Customer Feedback at the Table

At Aris Place, a neighbourhood greasy spoon, we came across the easiest customer feedback solution yet!  And at a small, independent diner, no less!  Using a table tent that's permanently at the table means that customers have the whole meal to decide to participate.

The table tent looks like a robot designed it - there is zero flair, just a URL and "Prizes for Feedback!"  This stark, white sign pollutes the table.

The QR code was easy to scan (it's huge!) and we were presented with a simple 2 question survey:  Food (1 to 5) and Service (1 to 5) and we could enter our own comments.  The easiest survey we have completed so far!


The prize in this case was free breakfast.  Maybe breakfast for 2 would be more romantic?

We provided our email address to be entered in the draw for a free breakfast!  I had to give my email address, but they promised not to spam me.

Looks like an utterly simple and straightforward customer feedback solution.  I completed the whole process in about a minute.

Update:

Looks like this is Virtual Comment Box.

Paper Comment Cards

Customer feedback is really important.  This classic comment card is one of the easiest ways to collect feedback.

There are challenges to this comment card approach - primarily the challenges of any paper-based system.  Comment cards must be distributed, collected and tabulated in a timely fashion.

Simple, and reliable.  Takes just a couple of minutes to fill out.

I don't like that I have to give the feedback to my waiter, because I might want to give him a bad score.  If I piss someone off, my name and address is right there!  I eat at Gazebo's often and they know me.  I don't want to crap on these people because I have a relationship with them.  You get mostly happy customers on paper comment cards.

A $25 prize once a month...  Nothing to write home about.

I pitty the foo whose job it is to tally these things.  Get the internet working for you!


Do better:

Maybe add a pre-paid stamp so I don't have to hand it to my server.

Get Mobile Ready

Oh, Casey's, you casual neighbourhood character, you!  You're still living in the 90s.    We still like you!  We like Ace of Bass!


Your prize is so incredible, it needs celebrating.  A $1,000 gift certificate?  That's an epic night out! And you're doing this 12 times a year?  This is the best prize WE'VE EVER SEEN!

Obviously, this feedback thing is very important to you.  Why not help your customers participate?

Like a fool I typed your URL into my phone's browser.  I should have remembered that in the 90s there were no mobile phones, so you have only a desktop website.  You know what?  For $1000 in drinks I'll do a lot, so I'll memorize your URL and try again from home.

Why not put the URL on my receipt, so I don't have to write commit it to memory or write it down?  You're blowing $12,000 a year on prizes but make it a chore to participate?  Are you doing this to get customer feedback or just so you can attend the wild $1000 parties?

Back at home, your survey your website was down.  That sort of thing was common in the 90s.  An ordinary person would have given up, but the $1000 kept me focused.  I tried later and your website was working!

Your URL just points to your corporate website not to the survey you mention.  After some searching I found the tiny "Customer Survey" button.

After completing your 40+ question exam and providing my mailing address, I'm into the contest.  Fingers crossed!


Be better

Casey's, keep your laid back throwback attitude and pub food - we love you.

You need to accept that most of the people eating in your restaurants own cellular telephones and many of these "cell" phones have miniature world wide web browsers built right in.  Many of them will see your URL and think that (because it is 2012) they should use their phone to complete your survey.  If I can't do it from my phone, at least write your URL on my receipt.

Shorten your exam style survey.

Indigo Working Hard for Customer Feedback

Chapters Indigo is embracing feedback in a big way.  A recent receipt includes two (!) separate feedback systems!

In blue and stapled to the receipt

Win an iPod!  What's an iPod?

To enter the contest, I need to key in a some fields from my receipt including store code.  Can you find it?  It's there!  The survey is 60 questions (with a mandatory free form essay question) and then you must provide your phone number to be entered.  In general, this is a high-hassle contest.

There's even a telephone option that takes "5-7 minutes" to enter the contest.  On my attempt it took me 11 minutes - I did make some mistakes...

Printed on receipt with QR code

A nice, easy to scan QR code - small data size and black on white makes this QR code easy to read with even a slow phone.

Totally separate from the survey contest above.  This is a link to a Facebook application.  Once identifying yourself and providing your "idea" in a text box, your idea appears on the Chapters Indigo Facebook page.  No survey, no incentive.

Do better

Shorten your survey.  60 questions is like taking an exam - your customers will be pissed off and you will have a lot of abandoned surveys after about page 1.

Have 1 feedback approach - what do you gain from separate approaches except more overhead and confusion?  Obviously you can print what you want on your receipt.  Why not use your printed receipt for your survey instead of a highly dubious Facebook application?  Scrap the Facebook application - you can ask for ideas instead of the essay format question on your current survey.

While you're changing your printed receipt, show your customers you respect them and carry the date, store code, etc. in your QR code so a customer doesn't have to do busywork to participate.