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If a large share of your customers do not speak English and almost none have reviewed you, the problem is the request, not the service. Here is how to fix it and what the platforms allow.
Related research
A business serving a large non-English-speaking customer base often has a review profile that does not reflect it. The service is good, the customers are loyal, and almost none of them have left a review, because every request they received was in a language they read with effort.
The gap is rarely about satisfaction. It is about the request.
This guide covers how to collect reviews from customers who do not speak English: how to ask, what the platforms allow, and how to respond to reviews you cannot read.
A related situation is covered in our piece on get customers to record video reviews.
Send review requests in the customer's own language, because a request someone has to translate is a request most people abandon.
This sounds obvious and almost nobody does it.
What to translate:
Use a human translator for the template. You are writing it once and using it hundreds of times, so machine translation is a false economy, and an awkwardly worded request undermines the goodwill you are relying on.
🛠️ Action Step: Identify the second most common language among your customers and have your review request template translated properly. It is one paragraph and it will change your review volume.
Explain the review process visually, because the difficulty is often navigating an unfamiliar interface rather than the language of your request.
Someone comfortable speaking a language may still find an app interface in it confusing, particularly older customers.
What helps:
The direct QR code solves most of this. It removes every intermediate step, which is where non-native speakers and less confident users drop out.
💡 Pro Tip: Ask in person, in their language, while handing over a card with a QR code. That combination converts far better than any message sent later.
Encourage reviews in whatever language the customer prefers, because platforms accept them, they display to speakers of that language, and they signal that you serve that community.
Some businesses worry that non-English reviews look worse. They do not.
Why they help:
Never ask someone to write in English. It reduces response rates, produces stilted reviews, and communicates something unfortunate about who you consider your customers.
Respond in the reviewer's language where you can do so accurately, and never let machine translation produce a response you cannot verify.
A workable approach:
Never post a machine-translated response to a complaint. Nuance matters most exactly where automated translation is least reliable, and a tonally wrong response to an unhappy customer makes things worse.
If nobody on your team speaks the language, a short accurate response in English acknowledging the review is better than a fluent-sounding one that may say something you did not intend.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Ignoring reviews in other languages because nobody reads them. They are visible to that entire community, and unanswered ones read exactly as unanswered ones do in English.
Set the languages-spoken attribute on your profile and mention it in your description, because customers checking whether they can be served find that reassuring.
Where to signal it:
This also attracts the reviews. A customer who chose you partly because someone speaks their language is more inclined to mention that in a review, which then attracts more of the same.
📊 Flento Data: Across local profiles, language and accessibility attributes are among the most frequently unset fields, despite being decision-critical for the customers they describe.
🔥 Quick Win: Set the languages-spoken attribute today if any staff member speaks a second language. Two minutes, and it is the clearest signal available.
Follow the same review rules regardless of language: no incentives, no gating, no scripting, because FTC rules and platform policies apply identically.
Nothing about a language barrier changes what is permitted.
Still prohibited:
One additional caution: never offer to write the review for a customer who finds writing difficult, however helpful it feels. It is a fabricated review regardless of intent and the customer's agreement does not change that.
Structure for compliant collection is in how to build a review management system.
Flento handles multilingual review collection and response so language does not silently cap your review volume.
Google Review Management Software sends requests in the customer's language and manages responses across languages.
Google Business Profile Optimizer flags unset language attributes, which is one of the most commonly missed fields.
Smart QR Code Generator creates direct review codes that remove the navigation barrier entirely.
✅ Done? Send requests in the language your customers actually use. Get started free
Q: Should review requests be sent in the customer's language? A: Yes. A request someone has to translate is one most people abandon. Have the template professionally translated once and use it repeatedly.
Q: Do non-English reviews hurt a business profile? A: No. They display prominently to searchers using that language, signal that you serve that community, and platforms typically offer translation for other readers.
Q: Should you ask customers to write reviews in English? A: Never. It reduces response rates, produces stilted reviews, and communicates something unfortunate about who you consider your customers.
Q: How should you respond to a review you cannot read? A: Have it properly translated, particularly if it is negative. A short accurate English response is better than a machine-translated one that may say something you did not intend.
Q: Can I write a review on behalf of a customer who struggles to write? A: No. That is a fabricated review regardless of intent, and the customer agreeing does not change how platforms or the FTC treat it.
Q: What is the simplest first step? A: Set the languages-spoken attribute on your profile and get one review request template translated. Together they take under an hour and address most of the gap.
If a large share of your customers do not speak English and almost none of them have reviewed you, the problem is the request rather than the service.
Translate the template properly. Hand over a QR code that skips every navigation step. Ask in person, in their language.
And set the languages attribute today, because customers are checking whether you can serve them before they ever walk in. Try Flento free.
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