Guest Reviews and Reputation
The Reviews section helps collect feedback from guests and manage your restaurant's reputation. Ratings come directly from the QR menu — without phone calls or paper questionnaires. The core principle: low ratings stay private for internal review, while satisfied guests are invited to leave a public review on Google or another platform.
Open: Admin Panel → Reviews (admin.cenaly.ru). Inside, there are four tabs: "Internal Reviews" (private guest feedback), "Google" (reviews from Google Business), "Platforms" (which review sites you have and what to do with them), and "External Reviews" (a unified monitoring feed across all platforms).
How a guest leaves a rating#
A guest can leave a rating at several touchpoints:
- At checkout — immediately after placing an order in the QR menu, a prompt to rate the visit appears.
- In a completed order — when the order status changes to "Completed" or "Delivered", the guest sees a "Rate" button in their order.
- Via a direct link — you can place a link like
?review=1on a table, at the POS, or in a messenger; the guest will open the rating form directly.
The rating form is a panel with stars (1–5★) and a text field. Entering text is optional.
Smart filter: low ratings privately, high ratings to public platforms#
Meni uses two-way logic ("smart filter") that protects your reputation while helping you collect genuine public reviews:
| Rating | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–3★ (low) | The guest sees a "What can we improve?" field and leaves private feedback. The review goes directly to your "Reviews" section only — it is not displayed publicly anywhere. |
| 4–5★ (high) | After submitting the rating, the guest sees buttons for public platforms — "Leave a review on Google", Yandex, and other platforms you enabled in the "Platforms" tab. The guest writes a public review there directly, at their own discretion. |
Such reviews are marked in the list with a badge — showing that the guest was prompted to visit a public platform.
There is no public review board on your QR menu page — all ratings are stored only with you.
Managing Reviews in the Admin Panel#
On the "Direct Reviews" tab, you can see everything guests have submitted through the QR menu.
KPI Cards#
At the top of the page are summary metrics for the selected location:
- Average rating — the arithmetic mean of all reviews.
- Total reviews — the overall count.
- Unresolved low — reviews with 1–3 stars that are not yet marked as "Resolved"; highlighted in red if any remain open.
- Distribution — a mini-histogram for each star rating (5★ → 1★).
Reviews List#
Each review in the list displays:
- rating (stars) and status (see below);
- source — checkout, order, or QR link;
- text left by the guest (if any);
- guest's name and phone number (if available from the order);
- a link to the linked order — can be opened directly from the card.
Statuses and Workflow#
Each review goes through three statuses:
- New — just received, not yet reviewed.
- Viewed — you have seen it, but the issue has not been resolved yet.
- Resolved — the issue is closed (or the review requires no action).
Switch statuses using buttons directly on the card; a closed review can be reopened if the issue reoccurs. The filter at the top of the list has four options — All, New, Viewed, Resolved. A dedicated KPI card at the top of the section shows how many low-rating reviews remain unresolved.
Internal Note#
Under each review, there is a field for an owner note — for yourself or colleagues (the guest cannot see it). It is convenient for logging what was done: "spoke with the chef", "offered a discount on next visit".
"Google" Tab#
The "Google" tab displays reviews from your Google Business Profile — both those left directly on Google by guests and those submitted via the QR menu button.
Tab features:
- View all Google reviews with ratings and dates.
- Reply to reviews directly from the admin panel — without switching to Google Business Profile. Sent replies are displayed right under the review.
- Average Google rating — displayed above the list.
To use this tab, you need to connect your Google Business account — this is done in App Store → By Locations → Google Business. If the account is not connected or a Google location is not selected, the tab will notify you and guide you on what to do next.
"Platforms" Tab#
Google is not the only place where people write about you. The "Platforms" tab contains a directory of review sites tailored specifically for you: the list is automatically filtered by location country and business type (a hotel will be offered Booking, a restaurant — Restoclub and similar).
For each platform:
- Profile link — paste your page URL; the system will warn you if the link does not look right.
- Capabilities badge — shows what we support for this platform: full integration via API, automatic review collection, or link only.
- Two independent toggles:
- "Show to guests" — whether the platform is included in the 4–5★ funnel and the order of the buttons;
- "Track reviews" — enables monitoring: new reviews from the platform will appear in the "External reviews" feed.
Find reviews online#
The platform directory is "where people CAN write about you." The "Find reviews online" button answers a different question — where people are already writing about you: the system searches for mentions of your venue by name and address and returns a list of found pages. Each candidate can be assigned to the profile of a matching platform, added to "Custom sources", or hidden so it is no longer suggested.
Custom sources#
If reviews are on a website that is not in the directory, add its URL to "Custom sources" — it will be monitored just like platforms from the directory. The system first tries to read the page itself; when a website only serves a "shell" rendered in the browser, the page is captured by the browser extension on your computer (the same one that gathers pages into the knowledge base). The feed will then transparently display "queued for your PC" — and if the extension has not connected for a long time, you will see it rather than guess why there are no reviews. The same method is used to retrieve reviews from Yandex Maps, 2GIS, Flamp, Zoon, and Tripadvisor.
"External Reviews" Tab#
A unified feed of everything written about you on external platforms—no need to manually check five different websites every morning. Reviews are collected automatically on a schedule; the "Refresh Now" button runs an immediate check.
- Filters—by platform, "Negative only", "Unanswered". The latter two serve as your daily to-do list.
- Owner response. Where technically supported by the platform, responses are sent directly from the admin panel. Where not supported (Yandex, 2GIS, Facebook)—we state it clearly and provide a "Copy text and open platform" button.
- AI draft response. The generate button inserts a ready-made text into the input field—and stops there. Sending externally happens only upon your click: strictly no autoposting, whether for 5★ or any other reviews.
Reputation Settings#
Settings are accessed via the gear icon ⚙ in the section header — it switches to the "Direct Reviews" tab and expands the "Reputation Settings" block:
- Ask guests for a rating — toggle. If disabled, the rating form does not appear at checkout and on completed orders. Useful during maintenance or if you want to temporarily suspend review collection.
- Link to Google profile — insert a direct link like
https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=…. This exact link will open for guests who rate 4–5★. If the link is left blank, the Google button is not displayed. - Link to Yandex — the same for Yandex Maps/Business. If a custom link is not specified, it will be automatically populated from the Yandex Business address of your location.
After making changes, click "Save". Settings apply to the selected location.
Automated Review Request#
Most direct reviews do not arrive on their own — they are brought in by the "Review Request" autopilot campaign: the system automatically asks the guest to rate their visit a set number of hours after a completed order (the delay is configurable, 1–168 hours). It is located in the "Sales & Promo" → "Coupons" tab → "Marketing Autopilot" block; the second target of the gear icon in the "Reviews" section leads directly there. For more details, see Campaigns & Autopilot.
Related Sections#
- Orders — order statuses to which reviews are linked
- Regular Guests — history of guests and their activity
- QR Menu — checkout from which the rating form is launched
- Integrations — connecting Google Business Profile
- Advertising and Marketing — managing external channels
Frequently Asked Questions#
Can guests see each other's reviews?#
No. There is no public review board — all ratings are private and accessible only to the owner and managers. A guest who leaves 4–5★ is prompted to write a public review on Google or another enabled platform — but that is their personal choice.
What happens if a guest leaves only stars and no text?#
The rating is still saved and factored into the KPIs. Text is optional — sometimes clicking the stars is enough for the guest.
How do I get a Google profile link for the settings?#
Log in to Google Business Profile, open your location, and click "Get review link" (or "Share review form"). Copy the short link and paste it into the "Google Profile Link" field in the "Reviews" section settings.
Can I manage reviews across multiple locations?#
Yes. If you have multiple locations, select the desired one from the drop-down list at the top of the page — KPIs, the review list, and settings will load for the selected location.
Where does a review go if a guest rates via the ?review=1 link instead of an order?#
The review is saved in the exact same way as via checkout: with the source "QR link", without a linked order. The smart filter works identically for all sources.