No bakery we read had answered any of its recent reviews. That is the plainest fact among the 420 businesses someone searching in Albany, CA is shown. The bakery listings carry real volume: the median bakery we read has 198.5 reviews on its listing, and the three most-reviewed have 1,756, 1,399 and 832.
In the rest of food and drink, the figures we can name are modest. Among the restaurants we could measure, Wojia Hunan Cuisine answered 6 of its last 10 reviews and Aangan Restaurant & Bar 1 of 10. Among the cafés, Café Raj answered 4 of 10; among the coffee shops, Blue Willow Teaspot answered 3 of 10. Among the food trucks, Tacos El Autlense LLC and 310 Eatery- LA Style Street Food each answered 1 of 10. Outside food and drink, every trade we read has a named business at 8 of 10 or better; inside it, the highest named figure is Wojia Hunan Cuisine's 6 of 10.
The contrast sits in the spa, health and pet trades. Among the day spas, Cocoon Day Spa Oakland - Rockridge answered 10 of its last 10, and Nubo Med Spa and Wellness and Bunya Tree Spa 9 of 10 each. Nubo Med Spa and Wellness appears among the day spas, the med spas and the dermatology practices named here. Among the chiropractors, Onsight Chiropractic & Massage and Bay Area Brain Spa each answered 10 of 10, and E3 Sport & Spine 8 of 10. Among the veterinarians, Codornices Veterinary Clinic answered 10 of 10, and University Vet Hospital and Abbey Pet Hospital 9 of 10 each. Among the dentists, Ellen M Pacleb DDS answered 10 of 10, and it appears among the orthodontists named here as well.
The benchmark measured here is 70: a typical measured business answered 70% of its recent reviews. That figure is measured across 44 businesses in all trades together, not any one trade alone.
What to do about it
Count your last 10 reviews and how many carry a reply from you. The reply figures above were counted exactly that way.
If you run a bakery, there is no local figure to match: no bakery we read had answered a recent review. If you run a restaurant, the named figures are Wojia Hunan Cuisine's 6 of 10 and Aangan Restaurant & Bar's 1 of 10; among the cafés, Café Raj answered 4 of 10, and among the coffee shops, Blue Willow Teaspot 3 of 10. Among the day spas, Cocoon Day Spa Oakland - Rockridge answered 10 of 10; among the veterinarians, Codornices Veterinary Clinic answered 10 of 10; among the dentists, Ellen M Pacleb DDS answered 10 of 10. Those are the figures to measure yourself against. Whatever your trade, the step is the same: reply to each new review as it arrives, thank the people who were happy, and answer the unhappy ones calmly and specifically. Of everything in that exchange, the reply is the only part you write.
Food & drink in Albany, CA
Of the 20 bakeries we read around Albany, CA, not one had answered any of its recent reviews. These are not empty listings: the median bakery we read carries 198.5 reviews at a 4.65 median rating, and the three most-reviewed bakeries carry 1,756, 1,399 and 832.
Among the restaurants someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, the median one we read carries 291 reviews and a 4.6 median rating; the most-reviewed carries 1,163. Among the restaurants, Wojia Hunan Cuisine answered 6 of its last 10 reviews, on a listing of 591, and Aangan Restaurant & Bar answered 1 of 10, on a listing of 979. Aangan appears among both the restaurants and the bars named here, and it is the only bar named, at 1 of 10. The median bar we read carries 293 reviews at a 4.65 median rating.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | 291 | 4.6 | Wojia Hunan Cuisine | 6 of 10 |
| Cafés | 271 | 4.7 | Café Raj | 4 of 10 |
| Coffee shops | 163.5 | 4.7 | Blue Willow Teaspot | 3 of 10 |
| Bars | 293 | 4.65 | Aangan Restaurant & Bar | 1 of 10 |
| Bakeries | 198.5 | 4.65 | — | |
| Food trucks | 50.5 | 4.7 | Tacos El Autlense LLC | 1 of 10 |
Hair, nails & barbering in Albany, CA
Among the nail salons someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, Sara's Nail Salon El Cerrito and Naveana Nail Salon Albany each answered 10 of their last 10 Google reviews. Sara's carries 145 reviews on its listing in total, and Naveana carries 85. Among the 20 nail salons we read, the median listing carries 52 reviews and the median rating is 4.55. The three most-reviewed nail salons we read carry 547, 315 and 145 reviews, so Sara's holds one of the three largest listings among the nail salons we read.
Among the 20 barbershops we read, Mark-Jason Solofa Men's Grooming answered 9 of its last 10 reviews. Its listing carries 238 reviews in total. The median barbershop we read carries 73 reviews and a median rating of 4.8, and the three most-reviewed carry 587, 416 and 397. Those review counts cover each listing's whole history; the 9 of 10 covers only the most recent ten reviews.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbershops | 73 | 4.8 | Mark-Jason Solofa Men's Grooming | 9 of 10 |
| Hair salons | 35 | 4.8 | Raven & Rose | 8 of 10 |
| Nail salons | 52 | 4.55 | Sara's Nail Salon El Cerrito | 10 of 10 |
See every hair, nails & barbering business we read in Albany →
Spa & aesthetics in Albany, CA
One name runs through three of the five trades in this section. Nubo Med Spa and Wellness, a listing of 351 reviews, appears among the day spas, the med spas and the dermatology businesses someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, and in each of those searches it had answered 9 of its last 10 reviews. It is the only business named here that appears in all three.
Among the dermatology businesses, the reply figures we can name sit far apart. Nubo answered 9 of its last 10. NorCal Dermatology Group and AllSkin Dermatology each answered 2 of their last 10. On the whole listing history, NorCal Dermatology Group carries 467 reviews and AllSkin Dermatology 338; the median dermatology business we read carries 90 reviews and a median rating of 4.9.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day spas | 77 | 4.8 | Cocoon Day Spa Oakland - Rockridge | 10 of 10 |
| Massage | 52.5 | 4.35 | StretchLab Albany | 10 of 10 |
| Med spas | 63 | 4.9 | Mosaic Skin Studio - OAK | 10 of 10 |
| Weight-loss clinics | 45 | 5 | Ella Khan, M.D. | 10 of 10 |
| Dermatology | 90 | 4.9 | Nubo Med Spa and Wellness | 9 of 10 |
Fitness & wellness in Albany, CA
Among the chiropractors someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, Onsight Chiropractic & Massage and Bay Area Brain Spa each answered all 10 of their most recent reviews. Onsight did it on a listing of 389 reviews, the highest count among the 20 chiropractors we read; Bay Area Brain Spa did it on 123. E3 Sport & Spine answered 8 of its last 10, on a listing of 218. Those three are the chiropractors we can credit by name for replying.
Among the 20 gyms we read, StretchLab Albany answered 10 of its last 10 reviews on a listing of 217, and Bridges Rock Gym answered 9 of its last 10 on a listing of 600. Equinox Berkeley answered 1 of its last 10, on a listing of 222. Nothing in these figures describes the gyms we have not named; they are the three we can credit for replying.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyms | 72.5 | 4.9 | StretchLab Albany | 10 of 10 |
| Chiropractors | 98 | 5 | Onsight Chiropractic & Massage | 10 of 10 |
Dental & orthodontics in Albany, CA
Among the dentists and orthodontists we could measure, Ellen M Pacleb DDS answers the most of its recent reviews: 10 of its last 10. It appears among both the dentists and the orthodontists named here. Among the practices named in this section, it is the only one at 10 of 10. Its listing carries 375 reviews in total. These figures come from 20 dentists and 20 orthodontists we read among the businesses someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, which is a catchment rather than a list of practices inside the city limits.
Among the dentists we read, Dentists of El Cerrito Plaza answered 6 of its last 10 reviews, and North Berkeley Dental Arts answered 3 of 10. Their listings carry 333 and 313 reviews in total. The median dentist we read carries 47 reviews, and the most-reviewed carries 576. The median rating among the dentists is 4.9.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dentists | 47 | 4.9 | Ellen M Pacleb DDS | 10 of 10 |
| Orthodontists | 52 | 4.9 | Ellen M Pacleb DDS | 10 of 10 |
See every dental & orthodontics business we read in Albany →
Pets in Albany, CA
Codornices Veterinary Clinic appears among both the pet groomers and the veterinarians named in this section, from the businesses someone searching in Albany, CA is shown. It answered 10 of its last 10 reviews, the highest recent reply figure among the businesses named in either trade. Its listing carries 389 reviews in total.
Of the 20 pet grooming businesses we read in that catchment, the median carries 85.5 Google reviews and a median rating of 4.65. The most-reviewed grooming listing carries 1,126 reviews, followed by 389 and 281. Among the groomers we could measure, Metro Dog answered 8 of its last 10 reviews, alongside Codornices at 10 of 10. Metro Dog's listing carries 209 reviews across its whole history.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pet grooming | 85.5 | 4.65 | Codornices Veterinary Clinic | 10 of 10 |
| Veterinarians | 158 | 4.7 | Codornices Veterinary Clinic | 10 of 10 |
Shops & studios in Albany, CA
Among the tattoo studios someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, the median studio we read carries 83 Google reviews. The most-reviewed carries 2,050, and the next two carry 613 and 601. We read 20 tattoo studios for this section, and those review counts cover each listing's whole history, not any recent stretch.
The median rating among the tattoo studios we read is 4.8 stars. That is a single middle figure. It does not tell you how any one studio's rating looks, and it is measured over the same whole-listing history as the review counts above.
| Trade | Median reviews | Median rating | Answers reviews best | Answered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tattoo studios | 83 | 4.8 | Baron Art Tattoo & Piercing Studio | 9 of 10 |
Method
Every figure comes from public Google listings — the businesses and owner replies any customer can see — read on 2026-09-24. Counts describe the businesses someone searching in Albany, CA is shown, which is the competitive set a customer actually chooses from, not a register of businesses inside the city limits. A business is named only where we read at least eight of its recent reviews, and only the ones answering the most are named; the rest of a market appears as a distribution with its denominator. Chains are counted but never named. Nothing is ranked on star rating. Albany, CA has a population of 19,768 and a median household income of $135,927 (US Census) — context for the town, not a predictor of its reviews.