Private feedback form or public Google review QR: which should you use?

Two goals, two very different tools

“Feedback” and “reviews” sound alike, but they do different jobs. A private feedback form sends answers straight to you; nobody else reads them unless you choose to publish something yourself. A public review link sends the customer to your business profile, where their words and rating stay visible to every future customer.

Both are worth having, and both can backfire when used for the wrong goal. A customer with a complaint may not want to write it publicly; a happy customer may never think to review you unprompted. Decide which conversation you need before choosing the square you print.

What a public review link can and cannot do

Google Business Profile can create a share link or QR code that opens the review form for your business on Google, and Google suggests putting it on receipts, in thank-you emails or on display in your store. The review is public, tied to the customer’s own Google account, and reflects their experience; you can reply to it, but a review that follows the rules cannot be deleted by you.

That publicity is the point: a steady stream of genuine public reviews builds reputation exactly where people check for it. The trade-off is control — the rating is the customer’s, the wording is the customer’s, and the platform’s rules decide what may be asked, offered or removed.

Reference: Google: create a link or QR code to request reviews

What a private feedback form collects

A lead form on log.my collects answers to the questions you choose and delivers them to your Leads page, visible only to your account. Visitors do not need an account; they complete the fields, agree to the consent line and send. You can add a choice field as a simple rating scale, but the result is the customer’s stated opinion — not an audited public score.

Privacy is the other side of honesty. Say plainly what you collect, what it is used for and that responses are kept for up to twelve months before automatic deletion. Complaints that arrive privately are a chance to fix a problem before it becomes a public one, and you can still invite a satisfied customer to review you publicly afterwards.

To set the form up, follow the form-to-QR walkthrough and keep the fields to what you will actually read.

Choose by what you will do with the answers

Start from the decision the answers should inform, then pick the tool that reaches it. The comparison below keeps the two options honest about what each one actually produces.

Stay inside the review policy

Google’s rules prohibit reviews that were paid for, directly or in kind, and prohibit offering incentives — payment, discounts or free goods — in exchange for posting any review or for changing or removing a negative one. The rules also prohibit discouraging negative reviews or selectively soliciting only positive ones, so the printed sign next to your review QR must stay a neutral invitation such as “Enjoyed your visit? We would love a review”.

The same honesty applies to the private side. Do not quietly divert unhappy customers away from the public page, and let people choose where their words go. What you must not do is tie any reward, discount or entry to leaving a review at all.

Reference: Google: prohibited and restricted content for reviews

Put the responses to work

Review private responses in Leads and export them as CSV when you need to study themes offline. Read repeated complaints as a to-do list, thank customers who leave useful suggestions, and note whether the changes you make shift what later responses say. Form submissions are counted separately from QR link visits, so keep the two numbers apart when you judge results.

If visits arrive but responses do not, work through QR visits but no leads: what to check first.

• Read Leads on a fixed routine rather than letting responses pile up.
• Note repeated themes beside the campaign that collected them.
• Mention the public review option in person, without rewards or pressure.