The best way to get more dispensary reviews is to ask every customer, in the same simple way, right after a good visit, and to make leaving a review take less than a minute. What you cannot do is pay for reviews, offer discounts or free products in exchange, or only ask the customers you expect to be happy.
Reviews matter more for dispensaries than for most local shops. Cannabis businesses are shut out of most paid ad platforms, so your star rating and recent reviews on Google and cannabis directories do a lot of the work an ad would do for a coffee shop.
This guide is for dispensary owners and managers in legal markets. It covers Google’s rules for cannabis businesses, the 2024 federal fake-review rule, how the main review platforms differ, when and how to ask, and how to reply to good and bad reviews.
Key takeaways
- Ask every customer the same way. Asking only happy customers, called review gating, breaks Google’s rules.
- Never trade anything for a review. Google bans all incentives, and many states separately restrict cannabis giveaways.
- Timing beats volume. A steady flow of fresh reviews looks better to shoppers and to Google than a burst every few months.
- Reply to every review, briefly and without confirming private details about the customer.
- Rules differ by state and province. Always check your local regulator before you run any promotion tied to customer feedback.
Why do dispensary reviews matter so much?
Shoppers use reviews to decide which store to trust with their first visit, and recent reviews carry the most weight. A store with an old 4.8 rating and nothing new in months can lose to a 4.5 store with fresh comments every week.
BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US consumers found that 68% will only use a business with a rating of 4 stars or higher, up from 55% the year before. The bar keeps rising.
Reviews also feed local search. A well-kept Google profile with a steady stream of reviews is one of the strongest signals you control. Our guide to dispensary marketing and local SEO covers the rest of your profile.
Can a dispensary have a Google Business Profile?
Yes, if you run a storefront. Google’s eligibility rules say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. They also say businesses tied to age-restricted products, including cannabis, are not allowed as service-area businesses without a storefront.
That means a licensed dispensary with a physical store can have a profile, but a delivery-only cannabis service generally cannot list itself as a service-area business on Google. Delivery services should put more effort into cannabis directories, their own website and other platforms. For more on delivery, see our cannabis delivery guide.
What you can and cannot post
Google’s help page on Business Profile posts says businesses in regulated industries, including recreational drugs, can post updates but should not include content about the products themselves. Use posts for hours, events, parking or new staff, not menu items or deals. Your profile’s reviews section works the same as any other business.
What are Google’s review rules for businesses?
Google’s Maps content policy allows you to ask for genuine reviews. It does not allow you to steer them. Under the policy, a merchant may not:
- Offer incentives such as payment, discounts or free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing one.
- Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively ask only happy customers.
- Have staff pressure customers to leave a review while they are on the premises, or ask for specific content.
- Set quotas for how many reviews staff must collect, or ask customers to name a staff member in their review.
- Post reviews from current or former employees, family members or anyone else with a conflict of interest.
Reviews that break these rules can be removed, and unusual bursts or patterns of reviews can be removed too. A sudden spike of five-star reviews after a staff contest is exactly what Google’s systems look for.
Why the staff-name rule matters for dispensaries
Many stores used to run “mention your budtender” contests. Under Google’s current policy, asking customers to name a staff member is not allowed. Recognize great budtenders internally instead, using feedback you collect through your own survey.
What does the FTC fake review rule mean for dispensaries?
The Federal Trade Commission announced its Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials on August 14, 2024, and it took effect on October 21, 2024. It applies to any US business, including state-licensed cannabis retailers, and allows civil penalties of up to $51,744 per violation, a figure adjusted for inflation each year.
The rule bans:
- Fake reviews: writing, buying or sharing reviews from people who do not exist or did not use your store.
- Buying reviews with a particular sentiment: rewarding customers for positive reviews, or paying for negative reviews of a competitor.
- Undisclosed insider reviews: reviews from owners, managers or employees, or asking their relatives, without clear disclosure.
- Fake “independent” review sites that your company actually controls.
- Review suppression: using threats or intimidation to stop negative reviews, or presenting only your best reviews as if they were all of them.
- Fake social media indicators, such as bought followers or likes.
One detail confuses many owners. The FTC rule itself only bans incentives that depend on what the review says. Google is stricter and bans any incentive at all. Because your Google profile matters most, the safe rule is simple: no rewards of any kind for reviews, anywhere.
How do review rules compare across platforms?
Each platform sets its own rules, and they do not agree on whether you can even ask. The table compares the platforms most dispensaries deal with. Cannabis-specific directories set their own terms, so check each one before you start asking customers to review you there.
| Platform | Can you ask for reviews? | Incentives | What happens if you break the rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes, from every customer, without steering the rating | Not allowed in any form | Reviews removed; suspicious patterns filtered | |
| Yelp | No. Yelp says asking may hurt your rating | Not allowed | Solicited reviews moved to “not recommended”; a Consumer Alert can appear on your page |
| Yes, through Recommendations (yes or no plus text) | Not allowed; no cash, discounts or free products | Content removed under spam rules | |
| Better Business Bureau | Yes; BBB checks the reviewer’s contact details | Not allowed in any way | Review not published; no anonymous reviews |
In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, consumers most often wrote reviews on Google (45%), Facebook (34%) and Yelp (24%). Put your effort where your customers already are, which for most dispensaries means Google first.
When is the best time to ask for a dispensary review?
Ask when the visit is fresh but the customer is no longer standing at your counter. Google’s policy warns against pressuring people to review while they are on your premises, and most customers prefer to write at home anyway. The infographic below shows a simple timing plan and a reply routine.
Ways to make asking easy
- Use your direct review link. Google Business Profile gives you a short link that opens the review form, so customers skip the search step.
- Use the same words every time, such as “If you have a minute, we’d love an honest review.” The word “honest” keeps the ask neutral.
- Respect message consent. Follow-up texts fall under the TCPA, as our dispensary loyalty program guide explains, so only text customers who opted in.
- Train every budtender, including weekend and part-time staff, so the ask does not depend on who is working.
A worked example: why asking everyone pays off
Picture a store that serves about 150 customers on a typical day. If budtenders only remember to ask a handful of regulars, the store might see one or two new reviews a week. If every bag gets a QR card and every consented customer gets a next-day text, even 1 response for every 50 customers adds up to about 3 reviews a day, or roughly 90 a month. These numbers are only an illustration, but the lesson holds: a small, steady response rate across every customer beats a big push to a few fans, and it keeps your reviews recent without breaking any rules.
Avoid tablets or kiosks at the counter for reviews. They create on-premises pressure, and many reviews posted from one location and device can look suspicious.
How should you reply to dispensary reviews?
Reply to every review, good and bad. A short, specific reply shows shoppers someone is paying attention, and BrightLocal found 80% of consumers are likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews.
Positive reviews
Thank the person, mention one detail from their review and keep it short. Do not repeat product names, potency or prices in a way that reads like an ad, and never make claims about what a product does for people.
Negative reviews
Stay calm, apologize for the experience without arguing, and invite the person to contact a manager directly. Keep the fix offline. Do not offer a refund or a discount in exchange for removing or editing the review, because Google treats that as an incentive.
Protect customer privacy
Do not confirm that someone bought from you, what they bought or whether they are a medical patient. Write replies that would make sense even if the reviewer were not a real customer. Medical cannabis programs often have their own confidentiality rules, so keep patient details out of public replies entirely.
Fake or abusive reviews
If a review breaks the platform’s policy, such as one posted by a competitor or a former employee, report it through the platform’s tools. Do not threaten legal action to get a review removed; the FTC rule treats intimidation aimed at stopping negative reviews as review suppression.
Where else can customers find and review your dispensary?
Google is the biggest source, but shoppers check several places. BrightLocal found the average consumer uses six different review sites, and 45% now use AI tools such as ChatGPT to research local businesses.
- Cannabis directories such as Weedmaps, Leafly and WhereLeaf, where shoppers are already looking for a dispensary.
- Apple Maps, which 27% of consumers now use to read reviews.
- Your own website, where you can display a feed of real reviews, including the critical ones.
Keep your name, address, phone number and hours identical on every listing. Mismatched details confuse shoppers and search engines, and they are easy to fix in an afternoon.
Your dispensary review checklist
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile for your storefront address.
- Copy your direct Google review link and turn it into a QR code.
- Write one neutral request line and train every budtender to use it.
- Add the link to receipts, bag cards and consented follow-up messages.
- Ask every customer, not just regulars or happy ones.
- Remove any reward, contest, quota or “name your budtender” request tied to reviews.
- Stop employees, owners and their families from reviewing the store.
- Reply to every review within a few days, without private details.
- Report policy-breaking reviews through the platform, never with threats.
- Keep your hours and contact details matching on every directory.
- Check your rating and review count monthly and share good feedback with staff.
For dispensary owners: get found in more places
Reviews only help if shoppers can find you. A WhereLeaf listing puts your store in front of adults searching for dispensaries near them, alongside your hours, location and menu details. Add your dispensary for free, or compare listing packages for more visibility. If you sell to retailers, the supplier directory works the same way. Shoppers checking out new stores often read our guide to telling if a dispensary is licensed, so make sure your license details are easy to confirm.
Frequently asked questions
Can I give customers a discount for leaving a review?
Not on Google, Yelp, Facebook or BBB, which all ban review incentives. The FTC rule only bans rewards tied to positive reviews, but platform rules are stricter. Many states also restrict cannabis discounts and giveaways, so this is risky twice over.
Can I ask customers to update a bad review?
You can fix the problem and let the customer decide on their own whether to update it. You cannot offer anything in return for changing or removing it, and Google removes reviews that were revised because of an incentive.
How many reviews does a dispensary need?
There is no magic number, but the pace matters more than the total. A store adding a few new reviews every week will usually look more trustworthy than one with hundreds of reviews that are mostly old.
Can my employees leave reviews for our dispensary?
No. Google bans reviews from current or former employees as a conflict of interest, and the FTC rule restricts undisclosed insider reviews. Ask staff to share the review link with customers instead.
Can I delete negative Google reviews?
No. Owners cannot delete reviews on Google. You can reply publicly and report a review that breaks Google’s content policy, and Google decides whether to remove it.
Should I use a review management app?
A tool that sends the same request to every customer and helps you reply faster can save time. Avoid any feature that filters unhappy customers away from public review sites, because that is review gating.
Sources
- BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (2026)
- Google Maps Help: Prohibited and Restricted Content (2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: Business Eligibility and Ownership Guidelines (2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: Create and Manage Posts on Your Business Profile (2026)
- Morgan Lewis: FTC Issues Final Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (2024)
- BrightLocal: Review Platform Guidelines, What You Can and Can’t Do (2025)
Last updated: October 2026. Laws and prices change; always check your state or provincial regulator.
