A genuine trade review comes from a real customer, names specific work, and sits on a verified platform or the business’s own website with proof of the job. Look for detail about the problem solved, the timeline, and the outcome—vague praise or complaint is less useful than a description of what was actually done. The best reviews live where the business has no control to delete them.
Where genuine trade reviews live and why location matters
A review’s home tells you how much the business controls it. Google, Trustpilot, and industry-specific platforms like Checkatrade or TrustATrader sit outside the business’s direct control—they cannot simply delete a negative review because they disagree with it. Reviews on the business’s own website are useful for context, but they’re curated by default. A balanced portfolio of reviews across platform and website is more credible than reviews confined to one channel the business owns.
Verified platforms assign each reviewer an ID and track their purchase history or account age. This matters because it’s harder to write fake reviews at scale on Trustpilot or Google than it is to post testimonials on a personal website. A business trading for years with dozens of verified reviews across multiple platforms has passed a basic filter for legitimacy. A business with one platform and no reviews elsewhere warrants caution, though it could simply be new.
What specific details separate a real review from a generic one
Real reviews name the work. ‘Excellent service’ could mean anything; ‘replaced the kitchen tap, arrived on time, cleaned up after’ describes an actual transaction. Look for the problem the customer had, the solution the tradesperson provided, and the result. A real review explains why the job mattered to the customer—a plumber who cleared a blocked drain the same day, or an electrician who diagnosed a fault most others had missed. Generic praise without specifics is a yellow flag.
Dates and timelines add credibility. A review that mentions ‘finished two weeks ago’ or ‘came back the next morning to adjust the fit’ feels contemporaneous and concrete. A review with no date, or dozens stacked up in a single week, deserves scrutiny. Real customers spread their feedback across months and years as they use the service or recall it later.
Red flags that suggest a review may not be genuine
Suspiciously perfect reviews—five stars with no reservation, no detail, no humanity—are common when a business seeds its own testimonials. Real customers almost always mention something that could have gone better: ‘took longer than expected but worth it’ or ‘messy at first but they cleaned it all up’. A page of five-star reviews with no nuance is less trustworthy than a mix of four and five stars with genuine trade-offs acknowledged.
Review language that reads like marketing copy rather than customer speech is a signal. ‘This tradesperson exemplifies excellence in their craft’ sounds written by the business. ‘He fixed the boiler and didn’t rip us off’ sounds like a real person. Watch for reviews that use the business’s own language from their website or advertising—that overlap suggests authorship.
Sudden clusters of new reviews, especially all positive and all within days, warrant a question. One or two reviews a month, or a few spread across a season, feels natural. Ten identical five-star reviews in a fortnight does not. A business that suddenly floods a platform with feedback is often trying to drown out a recent negative review or boost a listing algorithmically.
How to weigh negative reviews fairly
A business with no negative reviews across any platform is as suspicious as one with many. Real traders encounter difficult customers, material delays, and genuine miscommunications. A one-star review that names a real problem (‘arrived late without calling’, ‘didn’t finish the work agreed’) is more credible than a five-star review that praises vaguely. Read it as a customer complaint, not a character verdict. One bad review among dozens of good ones is normal. Multiple reviews naming the same issue—poor communication, incomplete work, overcharging—is a pattern worth taking seriously.
Look at how the business responds to negative reviews. A tradesperson who replies defensively, attacks the reviewer, or makes excuses is signalling poor customer judgment. One who acknowledges the problem, explains what happened, and offers to put it right demonstrates professionalism. Many platforms show these responses; they matter as much as the original complaint.
The reviews that matter most for your decision
Prioritise reviews from customers whose situation matches yours. If you need a boiler service and read reviews from a boiler engineer, that’s direct evidence. If you’re choosing a roofer and find reviews of their guttering work, the skill set overlaps but isn’t identical. A business that works across multiple trades may have variable quality—read reviews for the specific service you need.
Recent reviews carry more weight than old ones. A tradesperson’s standard two years ago may have improved or declined. Reviews from the last six months tell you who they are now. A business with steady five-star reviews over years suggests consistency; a business with excellent reviews five years ago and silence since suggests they may have stopped trading or changed how they work.
The volume of reviews matters, but less than their substance. A new trader with three detailed, specific reviews is more transparent than an established business with fifty generic ones. Ten real reviews that name problems and solutions give you better intelligence than a hundred that say ‘great’ and nothing else.
What to do when reviews conflict or seem incomplete
If a business has five stars on Google but one star on Trustpilot, investigate why. Read both sets to see if the complaints on Trustpilot name a real pattern or if they’re outliers. Different platforms attract different customer types—one may skew toward satisfied customers, another toward those with grievances. Read enough reviews to see the centre of gravity, not the extremes.
When reviews are sparse or missing, contact the business and ask for references. A established tradesperson who has completed dozens of jobs but has only two reviews may simply not ask customers to leave them. Ask them for contact details of recent customers who are willing to discuss the work. This costs nothing and tells you whether they’re confident enough in their work to stand behind it. A business that refuses or becomes defensive at this request is signalling something.