Customer survey device with fraud prevention system

• US 8,335,709 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2010
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Long Range Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Long Range Systems LLC
• Inventors: Todd, Kenneth J., Lovegreen, Kenneth J.
• Primary Examiner(s): RUDY, ANDREW J
• Application Number:
  US12/807,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20120054016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11, 705/7.15, 705/7.28, 705/7.26, 705/7, 705/29, 705/7.32, 705/26.1, 340/286.09, 340/266.09, 348/143, 348/150, 348/151, 348/161, 434/143, 434/150, 434/151, 434/161
• US Class Current: 705/7.32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera

Abstract

A restaurant customer-survey system and device, which reduces employee fraud when a customer-satisfaction survey embedded in the device is conducted. The survey may be implemented in a pager, tip tray, or other computing device that includes an internally mounted camera that covertly takes a photograph of the survey participant. The photograph is date/time stamped and associated with a table number so that the waiter for the table can be identified. The survey results together with the associated photograph are uploaded to a management database. The restaurant manager can review the photographs to ensure that employees are not fraudulently conducting the surveys rather than customers. The system also enables the customer to interface with the restaurant'"'"'s point-of-sale (POS) system to retrieve the customer'"'"'s current bill or wirelessly make a payment from the table.

Claims

1. A customer-survey device for use by a customer in a business establishment, the customer-survey device comprising:

means for presenting questions to the customer regarding the customer'"'"'s level of satisfaction with the business establishment or its products or services;

means for electronically recording the customer'"'"'s answers to the questions; and

means for detecting when an employee fraudulently takes the customer-satisfaction survey instead of the customer.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting when an employee fraudulently takes the customer-satisfaction survey includes:

a camera for taking a photograph of an individual taking the customer-satisfaction survey; and

means for associating the photograph with the customer-satisfaction survey.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the device is implemented in a kiosk.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the device is implemented in a computing device selected from a group consisting of a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a smart phone, and a smart pad.

5. The device according to claim 2, wherein the camera is mounted internally in the device and operates silently so that the photograph is taken covertly.

6. The device according to claim 5, further comprising firmware for controlling the camera to activate when a predefined condition is met.

7. The device according to claim 5, further comprising a control processor and a memory for storing survey application program instructions, wherein when the processor executes the survey application program instructions, the camera is activated at predefined times or when predefined conditions are met.

8. The device according to claim 2, wherein the business establishment is a restaurant, and the device is implemented in a tip tray.

9. The device according to claim 2, wherein the business establishment is a restaurant, and the device is implemented in a combination pager and customer-survey device.

10. The device according to claim 9, further comprising means for uploading to a management database, the photograph together with associated information for identifying a waiter responsible for serving the customer.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the associated information includes a date/time stamp and a table number where the survey was taken.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the uploading means includes a data transceiver configured to transmit to a central control station, the photograph together with the associated information for identifying the waiter responsible for serving the customer.

13. The device according to claim 12, further comprising means for the customer to enter payment information, wherein the data transceiver is configured to transmit the payment information to the central control station.

14. The device according to claim 13, further comprising:

means for receiving from the customer, a request to obtain a current balance of the customer'"'"'s bill;

means for requesting the current balance from the central control station;

means for receiving the current balance from the central control station; and

means for presenting the current balance to the customer.

15. The device according to claim 10, further comprising:

a button that the customer presses to activate a request for a waiter to come to the customer'"'"'s table; and

a data transceiver configured to transmit the request to a central control station.

16. The device according to claim 2, further comprising an electronic game for playing by the customer.

17. The device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a memory for storing advertising; and

means for presenting the advertising to the customer.