short enough to read in ten seconds?
Turn feedback into changes
Over a month, patterns show up. Three people say the wait was long on Thursdays? Look at your staffing, or add takeout prep time. Several diners ask about the same deal? Make the details clearer. A deal nobody likes after two weeks? Change the dish or the hours. Your insights show views, claims and the diners who came back, and your reviews tell you why. How to judge a deal by new and returning diners. A ten-minute staff plan can fix a lot of counter problems before they become reviews.
FIG opens to diners in Markham on January 1, 2027, and reviews come from scanned visits, so yours start after that. Restaurants set up first: you can add your page and menu before then.
Questions
Can I reply to reviews on FIG?
Yes. Restaurants can reply to reviews in public.
Can I delete a bad review?
No. Paying FIG never hides, changes or reorders a review. Reviews come only from diners whose visit was scanned.
Who can leave a review?
Only diners whose visit was scanned, one review per visit. Reviews show the diner's first name and last initial.
Can I reply to a rating that has no words?
Yes. Restaurants can reply to reviews in public. For a rating with no words, keep it to a line or two and do not guess what went wrong.
How should I answer a bad review?
Thank them, be specific, say what you will change and invite them back once. Keep it calm and short, and write for the next reader.
How much does one low rating change my average?
Less than it feels like. In the example in this post, one 1-star among ten 5-star reviews gives 4.64, and among thirty gives 4.87.
Should I offer a discount in a reply?
Usually not. Let the deal speak for itself, and focus on what you will fix.
