Consumer feedback apparatus

• US 6,574,614 B1
• Filed: 02/04/2000
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brad Kesel
• Original Assignee: Brad Kesel
• Inventors: Kesel, Brad
• Primary Examiner(s): STARKS, WILBERT L
• Application Number:
  US09/498,153
• Time in Patent Office: 1,215 Days
• Field of Search: 706/52, 705/10, 705/8, 705/4, 705/40, 455/2, 700/232
• US Class Current: 706/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A consumer feedback apparatus for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information on goods and services offered for sale to consumers by providers, comprising a recording station selectively operable by consumers for recording oral comments regarding goods and services offered by the providers. The oral comments and associated time signals are communicated to an analyzer for creating discrete normalized representations including comment category, at least one descriptor, at least one dimension, and an attitude, representative of each oral comment. Normalized comments are then selected according to the comment category, descriptor, dimension, attitude, and time signal, and analyzed for reporting to the provider for use in responding to perceptions of consumers as to the services and goods offered by the store to consumers. A method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback comments on goods and services offered for sale to consumers by retailers is disclosed.

Claims

1. A consumer feedback apparatus for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information on goods and services offered to a plurality of consumers by a provider of goods and services, comprising:

a kiosk stand for being located at a provider of goods and services to a plurality of consumers for collecting at least one oral comment from at least one of said plurality of consumers;

a touch-sensitive video display screen attached to said kiosk stand for being selectively operated by said at least one consumer;

a controller operatively engaged to the display screen for displaying operational instructions for collecting said oral comment from said at least one consumer;

a communicator for communicating said collected oral comment to an analyzer for creating a normalized representation of said collected oral comment, said normalized representation comprising a comment category, at least one descriptor, at least one dimension, an attitude, said analyzer remote from said kiosk stand; and

a reporter for reporting said normalized representation in a usable format, said normalized representation selected based on at least one of said comment category, descriptor, dimension, and attitude,

whereby said reporter provides usable information to the provider for responding to said oral comment.

2. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a recorder for recording said oral comment collected from said at least one consumer.

3. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for associating automatically a time signal representative of a date and time with each discrete oral comment, which time signal is included with said normalized representations.

4. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for the provider remote from the analyzer to generate reports of selected normalized representations.

5. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a computer-based storage means for holding said oral comment and said normalized representation.

6. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising means for the provider remote from the storage means to generate reports of selected normalized representations.

7. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the analyzer comprises a fuzzy-logic analyzer for interpreting each oral comment and creating the normalized representation.

8. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for associating each oral comment with the said one of the plurality of consumers.

9. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein said recorder includes means for associating a unique code representative of the said one of the plurality of consumers making said oral comment, whereby comments by specific consumers can be tracked.

10. A method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback on goods and services offered for sale to consumers, comprising the steps of:

(a) collecting one or more oral comments by at least one of a plurality of consumers at a provider of goods and services, said oral comment received interactively by operation of at least one station with a touch-sensitive video display;

(b) communicating the collected oral comments from the station to an analyzer;

(c) creating a discrete normalized representation associated with each oral comment, said normalized representation comprising useable information from the oral comment about the goods and services subject of the oral comment;

(d) storing the discrete normalized representation;

(e) selecting normalized representations for analysis; and

(f) generating a report of the selected normalized representations,

whereby the report generated by analyzing the selected normalized representations provides useable information for the provider to use in responding to consumer perceptions about the goods and services.

11. The method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback as recited in claim 10, further comprising the step of recording the collected oral comment for communicating in step (c) at a predetermined time with other collected oral comments.

12. The method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback as recited in claim 10, wherein the analyzer creates useable information including a comment category, at least one descriptor, at least one dimension, and an attitude, representative of said discrete oral comment.

13. The method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback as recited in claim 12, wherein the selection is based on at least one of the comment category, descriptor, dimension, and attitude, of the normalized representations.

14. The method of collecting, analyzing, and reporting consumer feedback as recited in claim 12, wherein the steps (e) and (f) are performed by the provider remote from the storage of the discrete normalized representations.

15. A consumer feedback apparatus for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information on goods and services offered to a plurality of consumers by a provider of goods and services, comprising:

a kiosk stand for being located at a provider of goods and services to a plurality of consumers for collecting at least one oral comment from at least one of said plurality of consumers;

a touch-sensitive video display screen attached to said kiosk stand for being selectively operated by said at least one consumer;

a controller operatively engaged to the display screen for displaying operational instructions for collecting said oral comment from said at least one consumer;

a communicator for communicating said collected oral comment to a fuzzy-logic analyzer that interprets each oral comment and creates a normalized representation of said collected oral comment, said analyzer remote from said kiosk stand; and

a reporter for reporting said normalized representation in a usable format,

whereby said reporter provides usable information to the provider for responding to said oral comment.

16. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising a recorder for recording said oral comment collected from said at least one consumer.

17. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising means for associating automatically a time signal representative of a date and time with each discrete oral comment, which time signal is included with said normalized representations.

18. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, wherein said useable information comprises a comment category, at least one descriptor, at least one dimension, and an attitude, which said useable information is representative of the discrete oral comment;

and

wherein said reporter selects useable information for reporting based on at least one of said comment category, descriptor, dimension, and attitude.

19. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising a computer-based storage means for holding said oral comment and said normalized representation.

20. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising means for the provider remote from the analyzer to generate reports of selected normalized representations.

21. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising means for associating each oral comment with the said one of the plurality of consumers.

22. The consumer feedback apparatus as recited in claim 15, further comprising means for associating a unique code representative of the said one of the plurality of consumers making said oral comment, whereby comments by specific consumers can be tracked.