30-second summary
- A caterer gets few reviews (one per event), so each weighs heavily in the next planner's decision.
- The review covers a whole event: punctuality, professionalism, handling the unexpected — not just taste.
- Collection happens remotely, after the event, with consent — not on site like a restaurant.
- Corporate (B2B) and private (B2C) reviews reassure different audiences: ask for both.
This guide expands on the second lever of our pillar article on the Local Pack. The ethical principles and the general method for replying to reviews are common to every business — we detail them on the restaurant side in this guide. Here, we focus on what makes a caterer's reviews particular: their scarcity, their weight and their post-event collection.
Few reviews, but an outsized weight
The math is simple. A restaurant serves hundreds of guests a week; a caterer runs a limited number of events. As a result, your listing will always show fewer reviews than a restaurant — and that is normal. But that scarcity has an effect: on a listing with few reviews, a single detailed testimonial from a wedding planner or a corporate manager weighs far more, for better or worse.
Two implications:
- Miss no opportunity: every successful event must lead to a review request, because opportunities are rare.
- Care about freshness: a few recent reviews beat old ones. A planner wants to see you are active this season.
What is allowed — a quick reminder
The frame is the same as for any business: you can invite clients to leave an honest review, but never buy reviews, reward them, or filter to solicit only the satisfied. The golden rule: ask all event clients, the same way, with no incentive. Google's detailed rules are explained in our restaurant reviews guide — they apply as-is to caterers.
The post-event collection routine
Since you are no longer on site once the event ends, collection happens remotely. A simple routine:
1. The right moment
The next day or in the days following the event, while satisfaction is fresh. Beyond a week or two, the impulse fades and the review never comes.
2. A thank-you message with a direct link
A short message thanking them for their trust and inviting them to share their experience, with a direct link to your Google review page. The simpler the gesture, the more reviews you get.
3. The right person (especially corporate)
For a wedding, the contact is clear. For a corporate event, identify who should receive the request (the decision-maker, the assistant who coordinated). Addressing the right person changes the response rate.
4. Building it into the contract
Since a catering contract already involves an exchange of contact details, include a clear note about post-event follow-up. You get consent at signing, and the review request feels natural.
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Explore our services for caterers →Corporate (B2B) and private (B2C) reviews
A caterer serves two audiences that read reviews differently:
| Type | What the review highlights |
|---|---|
| Private (B2C) | Wedding, family party: emotion, quality, presentation, the memory of a unique moment. Very convincing for other private clients. |
| Corporate (B2B) | Office party, business reception: professionalism, punctuality, sticking to budget, ease of coordination. Reassures decision-makers. |
Ask for both. A mix of emotional and "pro" reviews shows you are comfortable across all event types — a strong argument for an undecided planner.
Replying: the test of the failed event
Reply to all reviews. For positives, a personalized thank-you that picks up a detail of the event. For a negative review, remember that a failed event is experienced as a personal letdown by the client (a wedding does not happen twice). Acknowledge the specific problem (delay, missing dish, coordination), apologize if warranted, offer to discuss offline — without justifying yourself at length in public. Your reply shows how you react when things do not go as planned: exactly what a future planner wants to know before entrusting their event.
Reviews, follow-up and Law 25
Keeping a client's contact details to reach them after the event and request a review falls under Quebec's Law 25. Three reflexes: collect consent (ideally at the contract stage), allow unsubscribing in every message, and store the data securely, only as long as necessary.
Frequently asked questions — Google reviews and caterers
Because a caterer serves one client per event, not one client per meal. Where a restaurant can gather dozens of reviews a month, a caterer gets a handful. That is exactly why each review matters so much: on a listing showing few, a single detailed review from a satisfied planner weighs heavily in the next one's decision. Scarcity makes collection all the more strategic: you must ask for a review after every event, without exception, because the opportunities are limited.
Shortly after the event, while satisfaction is still fresh: the next day or in the following days, with a thank-you message. Unlike a restaurant where you ask on site at the end of the meal, a caterer is no longer present once the event is over. The follow-up therefore happens remotely, with the client's consent. A short message thanking them for their trust and inviting them to share their experience, with a direct link to your review page, works well. Ask systematically, while the memory of success is fresh.
Both matter, but they work differently. For a wedding or family party (B2C), the review is often emotional and detailed — very convincing for other private clients. For a corporate event (B2B), the contact is a manager or an assistant: the review will focus on professionalism, punctuality, sticking to budget and ease of coordination. Ask for both, because they reassure different audiences. For corporate, the decision-maker sometimes changes from one event to the next: identify the right person to address the review request to.
Calmly and quickly, keeping in mind that a failed event is experienced as a personal letdown by the client. Thank them, show you understood the specific problem (a delay, a missing dish, difficult coordination), apologize sincerely if warranted, and offer to discuss offline. Do not justify yourself at length in public: your reply is read by all future planners. A calm, responsible reply to a criticism about an event reassures enormously — it shows how you react when something does not go as planned, which is exactly what a planner wants to know.
Yes. As soon as you keep a client's contact details (email, phone) to reach them after the event and request a review, you process personal information under Quebec's Law 25. The client must consent to being contacted, the consent must be documented, each message must allow unsubscribing, and the data must be stored securely and only as long as necessary. Since a catering contract already involves an exchange of contact details, build a clear note about post-event follow-up into the agreement at signing, which simplifies the process while staying compliant.
Go further
Reviews are one lever among five. For complete local visibility:
- Rank in Google's top 3 (Local Pack) — the pillar guide
- Optimize your Google Business Profile
- Citations and NAP consistency
- FoodEstablishment Schema and AI visibility
- Turn visitors into quote requests
- All guides for caterers
Does your reputation reflect the quality of your events? Get a free audit of your reviews and local visibility — delivered as a personalized PDF report within 24 hours.
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