The best time to ask for a review is right after the customer has finished the thing you did for them, while it is still fresh. For a service, that means the same visit. For something you ship or install, it means after they have had a chance to use it, usually a few days later. Ask too early and they have nothing to say. Ask too late and the moment is gone.
Review-platform guides from outfits like Trustist and Gleam land in the same place: service businesses should ask shortly after the service, in-store purchases can wait a day or two, and physical products need a few days with the customer. None of this is exact science, so treat the numbers below as starting points to test.
Why timing changes the review you get
Memory fades quickly. A customer who sat at your table an hour ago can tell you the soup was cold and the waiter was kind. The same customer a week later writes "good place, would go again" or, more likely, nothing.
Timing also changes how much effort the ask needs. At the counter, a customer has a phone in hand and a few idle seconds. Three days later you are competing with their inbox.
Timing rules by business type
Restaurants and cafes. Ask at the table or the till, as the bill is settled. A card or stand near the payment point turns this into a two-second action. Our restaurant review playbook covers placement.
Salons, clinics and other appointments. Ask as they leave, while they are looking in the mirror or standing at reception. The result is visible and the mood is usually at its peak.
Home services and repairs. Ask when you hand over the finished job, then send a short follow-up the same day by text. The customer has just seen the work and you are still standing there. See review management for home service businesses.
Retail and in-store purchases. At the till if they are happy to scan, otherwise a message a day or two later.
Products you ship. Wait until it has arrived and been used. Several days is typical, longer for anything that takes setup.
Software and subscriptions. Ask after a first real win, such as the first completed task, not on day one.
Time of day and channel
If you ask by email or text, send it when people are likely to look at their phone: early evening for a business that closes mid-afternoon often beats a message that lands during their working day. Test two send times for a month and compare how many people open the review page.
Channel matters as much as clock time. In person and QR requests work at the point of service. Messages work later. QR code vs review link vs email breaks down which fits which moment, and how to ask customers for reviews has the wording.
What about a second nudge?
One reminder is fine for message-based requests. If a customer didn't respond within a few days, a single short follow-up is reasonable. A third message is where you start to annoy people. Never chase someone who has already told you about a problem privately; deal with the problem first.
The line you must not cross
Good timing is not the same as picking your moment to catch only happy customers. Google's policies prohibit selectively soliciting people you expect to be positive, and they prohibit rewards for reviews. Ask everyone at the same point in the visit, with the same request, and let them say what they think.
Our write-up of review gating shows where the line sits.
Make the moment automatic
The weakness of any timing rule is that it relies on staff remembering. A busy Friday will beat good intentions. Put the ask into the process: a code on the counter, one on the receipt, one in the job-complete text.
A QR rating flow helps here because the customer taps their stars at the exact moment they are standing there, then chooses whether the feedback goes to a public profile or privately to you. Every customer sees the same choice.
Pick one timing rule for each service you offer, write it on a card by the till, and run it for 30 days before changing anything.