Why the ask at the desk fails
- It happens before the result. A patient walking out of a neurotoxin appointment has nothing to review yet except the chairs.
- It is asked by the wrong person. The front desk is a stranger; the provider is the person the patient trusts with their face.
- It is a verbal request with no link. The patient means to do it in the car and never does.
- It is inconsistent. Busy days skip it, and busy days are when your happiest patients leave.
The ask that works
Who asks: the provider, because the patient trusts them, not the desk. In whose name: the provider's, at the top of the message. By which channel: a text from the practice's number, because a text is read within minutes and the link opens the review box on the phone the patient is already holding. When: the moment the result shows, which in aesthetics is rarely the day of the visit. Keep it short enough to read at a stoplight. Hi Jess, it is Dana from the practice. Your skin looked incredible at your visit. If you have thirty seconds, a Google review helps more than you know: [link]. Thank you. If there is no reply, one follow-up three days later, then stop. Send it only to patients whose texting consent is on record; whether a review ask counts as marketing is for counsel to confirm. Never offer anything in exchange for a review. Paying or gifting for reviews breaks platform rules, and the rules change, so check the platform's current policy before you build anything around it. In the US it is a consumer-protection matter as well; confirm with counsel before any review program that involves a gift or a draw.
When the result shows, treatment by treatment
Aesthetics has a timing problem other businesses do not: the result arrives later than the visit. A facial glows the same evening. Tox takes about two weeks to settle. Ask too early and the patient has nothing to say; ask too late and the moment has passed. The ranges below are the ones practices commonly plan around, and your own providers will know yours. They are scheduling guidance, not medical advice.
| Treatment | When the result shows | When to send the ask |
|---|---|---|
| Facial, hydrafacial, light peel | Same day | That evening, from the esthetician |
| Neurotoxin | About two weeks | At the two-week check-in text, after asking how it looks |
| Dermal filler | After swelling settles, often a week or two | At the follow-up text, once they say they love it |
| Laser hair removal or skin resurfacing | Across the series | After the second or third session, when they notice the change |
| Membership visit | Each visit | Once per quarter at most, so it never feels like a tax |
What to do with a negative review
- Reply within a day, briefly, without confirming the person was a patient or naming any treatment. Health information rules apply to reviews too; confirm your reply template with counsel.
- Take it offline: offer a direct number and a name.
- Fix the thing. A reply that promises nothing and a practice that changes nothing earns the second bad review.
- Keep asking. Ten new honest reviews move the average more than any argument in the comments does.
How to measure review velocity in a week
- Count your reviews today and write the number and the date down.
- Turn on the ask for every patient who finishes a visit this week.
- Next Monday, count again. Reviews gained divided by patients seen is your ask-to-review rate.
- Watch two numbers monthly: reviews per hundred visits, and days since the last review. The second one is what a new patient sees first.
What to do next
NorthCore's Get found first solution builds the review engine: the ask sent from your record system in the provider's name, timed to each treatment, the follow-up, and the velocity on your dashboard. Scoped in writing and covered by the promise on this site: results in 90 days, or we keep working until you have them.
