Who should reply to reviews in a franchise: head office or the franchisee?

For most franchise networks, the answer is both, split by type of review. Franchisees reply to routine reviews about their own site, because they know what happened and can reply quickly. Head office replies to anything involving safety, legal risk, staff complaints or a brand-wide promise, because the brand carries that risk.

The right split depends on how many sites you have, how experienced your franchisees are, and who controls each site's Google profile. This guide compares the three models and shows what to write into your franchise agreement so the split holds.

What are the options for handling reviews in a franchise?

There are three ways to divide review replies between head office and franchisees.

1. Head office replies to everything. A central customer care or marketing team holds access to every site's profile and writes every reply. Franchisees pass on what happened when asked.
2. Franchisees reply to everything. Each franchisee replies for their own site, following guidelines from head office. Head office steps in only when something goes badly wrong.
3. A split by type of review. Franchisees reply to routine reviews about their site. Head office replies to a defined list of serious or brand-wide issues, and checks the quality of franchisee replies.

Whichever model you choose, Google shows every reply as coming from the business, not from a named person (Google help). To the customer reading it, every reply is the brand speaking.

How do the three models compare?

The split model usually gives the best balance: franchisees bring speed and local knowledge, and head office keeps control where the risk is highest.

Two customer expectations make the trade-offs sharper. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 32% expected a reply by the next day and 81% within a week. Half said templated or generic replies put them off (BrightLocal, 2026). A central team under pressure risks slow or copied replies; unsupported franchisees risk silence or sharp ones.

We found no published research comparing these three models directly, so the table reflects practical trade-offs rather than measured results.

How do you choose the right model for your network?

Five questions settle it. The answers usually point to a split, with the line between head office and franchisee drawn differently for each network.

1. Who controls each site's Google profile? On Google, owners can add and remove users, while managers can reply to reviews but can't change access (Google help). If franchisees hold owner access under your agreement, head office can't reply centrally without their cooperation.
2. How many reviews does the network receive? As an illustration, 40 sites receiving 15 reviews a week each produce 600 reviews a week. At two minutes per reply, that is 20 hours of writing for one central team, before anything is escalated.
3. How experienced are your franchisees? New franchisees and newly opened sites benefit from head office replying for the first few months, then handing over once they've shown they can meet the standard.
4. How much risk sits in your category? Food allergies, children's products and health services raise the stakes. The more risk, the longer head office's list of reviews it handles itself.
5. Can head office check the replies? A franchisee-led model only holds if someone reads a sample of replies each month. In a study of 24,304 Los Angeles restaurants, franchised units' hygiene scores lagged company-owned ones until each unit's score was made public (Jin and Leslie, 2009). Standards that are checked tend to hold.

What should the franchise agreement and operations manual say about reviews?

Put profile access in the agreement and the day-to-day rules in the operations manual, so you can update the rules without reopening contracts.

In the franchise agreement:

• Profile access. Who holds owner access to each site's Google profile, and who has manager access.
• What happens at exit. Who keeps the profile, and its reviews, if a franchise is sold or ends.
• The duty to follow the reply standard. A reference to the review section of the operations manual, so the standard is binding without being written into the contract itself.

In the operations manual:

• The reply standard. What every reply includes and leaves out. Our guide to replying to negative reviews across a franchise sets out a four-part structure and worked examples.
• The escalation list. Which reviews go to head office, such as safety, staff complaints, legal threats and brand-wide promises.
• Response times. For example, one working day for routine reviews and a same-day holding reply for serious ones.
• What franchisees must never do. Offer anything in return for changing or removing a review, which Google prohibits (Google help) and UK rules on fake and misleading reviews have covered since April 2025 (CMS, 2025). Share a customer's personal details. Name staff in public.
• How replies are checked. Monthly reply rate and reply time for each site, a sample of replies read by head office, and the results discussed at franchisee reviews.
• Hand-over for new sites. How long head office replies for a new site, and what the franchisee needs to show before taking over.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Ask your franchise solicitor to review any change to the agreement.

Whichever model you choose, this is the work Akili was built to take on. It brings every site's reviews and social comments into one place, drafts replies for the site team or head office to check and send, and scores each site on the same measures so you can see where standards are slipping. It's well suited to UK franchise groups in food and drink and retail. If you'd like to see it on your own sites, book a demo.

Frequently asked questions

Should a franchisor control franchisees' Google Business Profiles?

Where the franchise agreement allows it, head office holding owner access and giving each franchisee manager access works well. Both can reply to reviews, and head office keeps control of who has access.

Can franchisees reply to reviews without head office approval?

In a split model, yes, for routine reviews about their own site, as long as they follow the reply standard in the operations manual. Reviews on the escalation list go to head office first.

Which reviews should head office handle in a franchise?

Anything involving safety, staff behaviour, legal threats, press interest or a promise that applies across the brand, such as prices, loyalty schemes or menus. Routine service and product complaints stay with the franchisee.

What happens to a site's Google reviews if a franchise is sold?

It depends on who holds owner access to the profile and what the franchise agreement says. Settle it in the agreement before it happens, not during a sale.

Should a new franchisee reply to reviews from day one?

Not necessarily. Head office can reply for a new site's first few months, then hand over once the franchisee has shown they can meet the standard.

Sources

• Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, BrightLocal, 1,002 US adults
• Reputation Incentives for Restaurant Hygiene, Ginger Jin and Phillip Leslie, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2009
• Manage your Business Profile owners and managers, Manage customer reviews and Tips to get more reviews, Google Business Profile Help
• No more faux five-stars: the DMCC Act bans fake reviews, CMS, 2025

All insights