How many testimonials does a plumber need?

Fewer than you would think to start. A homeowner reads two or three and decides, so five specific ones on your site do more than fifty stars nobody opens. After that, a new one every month or so matters more than the total, because recent ones show you are still the same shop.

Is right after an emergency call a bad time to ask?

It is the best time. The customer has just gone from standing in water to a dry floor, and they will never be more grateful than that evening. Ask by text once the mess is cleaned up. A week later, "you saved us" has turned into "it was fine."

What is the difference between a testimonial and a Google review?

A Google review lives on Google, and Google decides how it is shown and whether it stays. A testimonial lives on your own website, where you pick which ones appear and a policy change cannot take them down. Do both. Asking for one does not stop you asking for the other.

Should a testimonial show the customer's full name?

First name and last initial is plenty, with the town if they are happy to add it. "Dana R., Rockford" reads as a real person without putting anybody's address on the internet. On Exalted the customer types their name the way they want it shown, and nothing appears until you approve it.

plumbers

Testimonials for plumbers

Be the first name they hear standing in water.

Nobody shops around for a plumber at leisure. They are standing in water, they ask a neighbor, and they call the first name with proof behind it.

Right below is the text I would send a client, ready to copy.

Start freeNo card needed. Cancel whenever.

A text you can send

The text I would send after a good job

The evening of the job, once the floor is dry.

Hi Dana, it's Mike from Riverside Plumbing. Glad the water heater is sorted. Would you write a sentence or two about this morning for my website? What was going wrong when you called is a fine place to start. It takes a minute and there's no account: [your link]

Swap in your own names. The link comes from your dashboard.

Plumber testimonial examples

The kind of thing plumbers collect with Exalted. Each one is invented and labelled as an example.

Example

Our water heater went at 6am and he was here before nine. Explained what had corroded, showed me the old part, and charged exactly what he quoted on the phone.

Dana R. · Homeowner

Example

Two companies told us the whole house needed repiping. He spent twenty minutes in the crawlspace and found one bad fitting behind the laundry wall. The repair cost less than the other two charged just to come out.

Priya S. · Homeowner

Example

I own four rentals and he is the only plumber my tenants have never complained about. He turns up inside the window he gives and texts me a photo of whatever he fixed before he leaves.

Glen W. · Landlord

Example

Third time we have called them. Same guy every time, and he still takes his boots off at the door.

Tom and Ellen B. · Homeowners

Each one names the problem and something only the customer saw: the old part on the counter, the boots at the door. Somebody reading at midnight with a towel on the floor believes details like those. Nobody believes "great service."

How it works

1
Share one link
You get a single link. Send it by text or email to a client whose work went well.
2
They write it, in a minute
No account and no app to download. They rate you and write a couple of lines.
3
You approve what appears
Nothing is public until you say so. Approve the good ones and they appear on your website automatically.

When to ask

Right after you have shown them the dry floor and explained what failed.

The single biggest reason plumbers have no testimonials is that nobody asks while the work is still fresh, not that clients are unwilling.

Questions that get a real answer

“Please leave a review” produces “great service”, which persuades nobody. Ask something specific instead:

What was going wrong when you called?
How quickly did we get to you?
Was the final price what we quoted?

Or an email

For landlords and property managers, who keep everything in email.

Subject: A favor about unit 3

Hi Glen,

Thanks for getting us into unit 3 on short notice. The new shutoff valves are in, and I left the old ones on the counter so your tenant could see what had failed.

Would you write two or three sentences about how it went? I put them on my website, and a landlord weighing a plumber wants to hear from another landlord. How the invoice compared with the quote is the thing people ask about most.

It takes a couple of minutes, with no account to make: [your link]

Thanks, Mike

Swap in your own names and the details of the job. The link comes from your dashboard.

Where people check a plumber first

Google Business Profile
What an emergency search shows first: the map and your stars. A lot of people never get past that screen.
Nextdoor
Where "anyone know a good plumber?" gets asked. A name that comes up twice in one thread gets the call.
Angi and Thumbtack
Where people compare quotes on the bigger jobs like a sewer line, reading the reviews beside each price.
Town Facebook groups
Somebody posts a photo of a leak and asks who to call. Your name only comes up if a past customer types it.
Your own website
The towel on the floor and the boots at the door are the details I would keep in view. Testimonials there are the only ones you choose and keep, whatever the platforms change.

Questions plumbers ask

How many testimonials does a plumber need?: Fewer than you would think to start. A homeowner reads two or three and decides, so five specific ones on your site do more than fifty stars nobody opens. After that, a new one every month or so matters more than the total, because recent ones show you are still the same shop.
Is right after an emergency call a bad time to ask?: It is the best time. The customer has just gone from standing in water to a dry floor, and they will never be more grateful than that evening. Ask by text once the mess is cleaned up. A week later, "you saved us" has turned into "it was fine."
What is the difference between a testimonial and a Google review?: A Google review lives on Google, and Google decides how it is shown and whether it stays. A testimonial lives on your own website, where you pick which ones appear and a policy change cannot take them down. Do both. Asking for one does not stop you asking for the other.
Should a testimonial show the customer's full name?: First name and last initial is plenty, with the town if they are happy to add it. "Dana R., Rockford" reads as a real person without putting anybody's address on the internet. On Exalted the customer types their name the way they want it shown, and nothing appears until you approve it.

Every testimonial Exalted publishes is written by a real person and approved by the business owner.

Your reputation, as a ladder

Each approved testimonial moves you up a tier, so you have a reason to keep asking. Visitors see the tier and know how established you are.

Friendly1+ approved

Honored5+ approved

Revered15+ approved

Exalted30+ approved

Pricing

Starter is $9 a month or $85 a year. Pro is $19 a month or $180 a year. Both are free until your fifth testimonial, and neither asks for a card to begin.

See what is in each plan

Worth reading before you ask

More on the blog. If you ask for Google reviews too, the free Google review link generator and the review request templates need no account. If you want a client quote as a picture to post, I made a free testimonial image maker.

Start collecting this week

Set up a link in about five minutes and send it to the last client who thanked you.

Start free