Overview
The Private Feedback Inbox is where messages from unhappy customers land. When a customer submits a low NPS score through your ReviewBridge page, they are directed to a private feedback form instead of a public review platform. Everything they write goes here — visible only to your team, never posted publicly.
What you can do here:
Read feedback — see every message alongside the customer's name, contact details, location, and score
Find a specific message — search by customer name, email, phone, location, or words from the message itself
Reply by email — open your email client with the customer's address pre-filled so you can respond directly
Mark feedback as handled — toggle the responded switch to record that the message has been dealt with and move it to Archive
Promote feedback to My Reviews — convert a piece of private feedback into a review entry visible in My reviews
Switch between New and Archive — track which feedback still needs attention and which has already been handled
Private feedback comes from customers who went through your Review invitation automation flow and scored below your threshold.
Move between New and Archive
Two tabs at the top of the page separate feedback by status.
Tab | What it shows |
New | Feedback that has not yet been marked as responded. The number next to "Inbox" in the sidebar shows how many items are in this tab. The count updates immediately when you respond to an item. |
Archive | Feedback that has been marked as responded. Items move here automatically when you toggle the responded switch. |
Click a tab to switch between them. Start with New to see everything that still needs a response.
Find a feedback message
Type into the search bar below the Inbox heading to filter the list. The list updates as you type. To return to the full list, clear the search bar.
You can search by any of the following:
Customer name
Email address
Phone number
Location name
Words from the feedback message itself
Tip: Searching by part of a message — for example, "wait time" or "follow-up" — is a quick way to group similar complaints before following up.
Read a feedback message
Each feedback card contains everything recorded when the customer submitted their message.
Field | What it shows |
Avatar and name | Customer's initials and the name they provided |
Email / phone | Contact details, shown only for the fields the customer provided |
Location | The business location the feedback is linked to |
Date | When the customer submitted their feedback |
Star rating | The star rating the customer chose (shown only if one was given) |
NPS badge | The NPS score from 0–10 (shown only if one was recorded) |
Feedback message | The customer's written message, shown in the main body of the card |
A card can have a star rating, an NPS score, both, or neither — both fields are optional depending on how your ReviewBridge page is set up and what the customer filled in.
Reply to a customer by email
If the customer provided an email address, a Reply button appears at the bottom right of their card. Clicking it opens your default email client — such as Mail, Outlook, or Gmail — with the customer's address already filled in so you can write your response there.
GiveMe5 does not compose, send, or store what you write. The Reply button is simply a shortcut that opens your own email client. What you write stays entirely within your email program.
The Reply button is disabled in two situations:
The customer did not provide an email address.
The feedback has already been marked as responded.
Mark feedback as responded
When you have dealt with a piece of feedback — by email, phone, or any other method — toggle the "I've responded to this feedback" switch on the card.
What happens when you turn the switch on:
The card displays Replied by [your name] with the date and time the switch was toggled.
The item moves from the New tab to the Archive tab.
The sidebar count for Inbox decreases immediately.
This action cannot be undone. The switch cannot be turned back off once enabled. If you toggled it by mistake, the feedback remains accessible in the Archive tab where you can still read it.
Move feedback to My Reviews
If a piece of private feedback should count as a review in your record, click Move to My Reviews at the bottom right of the card. A confirmation dialog appears before anything changes.
Click Confirm to proceed, or Cancel to go back without making a change.
After confirming:
The feedback is permanently removed from the Inbox.
It appears in My reviews as a review attributed to the GiveMe5 platform.
The NPS score used for the review entry is determined as follows:
If an NPS score was recorded on the feedback, that score is used directly.
If only a star rating was recorded, it is converted automatically (star rating × 2).
If neither was recorded, a default score of 5 is used.
You can manually adjust the star rating or NPS score in My Reviews after the move if the converted value doesn't reflect the customer's actual sentiment.
Only move feedback to My Reviews when the sentiment is a fair representation of the customer's experience. Private feedback is kept private by design — moving it promotes it into a visible metric.
Tips
Check the New tab at the start of each day. The sidebar count tells you at a glance how many items still need attention.
Before calling a customer to follow up, use the search bar to pull up their card and review what they wrote. Searching by phone number works just as well as searching by name.
The Reply button opens your own email client — GiveMe5 does not send or track those emails. Write and send the response from your email program as normal.
Once you mark feedback as responded, you cannot undo it. Check the Archive tab to review items you've already handled.
Moved feedback cannot be brought back to Inbox. Use Move to My Reviews only when you are sure the entry should appear in your review record.
Frequently asked questions
Where does private feedback come from?
It comes from customers who submitted a message through your ReviewBridge page after giving a low NPS score. Instead of being routed to a public review platform, those customers see a private feedback form. For more on how that routing works, see Review invitation automation.
Can I reply directly from the Inbox?
You can start a reply using the Reply button, which opens your own email client with the customer's address pre-filled. GiveMe5 does not send the reply on your behalf, track whether it was delivered, or store what you write.
Why is the Reply button not clickable on some cards?
The Reply button is disabled in two situations: the customer did not provide an email address, or you have already marked the feedback as responded.
Can I undo "I've responded to this feedback"?
No. Once the toggle is turned on it cannot be turned off. If you turned it on by mistake, the feedback remains in the Archive tab where you can still read and reference it.
What happens to the feedback after I click Move to My Reviews?
The feedback is removed from the Inbox entirely and converted into a review entry in My reviews, attributed to the GiveMe5 platform. This cannot be undone.
Why are some cards missing a star rating or NPS score?
Both are optional. The fields only appear on a card when the customer filled them in, and what's available depends on how your ReviewBridge page is configured.
Who can use the Private Feedback Inbox?
All authenticated users with dashboard access. There are no role-based restrictions on reading feedback, marking items as responded, or moving feedback to My Reviews.
Why can't I use the Inbox for this location?
You can't use the Private Feedback Inbox for locations where Review Management isn't turned on. Go to User Menu → Locations and enable Review Management for that location.
Does the sidebar count update in real time?
Yes. The count reflects the number of items in the New tab and updates immediately when you mark an item as responded or move it to My Reviews.
Is there a limit on how many feedback items are stored?
There is no documented limit. All submitted private feedback is retained in the Inbox until you move it to My Reviews.