GB2456346A

GB2456346A - Obtaining customer feedback at point of sale

Info

Publication number: GB2456346A
Application number: GB0800559A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tim Kalos Waterlow; David Wallace Brooks
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-01-14
Filing date: 2008-01-14
Publication date: 2009-07-15
Also published as: GB0800559D0

Abstract

A method of data collection, comprises electronically reading information from a payment card of a user of a terminal; processing a financial transaction in respect of the payment card; presenting a question to a customer, e.g. to rate the service they have received, wherein the question is not related to the financial transaction; receiving a response to the question from the customer; and transmitting the response, perhaps with other information such as time, date, amount spent or characteristics of the customer, received to a processing system. Preferably the data sent to the processing system is analysed to determine results such as average rating for an establishment which can be accessed via a website.

Description

1 2456346

CUSTOMER INTERACTION VIA PAYMENT AUTHORISATION DEVICES

Background

This invention relates to the use of payment authorisation devices for interacting with customers and in particular to the use of such devices to gather feedback from customers.

A common method of payment for goods and services is the use of payment cards. Such cards are issued by financial institutions to customers who utilise them to pay for goods and services. The charges are then routed through the financial institution to the customer's credit account or to their bank account.

When using a payment card a customer must pass an identity venfication test to ensure that the person presenting the card is authorised to use that card.

Two principle mechanisms are utilised to identify cardholders. Firstly, a payment slip may be signed and compared to a signature on the card. lithe comparison is positive, the transaction is allowed. Secondly, the user may enter a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and that number is compared to a number stored in connection with the particular card. lithe comparison is positive the transaction is authorised. The second method is widely known as "Chip and PIN" authorisation and is the method to which the invention herein principally relates.

Customer feedback is an extremely useful way of retailers and service providers understanding customer's needs and how their services may be improved. Customer feedback is also widely used by organisations and journalists when developing guidebooks or reporting on institutions. However, customer feedback can be difficult to obtain from a significant proportion of customers. This is due to many reasons, but an unwillingness of customers to spend time giving feedback, and also the lack of an efficient means of gathering feedback are common factors. Furthermore, feedback is only accurate for a relatively short time after it is given because an establishment can change relatively quickly. Feedback gathered in a conventional, one-off, survey, is therefore limited in the time for which it remains useful There is therefore a need for an efficient method of gathering feedback that does not occupy customers for a significant time.

Summary

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/cntical elements of the invention or delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

There is provided a method of data collection, comprising the steps of electronically reading information from a payment card of a user of a terminal; processing a financial transaction in respect of the payment card; presenting a question to a customer, wherein the question is not related to the financial transaction; receiving a response to the question from the customer; and transmithng the response received to a processing system.

The information may be read from a chip on the payment card.

The method may be performed during the payment process using the Chip and PIN authentication system.

The question may be related to the service received by the customer.

The method may further comprise the steps of collating a plurality of responses and performing data analysis on the responses.

The method may further compnse the step of presenting information derived from the responses.

There is also provided a method of gathering and presenting customer feedback, comprising the steps of receiving responses from a user to a question presented during the process of processing a payment using a payment card; transmitting the responses to a data processing system; analysing the responses; and presenting data resulting from the analysis.

Description of the drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, wherein:-Figure 1 shows a system according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a flow-chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 shows a processing system for the invention; Figure 4 shows a system according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 shows an overview of a method of gathering and processing feedback according to the invention; and Figure 6 shows an exemplary computing device.

Detailed description

The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example.

However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.

Figure 1 shows a system according to an embodiment of the invention. One or more terminal units I are linked by a communications link to a processing system 2 in a business establishment 3. The terminal has a card reading facility to allow data to be read from a payment card, and a display and keypad for interacting with users. A cash-register 4 may be linked by a communications link to the processing system 2. Alternatively, the processing system 2 and cash-register 4 may be a single system. Furthermore, the functionality of any or each of these devices may be combined into a multi-function device.

The processing system 2 is connected by a communications link to a financial processing system 5 at a financial institution responsible for processing and handling payments by payment card. The communications link may not be a direct link, but the data may be transmitted via other entities providing payment processing services. The financial aspects of the methods described herein are performed according to the established standard techniques for those aspects and may be performed in the same fashion as they are performed without the addition of the methods described herein. Alternatively simple alterations, clear to the skilled person, may be made to improve the efficiency and operation of the system when the feedback system is implemented.

The processing system 2 may also be connected, via a communications link, to data system 6. Data system 6 may be located at the financial institution 5, or may be a separate entity. The connection between the processing system 2 and financial processing system 5 is a secure connection since sensitive information is exchanged between the processing system 2 and financial processing system 5. For example, account data and PINs maybe exchanged between those systems to which access should be restricted. The connection to data system 6 is utilised for the exchange of non-secure data and so is not necessarily a secure connection.

Terminals for use in Chip and PIN systems are typically handheld devices and are often connected to the other parts of the POS system 1, 2, 4 by a radio link such that the terminal can be taken to the customer for convenience.

Figure 2 shows a flow-chart of a method of gathering information from a customer during the process of paying with a payment card.

At step 20 the payment card to be utilised for the payment is inserted into the terminal I and the terminal reads the account information from the card. That data may be read from a chip on the card, or from a magnetic data strip on the card. At step 21, information relating to the transaction, for example the amount to be paid, is entered into the terminal via a keypad. Alternatively information may be entered into the cash-register 4, or obtained from another part of the Point Of Sale (POS) system 1, 2, 4 and sent to the terminal 1.

At step 22 the customer is requested to enter their PIN on the terminal, for example by the display of a message making that request. At step 23 the customer enters their PIN using the terminal keypad. At step 24, the terminal initiates communications with the processing system 2 and the financial processing system 5 to authorise the transaction. Those communications may include verification of the PIN entered by the user. At step 25 the financial institution transmits information to the processing system 2 and/or terminal I approving or declining the transaction.

At step 26, the customer is presented with a question to which they are requested to respond via the keypad of the terminal. For example, the customer may be asked to rate the service they have received from the establishment in which they are paying. The questions presented may be pre-stored in the terminal or may be entered and selected by the establishment.

At step 27 the customer enters a response to the question. At step 28, the transaction is completed, for example by notification to the customer that the transaction has been approved and the printing of a receipt.

At step 29, the response entered by the customer is transmitted to the processing system 2, and subsequently transmitted to the data system 6. The data transmitted from the terminal at step 29 may include only the data entered by the customer, or may include further information such as an identification of the amount spent, or information relating to a characteristic of the customer. This supporting information may allow more detailed data analysis.

Steps 24 and 25 are shown in Figure 2 as being performed in parallel with steps 26 and 27, but alternatively all of those steps may be performed in turn.

The data transmitted at step 29 may be stored in processing system 2 and then a batch of the information may be transmitted together, or the information may be transmitted singly immediately after each transaction. The data may also be stored in the processing system 2 for analysis by the establishment 3 to which the system relates, or may be transmitted and not stored. The transmission from the establishment 3 to the data system 6 may include further information identifying the establishment 3 from which the data has originated. The information transmitted may also include an identification of the question asked to allow easier analysis of the information.

In the method shown in Figure 2, only one question is presented to the user, but more than one question may be asked. For example, further questions may be asked dependent upon the answer to the first question. In this manner, the questions can be tailored to the specific user's response, thereby making the feedback process more relevant to the user. For example, lithe first response showed that the customer was unhappy with the service, a subsequent question could ask whether a complaint was made and resolved.

Such an interactive system allows the efficiency of the feedback system to be improved by only asking relevant questions.

The presentation of questions may also be based on other parameters of the particular transaction. For example, questions may only be presented if the transaction exceeds a predetermined amount, or lithe transaction is in respect of certain goods identified during the transaction.

The method of Figure 2 represents an efficient method of gathering consumer feedback and addresses the limitations of prior art methods of gathering feedback. When utilising a payment card for payment, the customer must interact with the terminal and must wait while the transaction is authorised by the financial institution. The customer is not therefore distracted from other, more preferable, activities to provide the feedback, and it does not impact on the total time required for the transaction. There is therefore less reason for the customer not to provide feedback and the proportion of customers providing feedback is thus increased.

The processing system 2 handles both secure, confidential financial information and the information entered by the customer, and therefore must partition that information to ensure that the information is sent to the correct party.

The terminal I may allow the staff member utilising it to log-in and thus identify themselves to the machine. All transactions performed using that machine can thus be allocated to that specific staff member. Feedback provided using the above method may then also be assigned to the specific member of staff, thereby allowing analysis of the performance of individual members of staff.

Figure 3 shows an example of a processing system 2 for use with the current invention. Processing system 2 has a first module 30, which is designed in a secure manner and utilised to handle secure and confidential parts of the information, for example the PIN and account details. A second module 31 handles financial information relating to the transaction. While this information is not secure, it is not generally considered to be public information and therefore is handled accordingly. A third module 32 is utilised to process and transmit information relating to the questions presented to the customer and their response. To ensure data is handled in the correct manner, the first and second modules 30, 31 may only be in communication with the financial system 5, while the third module 32 may only be in communication with the data system 6. Such a configuration allows the information to be partitioned and there is therefore no risk of access to secure data via the insecure data system 6 and related communications links. Such modules may be provided either in hardware or software systems.

Furthermore, similavly partitioned systems may be provided in terminal I to ensure the security of data throughout the system. This may be implemented by a similar modular system as set out in relation to the processing system 2, or in another suitable manner.

The first, second and third modules may be provided independently of each other, such that they can be updated or amended independently. Such a configuration also allows the supply of the various modules by different parties. For example, the supplier of the hardware systems for the processing system 2 and terminal I, may make interface information available such that third-parties can produce and make available software to perform the functions of the third module, while the first and second modules remain confidential. It is therefore possible for third parties to produce software to provide additional functionality on the terminal I or processing system 2, without affecting the security and integrity of the secure sections handling financial and identification information.

Figure 4 shows a diagram of a system for processing and distributing information collected by the method and systems described in relation to Figures ito 3.

Data gathering system 40 has a plurality of communications links 41 to establishments 3 having the system described in relation to Figure 1.

Information acquired according to the method of Figure 2 is communicated from each establishment 3 to system 40 for processing. Typically the information received will relate to the quality of service received by the customer who provided the information. As explained above, the customer may be asked to rate the service received on a scale of I to 10.

The system 40 is also connected to a website provider 42 such that the information supplied by the establishments can be presented on that website.

In order to allow that presentation, the system 40 processes the individual pieces of information from the establishments, and generates statistical data describing the responses. For example, the average score provided may be calculated, or maximum and minimum values may be calculated. Such values may also be calculated over time such that trends in the data may be seen.

Data may be transmitted from system 40 to website provider 42 such that it is automatically received by the provider and displayed on the appropriate webpages. Alternatively, information may be received at website provider 42 and further processing performed to present the data in a suitable format.

The web-site provider 42 may be separate from the data processor 40, or the two systems may be provided in an integrated system such that the information may be displayed directly on websites.

The web-site of provider 42 may take many different forms. A single website may be used to display information from a number of establishments, or alternatively different websites may be provided for different establishments or groups of establishments. For example, the website may be that of an on-line magazine which includes reviews of establishments in its content. The information provided by customers on each establishment may be presented alongside the reviews. Since the information provided is continually updated, the ratings in the reviews will always be up to date. This avoids reviews becoming out of date as the quality of establishments change over time. In prior methods of gathering data, information may become out of date in between surveys being conducted and may therefore be misleading. The data may be transmitted or updated on a batch basis as a convenient method of managing the system. The advantages described above may still be provided if the updates are performed at a suitable regularity, for example once per day or once per week. Some establishments may, however, choose not to have their information disseminated in this fashion and may only utilise the information internally.

System 40 may also output the processed information in a form for use by third parties in publications or other formats. For example, data from a particular establishment or group of establishments may be summarised in a document and sent to editors, journalists or publishers as information on which reviews or reports could be based. For example, data showing the responses from all restaurants in a certain geographic area could be sent.

Third parties may request certain information from system 40. For example, a publisher may be producing a guidebook to the quality of service in a certain type of shop across the country. In prior methods of collecting information, a specific survey would have to be conducted to gather that information.

However, in the current system, information is collected on a continual basis, and is therefore accessible in system 40. In response to the request, data for the appropriate type of shops is processed by system 40 and transmitted in response to the request.

Additionally, or alternatively, to the use of the data by external third parties, the data may be used within an organisation. An organisation may have many establishments and the monitoring of the performance of each of those establishments may be important to the overall business, for example to ensure a consistent level of service is provided. The data gathered using the above-mentioned methods may be transmitted to a central analysis system such that the feedback provided in each establishment can be analysed and compared. The information transmitted may include details of the time, location and date of the feedback, such that trends over time can be monitored for each establishment. This may be beneficial to allow the analysis of the performance of staff. For example, if the feedback falls during a certain time period each week, it may be observed that that time period correlates with a particular staff member being present. Furthermore, as described above, it is possible for feedback to be related to a specific member of staff via a log-in process to the payment devices. It is therefore possible for the centralised monitoring of each individual member of staff by analysing the feedback transmitted under each specific staff identity.

Figure 5 shows a flow-chart of a summary of a process of gathering and distributing information.

At step 51 feedback is gathered by customers responding to questions using a terminal during the process of paying for goods using a payment card. At step 52 the entered information is transmitted to a processing system. At step 53 the information is processed into a format suitable for distribution to publishers. For example, statistical values may be calculated to provide a summary of the information gathered. At step 54 the processed information is then transmitted to publishers for their use.

The current system therefore provides methods for gathering and disseminating information from customers on a continuous basis. The method of information collection is convenient and does not inconvenience the customer who is asked for the information. The information may be disseminated and used in a range of manners as explained above.

The above description has been in respect of payment using the Chip and PIN payment system, but a comparable system may also be provided using other identification systems.

As will be apparent to the skilled person, the question presented to the customer is separate to the financial aspects of the transaction. The customer may also be asked questions in relation to financial aspects of the transaction, for example they are asked to enter their PIN and may be asked to enter a gratuity amount to be included in the total. These questions are related to the financial transaction and are therefore not included in the type of questions referred to in the above description. Furthermore, the ordering of the steps described above is for convenience only, and as will be apparent to the skilled reader, the various steps may be performed in a number of orders. For example, the PIN may be requested before or after questions are presented to the user.

It will be appreciated that the application of the methods described herein is not restricted to any particular configuration of the payment and communications systems, but are applicable to all methods and systems utilised to process payments.

The description herein has been provided in relation to payment cards, but it will be appreciated that the methods are equally applicable to the use of store cards, rewards cards and any other form of card that is presented in conjunction with payment. The term payment card' is not therefore intended to be restricted to any particular type of card, but rather to be inclusive of all types of card. Furthermore, the word card' is used since that is the current form of commonly used payment devices, but is intended to cover other non-card forms of payment device providing comparable functionality to current cards, e.g. a contactless device utilising wireless communications.

Throughout this document the word system' is intended to encompass any electronic system suitable for performing the tasks attributed to that system.

For example, the systems may be provided by computing-based devices.

Figure 6 illustrates various components of an exemplary computing-based device 200 which may be implemented as any form of a computing and/or electronic device, and in which embodiments of the methods described herein may be implemented. The computing-based device 200 comprises one or more processors 201 which may be microprocessors, controllers or any other suitable type of processors for processing computing executable instructions to control the operation of the device. The computer executable instructions may be provided using any computer-readable media, such as memory 202.

The memory is of any suitable type such as random access memory (RAM), a disk storage device of any type such as a magnetic or optical storage device, a hard disk drive, or a CD, DVD or other disc drive. Flash memory, EPROM or EEPROM may also be used. Platform software comprising an operating system or any other suitable platform software may be provided at the computing-based device (e.g. stored in memory 202) to enable application software (which may also be stored in memory 202) to be executed on the device. The computing-based device may also comprise one or more inputs 203 and / or one or more outputs 204. The input 203 may be of any suitable type for receiving media content, Internet Protocol (IP) input, user commands etc. The output 204 may comprise an audio and / or video output to a display system integral with or in communication with the computing-based device.

The display system (not shown in figure 6) may provide a graphical user interface, or other user interface of any suitable type although this is not essential. The device 200 also comprises communication interface 205 through which the device is connected to one or more other devices over a network and I or over point to point links. The elements 201-205 within the computing-based device are connected by means of a bus (not shown in figure 6).

The term computer' is used herein to refer to any device with processing capability such that it can execute instructions. Those skilled in the art will realize that such processing capabilities are incorporated into many different devices and therefore the term computer' includes PCs, servers, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants and many other devices.

The methods described herein may be performed by software in machine readable form on a storage medium. The software can be suitable for execution on a parallel processor or a serial processor such that the method steps may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously.

This acknowledges that software can be a valuable, separately tradable commodity. It is intended to encompass software, which runs on or controls "dumb" or standard hardware, to carry out the desired functions. It is also intended to encompass software which "describes" or defines the configuration of hardware, such as HDL (hardware description language) software, as is used for designing silicon chips, or for configuring universal programmable chips, to carry out desired functions.

Those skilled in the art will realize that storage devices utilized to store program instructions can be distributed across a network. For example, a remote computer may store an example of the process described as software.

A local or terminal computer may access the remote computer and download a part or all of the software to run the program. Alternatively, the local computer may download pieces of the software as needed, or execute some software instructions at the local terminal and some at the remote computer (or computer network). Those skilled in the art will also realize that by utilizing conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art that all, or a portion of the software instructions may be carried out by a dedicated circuit, such as a DSP, programmable logic array, or the like.

Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilled person.

It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. It will further be understood that reference to an' item refers to one or more of those items.

The steps of the methods described herein may be camed out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject mailer described herein. Aspects of any of the examples described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other examples described to form further examples without losing the effect sought.

It will be understood that the above description of a preferred embodiment is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although various embodiments of the invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of data collection, comprising the steps of electronically reading information from a payment card of a user of a terminal; processing a financial transaction in respect of the payment card; presenting a question to a customer, wherein the question is not related to the financial transaction; receiving a response to the question from the customer; and transmitting the response received to a processing system.
2. A method of data collection according to claim 1, wherein the information is read from a chip on the payment card.
3. A method of data collection according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed during the payment process using the Chip and PIN authentication system.
4. A method of data collection according to claim I wherein the question is related to the service received by the customer.
5. A method of data collection according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of collating a plurality of responses and performing data analysis on the responses.
6. A method of data collection according to claim 5, further comprising the step of presenting information derived from the responses.
7. A method of gathering and presenting customer feedback, comprising the steps of receiving responses from a user to a question presented dunng the process of processing a payment using a payment card; transmitting the responses to a data processing system; analysing the responses; and presenting data resulting from the analysis.