Google & manual reviews
Where reviews come from — imported from Google or added by hand — and how they differ.
Every review in Mountify carries a Source badge with one of four values: Customer, Manual, Google or Yelp. The badge is visible only to you — the public page never shows it. This article explains what each means, which one is created automatically and which isn’t, and how to use them without breaking the law.
The headline first: Mountify does NOT import reviews from Google. There is no Google connection that pulls them in. The Google value is simply a label you pick while transcribing a genuine review from your Google profile by hand.
1. The four sources
| Source | How it appears | Tied to a booking | Who enters it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer | automatically, when a client rates their visit | yes, a specific booking | the client |
| Manual | by hand, via the Add button | no | you |
| by hand, via the Add button | no | you | |
| Yelp | by hand, via the Add button | no | you |
The only automatic source is Customer. The other three are the same action — manual entry — with a different label.
2. Customer — the only automatic one
A review with source Customer can only be born two ways:
- The client taps Rate your visit in the email that arrives about 3 hours after the visit.
- The client signs in on your public page, opens My bookings and presses Leave a review on a past visit.
Such a review has some important properties:
- One per booking. A second attempt shows You’ve already reviewed this visit.
- Real visits only. Cancelled, no-show and future bookings can’t be reviewed.
- Up to 90 days after the visit.
- The specialist is detected automatically from the booking — if a person took part, the review attaches to them.
- The author name comes from the booking’s own details.
The full conditions for when the email fires are in Collect reviews.
3. Manual, Google and Yelp — three labels for one action
All three are entered the same way: Setup → Reviews → the Add button → fill in stars, name, text, date, optionally a specialist, and pick a Source.
The difference is the label only, and it’s for your eyes. Choose it so that in six months you still remember where the review came from:
| Pick | When the review was |
|---|---|
| Manual | said in person, over the phone, in a private message, written in the front-desk notebook |
| published on your Google profile and you’re transcribing it | |
| Yelp | published on Yelp and you’re transcribing it |
Technically there is no difference at all. All three display identically in public, count identically toward the rating, and moderate identically.
4. Why transcribe a Google review at all
A Google review works on Google — when someone searches for your venue. A Mountify review works on the booking page — right before the client presses the button. Those are two different decision points.
If you have 40 reviews on Google and none on your page, a visitor sees no social proof at the exact moment it matters most.
A practical approach:
- Pick your 5–8 best and most specific Google reviews.
- Enter them by hand with source Google, using the real names and dates.
- Let automatic Customer reviews accumulate on top — they’re the most credible, because each is tied to a real booking.
Don’t transcribe all 40. The public block shows only a handful of the newest; the rest just fill your archive.
5. Rules you must follow
Fake consumer reviews are a prohibited unfair commercial practice in Bulgaria and across the European Union, and they carry penalties. Manual entry in Mountify exists so you can carry real reviews across — not to invent them.
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Transcribing a real review from Google, Yelp or paper, word for word | Inventing a review and an author |
| Shortening a name to “Maria G.” for privacy | Writing reviews as staff members or relatives |
| Fixing a typo in your own entry | Changing the text of a review a client wrote |
| Hiding spam, abuse or a duplicate | Systematically hiding every criticism |
| Inviting a happy client to leave a review | Paying or discounting in exchange for a positive review |
Two practical tips: keep the evidence (a screenshot of the Google review or the message you transcribed) and don’t round the dates — the date on the review should be the real one.
6. Hiding, rating and source
Source has no effect on any of the following:
- A hidden review leaves the average — whether it’s Customer, Manual, Google or Yelp.
- A review attributed to a specialist feeds their personal rating — whatever the source.
- The public page renders all active reviews identically, newest first.
The one difference with Customer is that the value appears in the Source dropdown only while you’re editing such a review — so a save doesn’t silently rewrite it to Manual.
7. Troubleshooting
How do I import all my Google reviews at once? There is no such feature. They go in by hand, one at a time.
A Google review disappeared from Google. Should I remove my copy? Yes. If the author deleted their review, your transcription no longer reflects reality — hide it.
Can I change the source of an existing review? Yes, via the Edit pencil on the Active tab. Don’t change the source of a Customer review.
Which source looks best to the client? None — the badge isn’t public. The client sees stars, text, a name and a date.
What’s next
- Moderate reviews — the manual-entry form, field by field.
- Customer reviews — the whole page.
- Collect reviews — how to earn Customer-source reviews.
- Reviews on your page — what the visitor sees.