Most customers who would happily leave a review never do, and it is almost never because they did not want to. It is because leaving one means opening Maps, searching the business name, picking the right branch, scrolling to the reviews section and finding the right button — five steps, at the exact moment they are getting up to leave.
A QR code collapses that to one scan and a star rating.
Get the right link first
This is the part that goes wrong. You do not want a link to your Maps listing — that drops people on your page and leaves them to find the review button themselves. You want the link that opens the review dialogue directly.
Google gives you one. In your Google Business Profile, look for the "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews" option; it produces a short link in the form g.page/r/.../review. That is the link to encode.
Test it on a phone before you make anything. It should open Google Maps with the star rating already showing, not your business page.
Making the code
Paste that link into the website QR generator and download. That is the whole job — a review code is just a link code pointed somewhere specific.
Print the code and download the file at a size that suits the placement; see the print size guide.
Where to put it — timing is everything
A review code works or fails on when it is seen, far more than where.
| Placement | Why it works |
|---|---|
| On the bill or receipt | The moment the meal ended well and they are holding something |
| Bill folder or payment tray | Same moment, harder to miss |
| At the till, facing the customer | While they wait for the card machine |
| On a takeaway bag or box | Read at home, after they enjoyed it |
| In a thank-you message after delivery | The satisfaction peak for delivery orders |
Where it does not work: the entrance, the toilet door, a wall in the middle of the room. Nobody is deciding how they feel about your business on the way in.
What to write next to it
Ask like a person. Enjoyed your meal? A review really helps us works. SCAN FOR 5 STARS does not, and it will get you in trouble.
Keep it to one short line, and put it above the code where it will be read first.
The rules you must not break
Google policy prohibits offering anything in exchange for reviews — no discount, no free drink, no prize draw, no loyalty points. It also prohibits asking only your happy customers while steering unhappy ones elsewhere, and reviewing your own business or having staff do it.
These are not soft guidelines. Detected violations can get reviews removed in bulk and, in serious cases, the listing suspended. A steady trickle of genuine reviews is worth more than a burst that disappears.
Ask everyone, ask neutrally, and let the reviews be whatever they are.
Handle negative feedback separately, and honestly
You can legitimately give unhappy customers a private route — a feedback form at the table, a comment card, a member of staff who asks. That is just good service.
What you cannot do is screen people: ask how it went, then only show the review code to the ones who say "great". Google calls that review gating and it is against policy.
The honest version is to run both openly. A review code on the receipt, a feedback code at the table. Everyone can reach either.
Set expectations
Reviews come in slowly. A busy restaurant might convert a small percentage of customers, and that is normal. The value is the steady accumulation over months, plus the reviews you would never have got from customers who simply forgot.
Before you print a stack
- Scan the code and confirm it opens the star dialogue, not your listing page
- Check it on both an iPhone and an Android
- Confirm it works for someone not signed into your business account
- Run the pre-print checklist
Make your review code — paste the link, download, print.