Store visit managing apparatus, store visit managing method, and program

Abstract

To easily change a status to a store leaving state after a customer leaves a store.SOLUTION: The store visit management device includes a reservation information acquisition unit that acquires reservation information including at least a scheduled visit time or a visit time of a customer, a visit information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that the customer has visited the store, a customer management unit that manages, for each customer, a store visit status that is information indicating whether the customer has not visited the store, is in the store, or has already left the store at a current time, and a display unit that displays a list of customers associated with the store visit status on a store-leaving management screen, displays a selection operation reception unit that receives a request for changing the store visit status to a leaving state in response to the request, and displays a collective leaving reception unit that receives a request for changing the store visit status of the selected customer to the leaving state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a store visit management device, a store visit management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is known a technique for managing customer reservations in establishments such as restaurants (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-157605 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the above-described technology, if a customer requests a seat and there is an available slot in the store, the reservation can be made. It is conceivable that such conventional technology can be used to manage the status of each seat in real time, such as whether the seat is occupied by a customer, whether the customer has already left the store, and when the next reservation is scheduled. In such cases, the store staff must change the seat status to "left" after the customer leaves the store, but there is a problem in that the staff may be too busy to change the seat status while the store is open.

[0005] If the status of each seat is still in the restaurant (a state in which the customer has arrived but not yet left), even though the customer has actually left, problems such as not being able to make the next reservation can occur. Specifically, if the status is not changed to "left" after lunch service is over, problems can occur such as not being able to make a dinner reservation. Also, even if it is the same dinner time slot, problems can occur such as not being able to accept reservations for a second party or other customer after the first round of customers has left the restaurant.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and aims to provide a store visit management device, a store visit management method, and a program that can easily change a customer's status to a store-exited state after the customer leaves the store. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] (1) One aspect of the present invention is a store visit management device that includes: a reservation information acquisition unit that acquires reservation information including at least the customer's scheduled store visit time or store visit time; a store visit information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that the customer has visited the store; a customer management unit that manages a store presence status for each customer, which is information regarding whether the customer has not yet visited the store, is inside the store, or has already left the store at the current time, and changes the store presence status to a store exit status upon request; and a display unit that displays a list of customers associated with the store presence status on a store exit management screen, displays a selection operation reception unit that accepts selection operations for each customer displayed on the store exit management screen, and displays a batch store exit reception unit that accepts requests to change the store presence status of selected customers to a store exit status.

[0008] (2) Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is that in the store visit management device described in (1) above, the display unit further displays a store exit management screen transition button for displaying the store exit management screen.

[0009] (3) Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is that in the store visit management device described in (1) or (2) above, the customer management unit further associates and manages information regarding customer attributes, and the display unit displays the information regarding customer attributes on the store exit management screen in response to a request.

[0010] (4) Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is that in the store visit management device described in (3) above, the customer management unit manages at least one of the following information regarding the customer's attributes: the customer's name, the customer's gender and age, information regarding whether it is the customer's first visit, or the customer's number of visits.

[0011] (5) Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is that in the store visit management device described in any of (1) to (4) above, the customer management unit changes the store presence status of all customers who visited the store on the day to a store exit status after business hours, regardless of whether a request is made or not.

[0012] (6) Another aspect of the present invention is a store visit management method in which each step is executed by a computer, the store visit management method including: a reservation information acquisition step that includes at least the customer's scheduled store visit time or store visit time; a store visit information acquisition step that acquires information indicating that the customer has visited the store; a customer management step that manages, for each customer, a store presence status, which is information regarding whether the customer has not yet visited the store, is inside the store, or has already left the store at the current time, and changes the store presence status to a store exit status upon request; and a display step that displays a list of customers associated with the store presence status on a store exit management screen, displays a selection operation reception unit that receives selection operations for each customer displayed on the store exit management screen, and displays a batch store exit reception unit that receives requests to change the store presence status of selected customers to a store exit status.

[0013] (7) Another aspect of the present invention is a program that executes each step by a computer, the program including a reservation information acquisition step that includes at least the customer's scheduled arrival time or arrival time; an arrival information acquisition step that acquires information indicating that the customer has arrived; a customer management step that manages the customer presence status, which is information indicating whether the customer has not yet arrived, is inside the store, or has already left the store at the current time, for each customer and changes the customer presence status to an exit status upon request; and a display step that displays a list of customers associated with the presence status on an exit management screen, displays a selection operation reception unit that accepts selection operations for each customer displayed on the exit management screen, and displays a batch exit reception unit that accepts requests to change the customer presence status of selected customers to an exit status. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a store visit management device, a store visit management method, and a program that can easily change the status to a store-exited state after a customer leaves the store. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a store visit management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of presetting in the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is a first flowchart for explaining a series of steps from reception to seat guidance in the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a second flowchart for explaining a series of steps from reception to seat guidance in the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a normal store exit process in the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a first flowchart for explaining a flow when a collective store exit process is performed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a second flowchart for explaining the flow when a collective store exit process is performed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a first diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a second diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a third diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 12]FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a store visit management device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 13] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a store visit management device according to the present embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] [Embodiment] A store visit management device, a store visit management method, and a program according to aspects of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Note that the aspects of the present invention are not limited to these embodiments and include various modifications and improvements. In other words, the components described below include those that would be easily conceivable to a person skilled in the art or that are substantially identical, and the components described below can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, in the drawings, the scale and number of components may differ from the scale and number of the actual components to make each configuration easier to understand.

[0017] [Store Visit Management System Overview] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a store visit management system according to one embodiment. The store visit management system 1 manages the status of a customer U's visit to a store R or the like. In the following description, the customer U's coming to the store R will be referred to as "visiting the store," the customer U's staying inside the store R will be referred to as "presence," and the customer U's leaving the store R will be referred to as "leaving the store." The store visit management system 1 includes at least a store visit management device 10.

[0018] Here, the store R according to this embodiment is a facility where a customer U can enter, be present, and leave. The store R provides services and sells products to the customer U. Specifically, examples of providing services include providing food and drink at a restaurant or providing haircut services at a beauty salon. The store R may specify a seat and time and accept a reservation for the customer U. A seat may be a physical seat at a restaurant, or a virtual seat (which may also be called a slot) set for each staff member at a beauty salon. In the following explanation, an example will be described in which the store R is a food service establishment such as a restaurant. However, this embodiment is not limited to this example, and the store R broadly includes facilities where a customer U can enter, be present, and leave.

[0019] The customer U in this embodiment broadly includes a person who wishes to receive services at the store R, a person who wishes to purchase a product, etc. A specific example of the customer U is a natural person. However, in this embodiment, the customer U is not limited to a natural person, and may be an animal such as a pet. Furthermore, the store R may be a fictional store in a space on the metaverse, and in this case, the customer U may be a character (avatar) on the metaverse, etc. In the following explanation, an example will be described in which the customer U is a person who wishes to receive food and drink at a restaurant or other eating and drinking establishment. However, this embodiment is not limited to this example, and the customer U broadly includes a person who wishes to receive services at the store R, a person who wishes to purchase a product, etc.

[0020] The store visit management device 10 is installed in the store R. Specifically, the store visit management device 10 does not necessarily have to be a physical device, and includes a store visit management program (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a program) installed on a specific computer, which performs the functions of the store visit management device 10. Furthermore, the control program for operating the computer does not necessarily have to be installed on the computer, and may be realized by a technology such as a web application, for example.

[0021] The store visit management device 10 manages the status of customers U who have arrived, stayed, and left the store R. For example, the store visit management device 10 has a predetermined status for each seat, such as before arriving, while staying, or after leaving, and changes the status to one of these statuses depending on the behavior of the customer U. In the following description, this status may be referred to as a store presence status. The store presence status may be changed by a staff member (clerk) of the store R, or may be changed automatically by the store visit management device 10 using information acquired by a predetermined sensor, an in-store camera, or the like.

[0022] The store visit management device 10 may accept a reservation for a store visit from a customer U. The customer U makes the reservation using an information processing device 30. The information processing device 30 may be, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The customer U makes the reservation via an application or website provided by the store R or a predetermined platform provider. It is preferable that the reservation includes information such as the date and time of visit, the number of visitors, etc.

[0023] Examples of store presence status include "waiting to arrive," "arrived," "paid," and "left." "Waiting to arrive" is a status indicating that customer U has made a reservation but has not yet arrived at the store. "Arrived" is a status indicating that customer U has made a reservation and has arrived at the store, or that customer U has arrived on a free basis (when customer U arrives without making a reservation and is shown to a seat). "paid" is a status indicating that customer U is still seated at a store R where customers pay at their seats after their meal, even though they have already paid. "left" is a status indicating that customer U has left the store and a seat has become available.

[0024] [An example of how the store visit management system works] Next, an example of a series of operations performed by the store visit management system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0025] 2 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of pre-settings in the store visit management system according to this embodiment. First, with reference to the same figure, the pre-settings performed by the staff of store R will be explained.

[0026] (Step S11) First, the staff member selects whether or not to use a reservation time exceeded alert. A reservation time exceeded alert is an alert that is issued a predetermined time after the time when customer U is supposed to leave the store. This alert is issued to the staff member, not to the customer U. The time when customer U is supposed to leave the store may be the time determined at the time of reservation if customer U has made a reservation before coming to the store, or may be a predetermined time after customer U has arrived if customer U has not made a reservation.

[0027] Furthermore, in step S11, a reference overtime is set. The reference overtime is a time that indicates how long after the scheduled store departure time has passed that an alert will be issued when store R uses a reservation time overtime alert. The reference overtime may be set in units such as 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, for example. The reference overtime may be set by inputting or selecting.

[0028] (Step S12) When the staff member sets whether or not to use the reservation time exceeded alert and the reference exceeded time, the store visit management device 10 sets the collective store exit usage flag and the store exit exceeded time. If the reservation time exceeded alert is to be used, the store visit management device 10 sets the collective store exit usage flag, and if the reservation time exceeded alert is not to be used, the store visit management device 10 does not set the collective store exit usage flag. The time set by the staff member is registered as the store exit exceeded time.

[0029] (Step S13) Next, the store visit management device 10 displays a flow line to the store exit management screen on the table management screen, schedule screen, and reservation list screen. The store exit management screen is a screen for setting whether or not to change the store presence status of a customer U whose store exit excess time has elapsed to "exited." An example of a specific configuration of the store exit management screen will be described later.

[0030] Fig. 3 is a first flowchart for explaining a series of steps from store entry reception to seat guidance in the store visit management system according to this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a second flowchart for explaining a series of steps from store entry reception to seat guidance in the store visit management system according to this embodiment. With reference to these figures, the series of steps from when store R accepts customer U's entry to when store R staff guides him to his seat in store R will be explained.

[0031] (Step S21) First, the staff of the store R checks whether the visiting customer U has made a reservation in advance. This check may be performed by the staff checking the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10, or by any other predetermined method. If a reservation has been made (i.e., step S21; YES), the process proceeds to step S22. If a reservation has not been made (i.e., step S21; NO), the process proceeds to step S31.

[0032] (Step S22) The staff member refers to the reservation information such as the name of the person making the reservation, the number of people making the reservation, and the reservation time by checking the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10. The staff member checks whether the reservation information they referred to matches the customer U who has visited the store.

[0033] (Step S23) Next, the staff member checks the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10. Specifically, the staff member requests the store visit management device 10 to view the table management screen, schedule screen, and reservation list screen.

[0034] (Step S24) Based on the request for viewing, the store visit management device 10 displays a reservation list screen or the like to the staff member. Here, the store visit management device 10 assigns a table number to each reservation in advance so that there is no duplication. That is, on the reservation list screen displayed to the staff member, a table number is assigned to each reservation.

[0035] (Step S25) The staff member confirms the reservation made by the customer U while looking at the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10, and guides the customer U to the seat with the table number assigned to him / her in advance.

[0036] (Step S26) After guiding the customer U to his / her seat, the staff member requests the store visit management device 10 to change the store presence status of the reservation to "arrived."

[0037] (Step S27) The store visit management device 10 changes the store presence status of the reservation for which a change to "visited" has been requested to "visited."

[0038] (Step S31) From this step onwards, the procedure when a customer U visits the store R without making a reservation in advance will be explained. The staff of the store R checks the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10. Specifically, the staff requests the store visit management device 10 to view the table management screen, schedule screen, and reservation list screen.

[0039] (Step S32) Based on the request for viewing, the store visit management device 10 displays a reservation list screen or the like to the staff of the store R. Here, as explained in step S24, when a reservation is made in advance, a table number is assigned to each reservation, but when the customer U visits the store R without making a reservation, a seat has not yet been confirmed.

[0040] (Step S33) Then, the customer U looks at the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10, and if there is an unreserved seat, the store visit management device 10 assigns the customer U to that seat.

[0041] (Step S34) After guiding the customer U to his / her seat, the staff member inputs information about the table number of the seat and directly registers the store visit reservation. At that time, the staff member requests the store visit management device 10 to change the store presence status to “already visited the store.”

[0042] (Step S35) When the restaurant visit management device 10 receives the request for registering a direct restaurant visit reservation, it sets the restaurant presence status of the table number included in the request to "visited" and makes a direct restaurant visit reservation.

[0043] (Step S36) The staff guides the customer U to the assigned seat.

[0044] 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a normal store exit process in the store visit management system according to this embodiment. With reference to the same figure, a series of normal store exit processes that are carried out after a customer U is guided to a seat in store R by a staff member of store R and then leaves the store will be explained.

[0045] (Step S41) The process after the customer U has been served a meal differs depending on whether the store R allows the customer U to remain seated after paying. If the store R allows the customer U to remain seated for a certain period of time after paying (i.e., step S41; YES), the process proceeds to step S42. If the store R allows the customer U to leave the store immediately after paying (i.e., step S41; NO), the process proceeds to step S43.

[0046] (Step S42) Based on the request of customer U, the staff of store R processes the transaction for the table corresponding to customer U. The transaction may be performed at the table. Even after the transaction, the customer may spend a certain amount of time at the table.

[0047] (Step S43) Based on the request of customer U, the staff of store R processes the transaction for the table corresponding to customer U. This transaction may be performed, for example, at a location different from the table (such as a cashier). Customer U gets up from his seat to process the transaction, and goes to a location where transactions are performed, such as a cashier, and completes the transaction. After completing the transaction, the customer leaves the store without returning to the table.

[0048] (Step S44) After the transaction process, the staff member of store R requests the store visit management device 10 to change the store presence status to "transaction completed."

[0049] (Step S45) In response to a request from the staff of store R, the store visit management device 10 changes the store presence status to "payment completed."

[0050] (Step S46) The staff of store R periodically visually checks tables whose presence status is "paid" to see if customer U is still seated. After visually confirming that customer U has left the store, the staff of store R proceeds to step S48.

[0051] (Step S47) The staff of store R visually confirms that customer U has left the store after the transaction has been completed, for example, at a location other than the table (such as the cashier counter). After visually confirming that customer U has left the store after the transaction has been completed, the staff of store R proceeds to step S48.

[0052] (Step S48) After visually confirming that the customer U has left the store, the staff of the store R requests the store visit management device 10 to change the store presence status to "left the store."

[0053] (Step S49) In response to a request from the staff of store R, the store visit management device 10 changes the store presence status to "left the store."

[0054] Here, when performing the normal store exit process as described with reference to FIG. 5, the fact that customer U has left the store may be overlooked. In particular, if store R allows customers to sit down after paying, store R staff must visually confirm that customers have left in step S46 in addition to their regular duties (e.g., taking orders and bringing food), and the store exit confirmation may be overlooked. In such a case, the status of each seat may indicate that customer U is still in the store, such as "paid," even though customer U has actually left. The batch store exit process described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 makes it possible to easily change the store presence status to "left" when customer U has actually left the store.

[0055] Fig. 6 is a first flowchart for explaining the flow when a collective store exit process is performed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. Fig. 7 is a second flowchart for explaining the flow when a collective store exit process is performed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. With reference to these figures, the flow of the collective store exit process according to this embodiment will be explained.

[0056] In the following explanation, the same steps as those in Fig. 4 may be omitted by indicating the corresponding relationships. Specifically, step S51 corresponds to step S41, step S52 corresponds to step S42, step S53 corresponds to step S43, step S55 corresponds to step S46, and step S56 corresponds to step S47, and therefore the explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0057] (Step S54) When performing the collective store exit process, the store visit management device 10 does not change the store presence status to "payment completed" even after the transaction process. This may be determined by the specifications of the store visit management device 10, or the store visit management device 10 may support changing the store presence status to "payment completed" and may not be changed by the staff of store R.

[0058] (Step S57) Note that the fact that the customer's presence status is not changed to "Payment Completed" even after the transaction has been processed does not matter whether store R allows the customer to sit down after the transaction. In other words, the customer's presence status will not be changed to "Payment Completed" after the transaction has been processed, whether after step S55 or step S56.

[0059] (Step S61) The staff member of the store R checks the display screen displayed by the store visit management device 10. Specifically, the staff member requests the store visit management device 10 to view the table management screen, schedule screen, and reservation list screen.

[0060] (Step S62) The store visit management device 10 displays a reservation list screen or the like to the staff of the store R based on the request for viewing.

[0061] (Step S63) Next, the store visit management device 10 displays a flow line to the store exit management screen on the table management screen, schedule screen, and reservation list screen. The store exit management screen is a screen for setting whether or not to change the store presence status of a customer U whose store exit excess time has elapsed to "exited." An example of a specific configuration of the store exit management screen will be described later.

[0062] (Step S64) If the staff of store R wants to perform a batch exit process, they follow the displayed flow line and transition to the store exit management screen.

[0063] (Step S65) When a request to transition to the store exit management screen is received, the store visit management device 10 displays to the staff of store R a list of tables that have exceeded the store exit excess time set in step S12 above.

[0064] (Step S66) Here, the table displayed as a list in step S65 contains a mixture of reservations in which customer U has already left the store and reservations in which customer U is still present. If customer U has actually left the store but the status is not "left the store," the staff of store R wants to change the status to "left the store." Therefore, the staff of store R selects from the displayed list reservations in which customer U has actually left the store (including direct visits), and changes the selected reservations all at once to "left the store."

[0065] (Step S67) After the selection is made, the store visit management device 10 changes the store presence status of all selected reservations to "left the store" in a lump sum. Note that, because the store presence status is not changed to "paid" in step S54, it is assumed that the store presence status before changing to "left the store" is "paid", but the present embodiment is not limited to this example; the store visit management device 10 may change the store presence status to "left the store" in a lump sum even if the store presence status before changing to "left the store" is, for example, "paid".

[0066] [Example of display screen] Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11, an example of a display screen displayed to the staff of the store R by the store visit management device 10 will be described.

[0067] 8 is a first diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. The display screen D10 shown in the figure is a screen for selecting whether or not to use the reservation time exceeding alert and setting the reference exceeding time in step S11 described above. The display of the display screen D10 is controlled by the store visit management device 10. The display screen D10 includes reference numerals D11 and D12 as screen components.

[0068] Reference symbol D11 is a selection button for selecting whether or not to use the reservation time exceeded alert. When the selection button is operated and enabled, the above-mentioned collective store exit function is enabled. When the store visit management device 10 is installed in multiple stores, whether or not to use the reservation time exceeded alert may be determined for each store.

[0069] Reference numeral D12 is a selection section for setting the standard overtime. When using the batch exit function, the staff of store R can select the overtime for exiting the store from 0 minutes to 6 hours, for example, in increments of 5 minutes. Reference numeral D12 is not limited to an example of setting the overtime by selection. It may also be configured so that it can be set by directly entering numbers.

[0070] 9 is a second diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. The display screen D20 shown in the figure is a reservation list screen displayed in the above-mentioned steps S24, S62, etc. The display of the display screen D20 is controlled by the store visit management device 10. The display screen D20 includes the elements D21 to D27 as screen components.

[0071] The date for which the reservation list is to be displayed is displayed in D21. The staff member can display the reservation list for any date by selecting (or inputting) the date. In the example shown, 5 / 15 (Wed) is selected.

[0072] Reference symbol D22 displays a list of reservations. In the example shown, the reservation list for Wednesday, May 15th, selected in reference symbol D21, is displayed. The reservation list displays reservations for each table at store R. Specifically, in the same figure, tables 001 to 004 are displayed. In the reservation list, the vertical axis represents the table number, and the horizontal axis represents time. Reference symbol D221 indicates the current time. That is, the current time in this example is considered to be approximately 11:50 on Wednesday, May 15th. In the reservation list, reservations that have already been accepted are displayed as boxes. In the example shown, Mr. Tanaka has made a reservation for three people at table 002 between 12:00 and 14:00. The boxes may also display the store presence status (not shown in the same figure).

[0073] Reference numerals D23 to D27 denote function buttons. When each function button is operated, a function corresponding to the button is performed.

[0074] When symbol D23 is operated, the screen transitions to the store exit management screen. In other words, this button can be said to be a flow line to the store exit management screen. The number written in the circle at the top right of symbol D23 indicates the current number of reservations. In the example shown, this indicates that there are 11 reservations. A detailed explanation of the specific screen configuration of the store exit management screen will be given later with reference to FIG. 10.

[0075] When code D24 is operated, a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file is output. The output CSV file contains information about the reservation list of code D22. The CSV file may contain information about a specified date range, for example.

[0076] When the code D25 is operated, a counting operation is performed. The counting operation is a counting of information relating to the visit of the customer U to the store, and may include analysis processing and the like.

[0077] When D26 is operated, a PDF (Portable Document Format) file is created. The output PDF file includes information about the reservation list of D22. The PDF file may also include other aggregated or analyzed information.

[0078] When the button D27 is operated, a new reservation can be registered. For example, when a staff member at store R receives a reservation by telephone, the staff member operates the button to register a future reservation.

[0079] FIG. 10 is a third diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. Display screen D30 shown in the figure is the store exit management screen displayed in step S65 described above. Display of display screen D30 is controlled by the store visit management device 10. Display screen D30 displays a list of tables for which the store exit time has exceeded. In the figure, from top to bottom, tables 002, 003, 004, and 001 are displayed. Since the display for each table is similar, only table 002, listed at the top, is assigned a reference numeral to identify its configuration as an example. Specifically, the display of each table includes reference numerals D31 to D27 as screen components.

[0080] Reference symbol D31 indicates the store presence status. Examples of store presence status include "waiting to arrive," "arrived," "paid," and "left." In the example shown, the store presence status in table 002 is "left," the store presence status in table 003 is "arrived," the store presence status in table 004 is "arrived," and the store presence status in table 001 is "waiting to arrive."

[0081] Reference symbol D32 denotes a check box that can be operated by staff. In step S66 described above, when a staff member at store R selects a table for which they wish to perform the bulk exit process, they check the corresponding check box. Reference symbol D32 can also be referred to as a selection operation reception unit. In the example shown, table 002 has already been exited, so it is excluded from the targets for the bulk exit process. Therefore, the check box for table 002 is set to "- (selection not accepted)." Furthermore, the presence status of tables 003 and 004 is "already visited," and the presence status of table 001 is "waiting to visit." Therefore, tables 003, 004, and 001 are targets for the bulk exit process. In the example shown, tables 003 and 004 are selected, but table 001 is not selected.

[0082] Reference symbol D33 indicates the time when customer U arrived. In the example shown, the time when customer U arrived in table 002 is "10:24", the time when customer U arrived in table 003 is "11:38", the time when customer U arrived in table 004 is "13:39", and the time when customer U arrived in table 001 is "-" because the customer U has not yet arrived.

[0083] Reference symbol D34 indicates the amount of time that customer U is expected to stay in the store. In the fictitious store R shown in the figure, customer U is expected to stay in the store for three hours. In the example shown, the amount of time that customer U is expected to stay in table 002 is "10:15-13:15," the amount of time that customer U is expected to stay in table 003 is "11:35-14:35," the amount of time that customer U is expected to stay in table 004 is "13:35-16:35," and the amount of time that customer U is expected to stay in table 001 is "17:25-20:25."

[0084] Reference symbol D35 displays the name of customer U. In the example shown, customer U in table 002 is "Mr. Sato," customer U in table 003 is "Mr. Suzuki," customer U in table 004 is "Mr. Takahashi," and customer U in table 001 is "Mr. Tanaka."

[0085] Reference symbol D36 displays the number of customers U. In the example shown, customer U in table 002 is "10 people," customer U in table 003 is "2 people," customer U in table 004 is "1 person," and customer U in table 001 is "2 people."

[0086] Reference symbol D37 is a customer details button. When this button is operated, detailed information about the customer is displayed. The layout of the display screen that is displayed when this button is operated will be described later with reference to FIG. 11.

[0087] The symbol D38 is the table number. In the example shown, the tables are table 002, table 003, table 004, and table 001 from top to bottom.

[0088] Reference symbol D39 indicates the overtime. This overtime is calculated by comparing the estimated stay time indicated by reference symbol D34 with the current time and showing how much it has exceeded the expected stay time. If the current time is "17:00", table 003 shows an overtime of "02:25", and table 004 shows an overtime of "00:25". Furthermore, table 002 has already left the store, so the overtime is not displayed, and table 001 does not show an overtime because the customer is waiting to enter the store.

[0089] The display screen D30 also has a cancel button D310 and a collective exit button D320. When the cancel button D310 is operated, the collective exit process is canceled and the screen returns to the previous screen. When the collective exit button D320 is operated, the collective exit process (changing the in-store status to "exited") is performed for tables with a check mark in the symbol D32. The collective exit button D320 can also be called a collective exit reception unit.

[0090] FIG. 11 is a fourth diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed by the store visit management system according to this embodiment. This diagram shows an example of a display screen D40 that is displayed when the above-mentioned symbol D37 is operated. As shown in the figure, the display screen D40 includes reservation details and information about the customer U. The information about the customer U may include attributes of the customer U, such as birthday and gender and age, as well as reservation trends. The reservation details may also include information about whether the customer is a new customer or a repeat customer (and, in that case, the number of visits).

[0091] Based on the information shown in the figure, the staff of store R may decide whether or not to allow the customers to leave the store all at once.

[0092] [Function Configuration] Next, an example of the functional configuration of the store visit management device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0093] 12 is a functional configuration diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a store visit management device according to this embodiment. With reference to the same figure, an example of the functional configuration of the store visit management device 10 for realizing the functions described above will be described. The store visit management device 10 is configured to include at least a reservation information acquisition unit 11, a store visit information acquisition unit 12, a customer management unit 13, and a display unit 14 as functional units.

[0094] Each of these functional units is realized, for example, using electronic circuits. Each functional unit may also include internal storage means such as semiconductor memory or a magnetic hard disk drive, as necessary. Each function may also be realized by a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and software. All or part of each functional unit may also be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). All or part of each functional unit may also be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

[0095] The reservation information acquisition unit 11 acquires reservation information including at least the time when the customer U will arrive at the store. The time when the customer U will arrive at the store may be the customer's scheduled arrival time or the actual arrival time. When the customer U makes a reservation in advance, the reservation information may be acquired via the information processing device 30, as described with reference to FIG. 1. Furthermore, when the customer U visits the store directly without making a reservation in advance, the reservation information may be input by a staff member of the store R.

[0096] The store visit information acquisition unit 12 acquires store visit information indicating that the customer U has visited the store. The store visit information may be acquired, for example, by a staff member of the store R visually confirming that the customer U has visited the store and then inputting the information into the store visit management device 10. Alternatively, the store visit information may be automatically determined based on information inside the store or near the store entrance obtained by a sensor such as a camera (not shown).

[0097] The customer management unit 13 manages the store presence status for each customer at the current time. The store presence status can also be said to be information regarding whether customer U is in the store or has already left the store. The customer management unit 13 changes the store presence status to a store-left status in response to a request from store R staff or the like. Note that the customer management unit 13 may change the store presence status of all customers who visited the store that day to a store-left status after business hours have ended, regardless of whether a request has been made by store R staff or not.

[0098] Furthermore, the customer management unit 13 may further associate and manage information relating to customer attributes as shown in Fig. 11. The information relating to customer attributes preferably includes at least information such as the name of the customer U, the gender and age of the customer U, information relating to whether or not it is the first time the customer U has visited the store, the number of times the customer U has visited the store, etc.

[0099] The display unit 14 displays a store exit management screen according to the store presence status. The store exit management screen is, for example, like the display screen D30 described above, and includes a list of customers U determined to be in store R. The store exit management screen can also be said to display a list of customers associated with their store presence status. The display unit 14 also displays a selection operation reception unit that receives a selection operation for each customer U displayed on the store exit management screen. The selection operation reception unit may be a check box such as reference symbol D32, which is a component of the display screen D30 described above. The display unit 14 also displays a batch exit reception unit that receives a request to change the store presence status of customers U selected by the selection operation reception unit to a store exit status. The batch exit reception unit may be a button such as reference symbol D320, which is a component of the display screen D30 described above.

[0100] The display unit 14 also displays a store exit management screen transition button for displaying a store exit management screen. The store exit management screen transition button may be a button such as the button with reference numeral D23, which is a screen component of the display screen D20 described above. By arranging such a button on the display screen D20, it becomes possible to easily perform store exit processing according to the store presence status of each table while checking the list of reservations.

[0101] Furthermore, the display unit 14 displays information about the attributes of customer U on the store exit management screen in response to a request from the staff of store R. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to easily display information about customer U's attributes, which can be used as information for determining whether or not to change the store presence status to "exited."

[0102] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a store visit management device according to this embodiment. At least some of the functions of the store visit management device 10 can be implemented using a computer. As shown in the figure, the computer includes a central processing unit 901, a RAM 902, an input / output port 903, input / output devices 904 and 905, and a bus 906. The computer itself can be implemented using existing technology. The central processing unit 901 executes instructions contained in a program read from the RAM 902 or the like. In accordance with each instruction, the central processing unit 901 writes data to the RAM 902, reads data from the RAM 902, and performs arithmetic and logical operations. The RAM 902 stores data and programs. Each element included in the RAM 902 has an address and can be accessed using the address. RAM stands for "random access memory." The input / output port 903 is a port through which the central processing unit 901 exchanges data with external input / output devices. The input / output devices 904 and 905 are input / output devices. The input / output devices 904 and 905 exchange data with the central processing unit 901 via the input / output port 903. The bus 906 is a common communication path used within the computer. For example, the central processing unit 901 reads and writes data from and to the RAM 902 via the bus 906. Also, for example, the central processing unit 901 accesses the input / output port via the bus 906. All or part of the functional units included in the store visit management device 10 may be realized using hardware such as an ASIC, a PLD, or an FPGA. All or part of the functional units may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

[0103] [Summary of the embodiment] According to the above-described embodiment, the store visit management device 10 includes the reservation information acquisition unit 11, thereby acquiring reservation information including at least the time when the customer U will arrive at the store. The store visit management device 10 also includes the visit information acquisition unit 12, thereby acquiring store visit information indicating that the customer U has arrived at the store. The store visit management device 10 also includes the customer management unit 13, thereby managing the store presence status for each customer U, which is information indicating whether the customer U is currently in the store or has already left the store, and changing the store presence status to a "left" status upon request. The store visit management device 10 also includes the display unit 14, thereby displaying an exit management screen having a list of customers U determined to be in the store based on the store presence status, displaying a selection operation reception unit that receives a selection operation for each customer displayed on the exit management screen, and displaying a batch exit reception unit that receives a request to change the store presence status of selected customers U to a "left" status. This configuration makes it possible to easily and collectively change the store presence status of customers U to a "left" status after they leave the store.

[0104] Note that all or part of the functions of each unit of the store visit management device 10 in the above-described embodiment may be realized by recording a program for realizing these functions on a computer-readable recording medium, and reading and executing the program recorded on the recording medium into a computer system. Note that the term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0105] Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage units such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines when transmitting programs over networks like the Internet or communication lines like telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within computer systems that serve as servers or clients in such cases. Furthermore, the above-mentioned programs may be programs that realize some of the aforementioned functions, or may be programs that can realize the aforementioned functions in combination with programs already stored in the computer system.

[0106] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 1... store visit management system, 10... store visit management device, 30... information processing device, 11... reservation information acquisition unit, 12... store visit information acquisition unit, 13... customer management unit, 14... display unit, U... customer, R... store

Claims

1. a reservation information acquisition unit that acquires reservation information including at least the customer's scheduled visit time or visit time; a store visit information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating that a customer has visited a store; a customer management unit that manages a store presence status for each customer, which is information on whether the customer has not yet arrived at the store, is in the store, or has already left the store at the current time, and changes the store presence status to a store-left status upon request; a display unit that displays a list of customers associated with the store presence status on a store exit management screen, displays a selection operation reception unit that receives a selection operation for each customer displayed on the store exit management screen, and displays a batch store exit reception unit that receives a request to change the store presence status of selected customers to a store exit status; A store visit management device comprising:

2. the display unit further displays a store exit management screen transition button for displaying the store exit management screen. The store visit management device according to claim 1 .

3. The customer management unit further associates and manages information regarding customer attributes, the display unit, in response to a request, causes information relating to customer attributes to be displayed on the store exit management screen. The store visit management device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The customer management unit manages at least one of the customer's name, the customer's gender and age, information on whether it is the customer's first visit, or the customer's number of visits as information on the customer's attributes. The store visit management device according to claim 3 .

5. The customer management unit changes the store presence status of all customers who visited the store on the day to a store exit status after the business hours, regardless of whether or not a request is made. The store visit management device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. A store visit management method in which each step is executed by a computer, A reservation information acquisition step including at least the customer's planned visit time or visit time; a store visit information acquisition step of acquiring information indicating that a customer has visited a store; a customer management process for managing a store presence status for each customer, which is information on whether the customer has not yet arrived at the store, is in the store, or has already left the store at the current time, and changing the store presence status to a store-left status upon request; a display process for displaying a list of customers associated with the store presence status on a store exit management screen, displaying a selection operation reception section that receives a selection operation for each customer displayed on the store exit management screen, and displaying a batch store exit reception section that receives a request to change the store presence status of the selected customers to a store exit status; A store visit management method having the above.

7. A program for executing each step by a computer, A reservation information acquisition step including at least the customer's planned visit time or visit time; a store visit information acquisition step of acquiring information indicating that a customer has visited a store; a customer management step of managing a store presence status for each customer, which is information on whether the customer has not yet arrived at the store, is in the store, or has already left the store at the current time, and changing the store presence status to a store-left status upon request; a display step of displaying a list of customers associated with the store presence status on a store exit management screen, displaying a selection operation reception section that receives a selection operation for each customer displayed on the store exit management screen, and displaying a batch store exit reception section that receives a request to change the store presence status of the selected customers to a store exit status; A program that executes the following.

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