Repair a review QR code that opens the wrong or broken destination

Test the physical item customers actually use

Scan the code from a receipt, poster, card, or email screenshot rather than the original design file. Printing size, contrast, a damaged surface, or an old destination can make the public item behave differently from a working file on your computer.

Write where it opens and what prevents the customer from continuing. A correct business page that requires the customer's Google sign-in is different from a broken link or a code for another branch. Do not collect a customer's password or ask them to use your staff account to complete the test.

Confirm the exact profile and review destination

Open the correct branch's authorized profile and use Google's current review-sharing controls. Google supports a review link and QR code; its current instructions require a computer browser to generate the Google review QR code. Use that interface for the replacement code, then test it by scanning on a phone. Save the location name beside the link so a designer does not accidentally reuse another branch's code.

Keep the invitation simple and optional. A request for an honest review should not preselect a rating, tell the customer what to write, or first ask whether they are satisfied before showing Google. A repair to the technical path is not a reason to filter which genuine experiences can be shared.

Replace and test the destination

• Use a computer browser to generate or download the intended profile's Google review QR code, or copy that profile's current review link.
• Scan a proof of the final printed size on an ordinary customer's type of phone.
• Confirm the right business name and review destination.
• Include a readable fallback path or neutral request instructions when practical.
• Replace stale items and check every place the old code was distributed.

Avoid fixing friction with pressure

Do not stand over customers while they post, offer a discount for using the new code, or require a review before they receive their receipt or service information. Google prohibits incentives and pressured review solicitation. Let customers choose whether, when, and what to contribute from their own genuine experience.

Avoid a shared staff tablet logged into one account for multiple customers' reviews. That can confuse authorship and expose account information. A simple usable link on the customer's own device is more appropriate than an elaborate kiosk designed to maximize immediate submissions.

Maintain the code after business changes

Keep an inventory of printed and digital placements with the branch and date last tested. Review it after a profile merge, location change, or new receipt design. A code that worked last year may still point somewhere you no longer intend customers to review.

Measure whether the destination is correct and usable, not how many favorable ratings it produces. Track anonymous reports of broken scans or wrong-location landings and fix the cause. Do not treat fewer negative reviews as evidence that a newly gated path is a successful technical repair.

Worked example

For example, a two-branch craft shop prints the north branch's review code on both branches' receipts. A scan from the south branch opens the wrong business location. The owner copies the south profile's current review destination, tests a final-size receipt proof, and replaces the affected template. A neutral sentence invites honest feedback without a rating request or reward. The example demonstrates location accuracy and usability; it does not claim a measured increase in reviews or a guaranteed score improvement.

Questions about this task