How do you respond to a review about a long wait?

Short answer

Apologize for the wait, briefly note any context or fix without making excuses, and invite them back. Wait-time complaints are common and easy to answer gracefully.

A good reply

• Acknowledge the frustration — waiting is genuinely annoying.
• Add brief context if it helps ("we were short-staffed that evening") and what you're doing about it.
• Invite a return visit so they see the improvement.

Avoid a laundry list of excuses; one honest sentence about the cause plus a fix reads far better. Prospects understand that busy days happen — what they're judging is whether you own it.