How to collect customer reviews: a QR code instead of asking

The most common conversation with a beautician who has 200 satisfied clients: "Reviews? Well, people message me in Direct." They do. Only none of that is visible to a new client who has just found you in search and is deciding whether to come or not.

A satisfied customer stays silent

Almost everyone behaves this way. Someone who liked the service pays and goes on with their life. Someone who didn't goes looking for a place to say so. That's why reviews that appear on their own are almost always skewed toward the negative.

There is one fix: ask. But you have to ask at the right moment and without awkwardness — and this is exactly where most people stop.

Why Instagram screenshots don't work

A screenshot of a thank-you message in a story lives for 24 hours and proves nothing: it can't be verified, it can't be found in search, and you can't link to it.

Compare the two options from the point of view of someone who doesn't know you:

Even more important: your rating affects how high you rank in the directory. A screenshot has no effect on your position in the list whatsoever.

The best moment is while the customer is still with you

Not "I'll write in the evening," not "I'll remind them tomorrow." The person is relaxed, happy with the result and hasn't walked out the door yet — that's exactly when they'll write two sentences without resistance. A day later they already have other things on their mind.

That's why a QR-code stand on the counter works: the customer points their camera, gives stars, writes a line. A minute, no registration, no apps to install.

How it works on "Свої"

Every profile has its own code and its own link — Dashboard → profile → the "Reviews" tab.

1. Get your code. Print an A5 stand — it automatically comes in your colours and with your logo.
2. Put it somewhere visible. By the till, the mirror, on a small table. Or send the link in a messenger after the visit — that works too.
3. Reviews come in on their own. We check every one manually and only then publish it.

And you can see whether it works: how many times the code was scanned, how many reviews were submitted and how many were published.

Why we check every review

A review you can write about yourself is worth nothing. So:

• a collected review is not published automatically — a person reads it first;
• one review per device per profile;
• limits per hour and per address;
• an owner logged into their own dashboard cannot leave a review for their own business — the system detects this;
• anything suspicious — the same device, a spike within an hour — is flagged for the moderator.

And we don't pretend that all reviews are the same. One written after a booking made through "Свої" is marked as a verified visit — there is a real booking behind it. One collected via the QR code is marked separately: "Collected on site". The difference is honest, and the customer can see it.

What to do with negative reviews

Don't delete them — respond. A calm public reply to criticism often convinces people more than ten five-star ratings: it shows how you behave when something goes wrong. A profile without a single negative review looks more suspicious than one with four and a half stars and dignified replies.

In short

Reviews are not a "nice bonus" but the first thing a person looks at when choosing between you and the salon next door. Satisfied customers stay silent until you ask them; you have to ask on the spot; and what you collect has to sit where people will find it — on your page, not in a story archive.

Get your own code for reviews